Springfield Metropolitan Exposition and Auditorium Authority

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The Springfield Metropolitan Exposition and Auditorium Authority (SMEAA) is the elected board that governs the Prairie Capital Convention Center in downtown Springfield, Illinois.

Springfield, Illinois Capital of Illinois

Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County. The city's population of 116,250 as of the 2010 U.S. Census makes it the state's sixth most populous city. It is the largest city in central Illinois. As of 2013, the city's population was estimated to have increased to 117,006, with just over 211,700 residents living in the Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Sangamon County and the adjacent Menard County.

Contents

History and Composition

SMEAA was created pursuant to state statute, in which the General Assembly granted the board the following rights and powers:

Illinois General Assembly


The Illinois General Assembly (IGA) is the bicameral legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois and comprises the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. The State Senate has 59 members while the House has 118 members, all elected from single-member districts. A Senate district is formed by combining two adjacent House districts. The current General Assembly is Illinois's 100th. The General Assembly meets in the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois. Its session laws are generally adopted by majority vote in both houses, and upon gaining the assent of the Governor of Illinois. They are published in the official Laws of Illinois.

(a) To purchase, own, construct, lease as lessee or in any other way acquire, improve, extend, repair, reconstruct, regulate, operate, equip and maintain fair and exposition grounds, convention or exhibition centers and civic auditoriums, including sites and parking areas and facilities therefor located within the metropolitan area;

(b) To plan for such grounds, centers and auditoriums and to plan, sponsor, hold, arrange and finance fairs, industrial, cultural, educational, trade and scientific exhibits, shows and events and to use or allow the use of such grounds, centers and auditoriums for the holding of fairs, exhibits, shows and events whether conducted by the Authority or some other person or governmental agency;

(c) To exercise the right of eminent domain to acquire sites for such grounds, centers and auditoriums, and parking areas and facilities in the manner provided for the exercise of the right of eminent domain under the Eminent Domain Act;

(d) To fix and collect just, reasonable and nondiscriminatory charges for the use of such parking areas and facilities, grounds, centers and auditoriums and admission charges to fairs, shows, exhibits and events sponsored or held by the Authority. The charges collected may be made available to defray the reasonable expenses of the Authority and to pay the principal of and the interest on any bonds issued by the Authority;

(e) To enter into contracts treating in any manner with the objects and purposes of this Article. [1]

Eleven SMEAA board members are elected from five districts, which encompass the Springfield metropolitan area. [2] The SMEAA board has four officers: a Chairman, a Vice-Chairman, a Secretary, and a Treasurer. [3]

Recent developments

The SMEAA Board is officially nonpartisan, though the Republican and Democratic parties of Sangamon County typically endorse candidates running for this board whom they favor. Republican-backed candidates have usually enjoyed a strong majority on the SMEAA board. However, in the 2007 elections, three of the candidates endorsed by Republican Party of Sangamon County were disqualified from the ballot, due to errors made when filing their candidate petitions. [4] One of those Republicans sought election as a write-in candidate, and garnered a narrow victory, retaining a SMEAA majority for Republican-supported candidates, but only by a margin of six out of eleven. (As of 2010 however, Republicans hold an 8 to 3 majority, on the board.) And, following the April 2011 elections, Democratic candidates will hold only 2 of the 11 elected positions.

Republican Party (United States) political party in the United States

The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP, is one of the two major political parties in the United States; the other is its historic rival, the Democratic Party.

Democratic Party (United States) political party in the United States

The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. Tracing its heritage back to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison's Democratic-Republican Party, the modern-day Democratic Party was founded around 1828 by supporters of Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest active political party. The Democrats' dominant worldview was once social conservatism and economic liberalism while populism was its leading characteristic in the rural South. In 1912, Theodore Roosevelt ran as a third-party candidate in the Progressive Party, beginning a switch of political platforms between the Democratic and Republican Party over the coming decades, and leading to Woodrow Wilson being elected as the first fiscally progressive Democrat. Since Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal coalition in the 1930s, the Democratic Party has also promoted a social liberal platform, supporting social justice.

A write-in candidate is a candidate in an election whose name does not appear on the ballot, but for whom voters may vote nonetheless by writing in the person's name. The system is almost totally confined to elections in the United States. Some U.S. states and local jurisdictions allow a voter to affix a sticker, with the write-in candidate's name, to the ballot in lieu of actually writing in the candidate's name. Write-in candidacies are sometimes a result of a candidate being legally or procedurally ineligible to run under his or her own name or party; write-in candidacies may be permitted where term limits bar an incumbent candidate from being officially nominated for, or being listed on the ballot for, re-election. In some cases, write-in campaigns have been organized to support a candidate who is not personally involved in running; this may be a form of draft campaign.

Also in 2007, there was discussion about whether SMEAA, which had previously been involved in administering only the Prairie Capital Convention Center, should also become involved in the hotel business. A recent offer had been made by SMEAA Chairman Mike Coffey, Jr. and Springfield Mayor Timothy Davlin, to purchase the mortgage of the Abraham Lincoln Hotel and Conference Center, so as to prevent foreclosure proceedings against that establishment. Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias rejected this proposal. [5]

Timothy Davlin American mayor

Timothy J. Davlin was the mayor of the U.S. city of Springfield, Illinois, from April 2003 until his suicide in December 2010 at age 53. Although the Mayor's office is officially non-partisan, the Illinois capital has a strong tradition of partisanship, including municipal races. Both major parties of Sangamon County endorse candidates. Davlin had the backing of the Democratic Party.

Mortgage loan loan secured using real estate

A mortgage loan or, simply, mortgage is used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or alternatively by existing property owners to raise funds for any purpose, while putting a lien on the property being mortgaged. The loan is "secured" on the borrower's property through a process known as mortgage origination. This means that a legal mechanism is put into place which allows the lender to take possession and sell the secured property to pay off the loan in the event the borrower defaults on the loan or otherwise fails to abide by its terms. The word mortgage is derived from a Law French term used in Britain in the Middle Ages meaning "death pledge" and refers to the pledge ending (dying) when either the obligation is fulfilled or the property is taken through foreclosure. A mortgage can also be described as "a borrower giving consideration in the form of a collateral for a benefit (loan)".

Foreclosure legal process in which a lender attempts to recover the balance of a loan from a borrower

Foreclosure is a legal process in which a lender attempts to recover the balance of a loan from a borrower who has stopped making payments to the lender by forcing the sale of the asset used as the collateral for the loan.

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References

  1. ↑ ILCS 200/255-20. Illinois Compiled Statutes. Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved on 5 September 2007.
  2. ↑ Springfield Metropolitan Auditorium Authority (SMEAA) Board Members. Sangamon County, Illinois - Elected Officials. Retrieved on 5 September 2007
  3. ↑ SMEAA Officers and PCCC Staff - Contact Information. Prairie Capital Convention Center. Retrieved on 5 September 2007.
  4. ↑ Schoenburg, Bernard. Board removes four from ballot. State Journal-Register. 22 February 2007. Retrieved on 5 September 2007
  5. ↑ Finke, Doug. Treasurer won't halt hotel foreclosure. State Journal-Register. 17 January 2007. Retrieved on 5 September 2007
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