A bill to regulate horizontal hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in Illinois was delayed in House Committee Thursday after the bill's sponsor added an amendment that would require energy companies to hire state-licensed water-well contractors. The amendment also would require unionized well water contractors on job sites until contractors have received licensure. Bill sponsor Rep. John Bradley reportedly added the amendment at the behest of a labor management organization representing Countryside, Ill.-based Operating Engineers Local 150 union. A Local 150 spokesman told reporters Thursday the amendment is intended to ensure aquifiers aren't contaminated during fracking.While Bill HB2615, the Illinois Hydraulic Fracturing
Illinois logged more construction job losses in January than any state in the nation, according to new data compiled by Arlington, Va.-based Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). In year-over-year comparisons, Illinois lost 9,800 jobs in January, representing a 5% dip in the state's construction employment rate. Employment also sputtered in states that have shown improvement in recent months, including Ohio and Indiana, which lost 5,200 jobs and 4,600 jobs, respectively.By comparison, construction employment essentially remained flat in other Midwest states, including Wisconsin, Michigan and Missouri.Texas added the most jobs (28,500) in year-over-year comparisons, followed by California (17,600), Washington (8,200),
The Illinois Tollway plans to invest $922 million in capital projects this year, doubling the amount it spent in 2012. In addition to maintenance and repairs, the Tollway will fund several projects included in Move Illinois, a 15-year, $12-billion program it says will create up to 10,000 construction jobs in northern Illinois.The program will ramp up this year as work begins on a $2.2-billion project to rebuild and widen the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90), a northwest-to-southeast artery extending from the Wisconsin state line near Rockford to the Indiana state line near Chicago. In all, the Tollway will invest $415
The Illinois Tollway on Wednesday indicated it is seeking firms to provide design, construction management and technical services for 23 new contracts associated with its 15-year, $12 billion capital program Move Illinois: The Illinois Tollway Driving the Future. According to Tollway officials, the contracts will provide an estimated $90 million in design and construction management for its Elgin O’Hare Western Access (EOWA) project and the rebuilding and widening of the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90). Both projects are located in suburban Chicago.In all, the contracts account for nearly $750 million in construction over the next three to four years, says
After gaining ground earlier in the year, average construction backlogs remained stagnant in the final quarter of 2012, according to quarter-to-quarter data compiled by the Washington, D.C.-based Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC). Nevertheless, backlogs are up 2.4% as compared to the same period last year. Fourth-quarter averages reflected a variety of conditions, including “fiscal cliff fears, highly constrained public capital budgets and lackluster macroeconomic growth,” says ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “However, backlogs did not decline, suggesting that nonresidential construction spending is likely to remain flat during the initial months of 2013 and then possibly trend higher during the latter
Hours after Chicago's Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority announced plans Tuesday to construct a $400-million hotel near McCormick Place, the city's largest convention center, the site's owner indicated it had invested millions of dollars to locate an alternative project there. In a written statement, JRM Technology President James R. McHugh said his firm, an affiliate of James McHugh Construction Co., planned to develop a $400-million data center on the site. “The plan has already received City Council approval and we would start construction as soon as a building permit is issued,” said McHugh.McHugh said the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority,
Related Links: ENR Midwest ENR Midwest Greg Osborne has been named director of civil engineering with Chicago-based design and construction firm Epstein. Osborne previously was senior project engineer with the firm. In his new role, Osborne is spearheading business in the areas of site development, transportation and infrastructure engineering. DownsJoe Downs has been named senior director of real estate development with Opus Development Corp.'s newly opened St. Louis office. Among other activities, Downs is responsible for pursuing business opportunities across a variety of sectors in the region, including office, industrial, multifamily, retail, higher education and government. A LEED-accredited professional,
After failing to win support for taxpayer-funded improvements to Wrigley Field, home to baseball's Chicago Cubs, franchise owners have agreed to bankroll $300 million in improvements to the landmark structure in exchange for concessions involving signage and additional night games. Should the city agree to those terms, Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts say's he'll sweeten the deal by constructing a hotel on an adjacent parcel in Wrigleyville, the north side home of the Cubs. Ricketts indicated that management has reached an agreement with Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, whose brands include Westin and Sheraton.Plans for the 99-year-old ballpark include larger concourses,
Growing evidence not only suggests the climate is rapidly changing, but that extensive burning of fossil fuels is the primary culprit, according to the draft third National Climate Assessment, authored by more than 200 scientists, in addition to representatives from government and business. "While some changes will bring potential benefits, such as longer growing seasons, many will be disruptive to society because our institutions and infrastructure have been designed for the relatively stable climate of the past," the assessment reads.While the 1,146-page study doesn't include policy recommendations, it indicates “the amount of climate change will largely be determined by choices
Although they lack an an anchor tenant, Canadian developer Ivanhoe Cambridge and co-investor and developer Hines broke ground Tuesday on a 45-story office tower in Chicago's West Loop, the largest commercial project to rise in the city in five years. Named River Point, the $300-million project will add 850,000 square feet to Chicago's financial district when completed in 2016. It also will add a 1.5-acre park and plaza to the city's riverfront, where the project is sited.“This is a momentous day for the City of Chicago,” said Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who attended the groundbreaking. “River Point is an example of
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