Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford Saving More Money for Illinois Taxpayers

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[State Treasurer Dan Rutherford is announcing a new lease that will mean $106,000 in total savings over the four-year term of that lease. The Illinois Treasurer's Office Unclaimed Property Division employs 43 staff at the Myers Building at 1 West Old State Capitol Plaza, Springfield, and the lease for that building has been restructured so that space is used more efficiently.

"I am so pleased to have found another way to save money," said Rutherford. "I especially want to thank building owner Myers Family Real Estate of Springfield, LLC. for being willing to work with us to make these changes possible. We're not only avoiding higher rent costs, we're paying less!" The annual cost savings is nearly $27,000.

Because the building owner is willing to re-configure the first floor, and because millions of pieces of paper documentation are being transferred to microfilm, the treasurer's office can move employees off the eighth floor, leaving 1,828 square feet that the owner can offer to other bidders. The vault will remain on that floor.

Rutherford says this new lease agreement emphasizes one of his priorities: To honor his commitment to use downtown Springfield office space. "I don't like to see many 'vacancy' or 'space available' signs in downtown office buildings," explained Rutherford.

That's good news for Springfield leaders like Springfield Mayor Mike Houston. "Keeping downtown businesses in place is important to Springfield. We've had too many years of downtown office vacancies. I'm grateful that Treasurer Rutherford is keeping this office in the central business district."

"Downtown Springfield, Inc. is extremely happy that Treasurer Rutherford has made the decision to retain offices in downtown Springfield," said Victoria Ringer, executive director of Downtown Springfield, Inc. "It is vital that the State of Illinois offices remain in the downtown commercial district. Not only is the decision cost effective for taxpayers, critical to the Springfield tax base, and logistically proximate to the State Capitol building, but the decision will serve as an excellent example of how government should serve as the stewards and champions of our capital city."

Business leaders agree. "We're pleased to see Treasurer Rutherford's move toward centralizing operations in downtown Springfield," said Gary Plummer, president/CEO of The Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce. "It's a solid management decision and we hope it signals a trend among other state offices."

Earlier this year, Rutherford announced that his office was saving upwards of $80,000 per year through multiple efforts such as redacting and reusing the previous administration's letterhead, giving back three of six fleet vehicles, and reducing the use of office-paid cell phones.