Legislation filed for new Marion development

State Rep. John Bradley, D-Marion, filed House Amendment 3 to Senate Bill 2093 earlier this afternoon.

At first glance there's a couple of differences between the University Town Center development bill originally sponsored by Sen. James F. Claybourne and the Marion one.

1) The former bill was the "STAR Bonds Financing Act". Bradley's bill is the "Innovation Development and Economy Act".

2) While a destination hotel has been part of both plans, specific language is found only in the Marion bill. A "destination hotel" means a "hotel complex" of at least 150 rooms that also "includes a venue for entertainment attractions, rides, or other activities oriented toward the entertainment and amusement of its guests and other patrons.

Both versions of the bill targets the development of "destination user" retail attractions defined as at least 150,000 square feet of sales floor area, does not have another Illinois location within 70 miles, has at least 30 percent of customers traveling to visit from at least 75 miles away or from out-of-state, and includes an initial capital investment of at least $30 million.

As of 2:17 p.m. when I last checked, Bradley had filed the amendment and it had been assigned to the Rules Committee. Also, the alternate chief sponsor was changed to Bradley.

This bill was originally introduced last year and dealt with mental health issues. It passed the Senate but stalled in the House. Claybourne had amended it to use as a vehicle for the Glen Carbon development.

The bill is currently in the House of Representatives and would have to pass the House and then go to the Senate for passage. If lawmakers adjourn as planned, there's less than 80 hours for this thing to pass.