Skyline Newspaper

This week, Sangamon County will begin efforts to raise enough private funds to pay for the estimated $8.8 million needed to renovate the historic 160-year-old Illinois Executive Mansion in Springfield.

The Illinois Executive Mansion Association, a nonprofit organization, will host a cocktail party on Wednesday with guests such as Gov. Bruce Raunder and former Govs. Jim Edgar and Jim Thompson.

While an initial analysis of the mansion’s deteriorating condition resulted in an estimated $8.8 million in repair costs, those who organized the private fundraising campaign anticipate the figure to be much higher once restoration experts release a more detail report later this month. In addition, officials only expect the cost of repairs to increase the longer the property remains in limbo.

“The position of the board is, let’s do the whole job right, not just a patch again,” said Springfield businessman Andy Van Meter, who joined the mansion association’s board of trustees to assist with fundraising.

Lawmakers will be asked to highlight the mansion’s fundraising campaign with voters, but Rauner and his wife, Diana, who also serves as chairwoman of the mansion association board, have stood firm in their wish to rely solely on private donations, according to Van Meter. “It’s 100 percent private funding,” he said. “It will be through memberships to the association and donations to the association.”

Just last year, $2.4 million in emergency repairs for the mansion was approved but never actually spent. The mansion’s roof was, however, repaired last summer to prevent leaks that have continued to to cause damage to the walls, the floor to warp, and mold to grow in the basement. For most typical residential homes, the average cost to repair basement water damage hovers between $3,000 and $5,000.

In addition to a leaky roof and water damage, the mansion also has extensive wood decay, faded carpets, peeling paint layers, and severely outdated mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and heating and cooling systems.

Van Meter, whose mother served as chairwoman of the mansion association board for nearly three decades, is hopeful the renovations will foster a sense of community pride.

“It’s also being a citizen of Springfield,” Van Meter said, “and seeing the governor’s mansion turn into essentially a dilapidated property. As a matter of civic pride, I think a lot of people in the city of Springfield feel that something needs to be done about it.”

The board has already received a number of donations, and members are hopeful renovations will begin as early as this summer.

Keywords:

bruce rauner house, bruce rauner residence, governors manor, jb pritzker plumbing, diana rauner bio, illinois governor mansion renovation, governor’s mansion springfield, illinois governor’s mansion association, illinois governor’s mansion tour hours, where does governor rauner live, governors mansion illinois, mansion renovation, pritzker mansion, governor’s mansion illinois, jb pritzker home, mansion architecture, jb pritzker house, illinois governor’s mansion.

“I feel like the kid in ‘Miracle on 34th Street,'” said Caress Pouncy, the new owner of a refurbished 2010 Nissan Altima as she received her keys at the Automechanika Chicago, the largest auto aftermarket trade show in the world. Not quite a miracle, her car was part of a wider effort by various organizations dedicated to fighting poverty.

The Chicago Tribune reports that Pouncy received the car on April 24th after being selected by Women With Drive (WWD) Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Chicago focusing on providing transportation to women mired in poverty. Her car was donated by the National Auto Body Council at the recommendation of WWD.

“The No. 1 reason welfare-to-work programs fail is because of unreliable transportation,” said Molly Cantrell-Kraig, founder of the WWD. “Communities have resources to train, suit and get women to the point where she can get a job, but transportation is where that process breaks down.”

Pouncy was accepted by the foundation after having shown that she not only faced severe obstacles during her life but that she is motivated to become self-sufficient. Pouncy, 28, was orphaned when she was 13 and has spent most of her life in homelessness. With her new car, however, she will be able to start her job as a welder at Midwest Fencing, becoming the first female welder the company has hired. She got the job with the assistance of the Jane Addams Resource Corporation.

“Now that I am receiving a car, I don’t have to look over my shoulder when I walk four blocks to the bus stop at five in the morning,” Pouncy said.

“Our role is to keep that woman moving forward,” said Cantrell-Kraig. “We’re not just about transportation, we’re about transformation.” She added that 56% of American adults living in poverty are women.

Indeed, the United States faces a significant homelessness problem. A Department of Housing and Urban Development report found that close to 600,000 people are homeless on any given night. There are 440,000 people in Philadelphia alone who live under the federal poverty line.