Minnesota lawmakers extended a legislative session scheduled to conclude Thursday in order to complete unfinished business, including a vote on Monday on plans to construct a new $975-million stadium for football's Minnesota Vikings. A push to pass a public subsidy for the project stalled Tuesday after Republican legislative leaders introduced an alternative to a plan negotiated by Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton, the Vikings and the City of Minneapolis.Republicans, who control the legislature, have since scrapped the plan, which would have reduced the amount of project costs funded by taxpayers.Dayton's plan relies heavily on taxes derived from gaming, a source opponents
Three weeks ago, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel called on American and United Airlines to support construction of a fourth runway at O'Hare International Airport in order to raise capacity and reduce delays at the Midwest's largest hub. Thursday, United Continental Holdings CEO Jeff Smisek responded, but not with an answer Emanuel wanted to hear.When asked during a public appearance what type of additional expansion O'Hare would require to meet current or future demand, Smisek replied, “None. The project that we have now is more than sufficient for any reasonably foreseeable demand.”American and United, O'Hare's two largest carriers, must approve capital
Despite efforts by U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) to garner support for construction of a new airport in south suburban Chicago, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has indicated construction of a fourth runway at Chicago's O'Hare Airport would eliminate need for a third regional airport. “I understand what he has to do as a congressman, but as a mayor, I have my interests representing the city and that means expanding O'Hare and its capacity, because if it runs on rails, if it runs on roads and if it runs on runways, it's coming through Chicago,” Emanuel said Tuesday, while attending
Illinois businesses are petitioning state lawmakers to strike down legislation that would impose $12 billion in consumer subsidies to support a planned coal gasification plant they say isn't needed and would cost electricity customers far more than originally promised. Supporters of the project, which would be sited in Taylorville, about 20 miles southeast of Springfield, contend the plant could serve as a model for future clean-coal initiatives while creating 2,400 construction jobs and 155 permanent jobs. They also believe the $3.6-billion plant, to be developed by Omaha, Neb.-based Tenaska, would jump start the state's struggling coal industry.However, eight commercial interests,
Top Starts In The midwest Rank Project Location Project Cost Start Date/ End Date Owner Prime contractor1U.S. 31 Major Moves Upgrade Hamilton County, Ind.$600 millionApril 2011 2017Indiana Dept. of Transportation Multiple Contractors2Cleveland Medical Mart and Convention Center Cleveland, Ohio$465 millionJan. 2011 Aug. 2013Cuyahoga Country Turner Construction3Hollywood Casino Columbus, Ohio$400 millionApril 2011 Nov. 2012Penn National Gaming Inc.Smoot Construction Co.3Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati, Ohio$400 millionFeb. 2011 Feb. 2013Rock Ohio Caesars Messer Construction Co.5Horseshoe Casino Cleveland, Ohio$350 millionFeb. 2011 March 2012Rock Ohio Caesars Whiting-Turner Construction Co.6Wacker Drive—Phase Il Chicago, Ill.$300 millionJan. 2011 Dec. 2012Chicago Dept. of Transportation Alfred Benesch & Co.7Domtar Inc. Pulp and
BoschertMike Boschert has been named senior project manager with St. Louis-based contractor, design-build and construction management firm Paric. Boschert joined the firm in 2007 as an engineer and previously was promoted to project engineer. He earned a bachelor's degree in construction management at Kansas State University. Walter Rymsza has joined Chicago-based engineer Alfred Benesch & Co. as senior project manager/director of railroad structures. A structural engineer with more than 30 years of experience, Rymsza specializes in the design of railroad bridges, foundations and retaining walls as well as soil mechanics and the structural rating of railroad bridges. DarmodyJoseph D. Darmody has
It was during a design charette in 2005 that project executives with Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects and KJWW Engineering Consultants, designers of the University of Illinois Business Instructional Building, first broached the subject of constructing the facility in accordance with LEED standards.