In the News

State Journal-Register, January 5, 2012

A state senator wants Illinois government to probe its leases of buildings connected to Springfield businessman and Republican fundraiser William Cellini, who was convicted of corruption in November.

State Sen. Susan Garrett, D-Lake Forest, made the request on Tuesday to the Illinois Procurement Policy Board after the Chicago Sun-Times reported that firms associated with Cellini or his children have contracts to manage more than a dozen buildings, most of them in Springfield, that have state agencies as tenants.

State law bars felons from having state contracts for five years. Cellini was convicted Nov. 1 of conspiracy to commit extortion and aiding and abetting in the solicitation of a bribe. He is attempting to get a new trial on the grounds of juror misconduct.

For decades, Cellini has done business with the state through a variety of firms and their subsidiaries. The Sun-Times reported Tuesday that two firms associated with Cellini, New Frontier Management Corp. and Pacific Management, have contracts with landlords to manage 18 state-occupied buildings worth more than $14 million in rent to their owners last year.

New Frontier Management Corp. is owned by Cellini. Pacific Management is owned partly by Cellini’s daughter, Claudia Cellini.

While state officials told the Sun-Times that New Frontier was still managing some buildings, it backtracked on Wednesday. Alka Nayyar, a spokeswoman for the Department of Central Management Services, said there was confusion when the agency reviewed the leases. While New Frontier may have been mentioned in some of the leases, Pacific Management actually managed the properties, she said.

In response to a State Journal-Register FOIA request, the state provided a list of 22 buildings occupied by the state on either a lease or lease-to-own basis that are managed by Pacific.

In the past, some state properties have been managed by New Frontier, but that is not the case today, according to CMS officials.

“Those leases have expired,” Sunny Clark, the FOIA officer for the Department of Central Management Services, said in a letter. “There are currently no leases that have New Frontier listed as the management company.”

Because of Cellini’s felony conviction, the state must sort out its entanglements with his business empire, Garrett said.

“The fact is he has been a powerhouse for decades and has had his fingers in so many of the real estate transactions. And it appears it is continuing to go on, and we need to pull the plug,” Garrett said.

A Cellini spokesman did not return an e-mail asking for comment on Garrett’s request.

Untangling the state’s relationship with Cellini-associated companies might be difficult. The state is not paying rent to Cellini-associated companies. The companies that own the buildings pay the Cellini-associated firms fees to manage them.

“I don’t think state has the authority to dictate for a landlord with whom they can do business,” said Nayyar.

When the state seeks to lease property, it puts out a request for information from property owners, spelling out the amount of space needed and other requirements.

“We can’t pre-determine who responds to an RFI,” Nayyar said. “In all cases possible, we try to go with the lowest respondent as long as their particular proposal meets all the space requirements for the agencies.”

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State-occupied properties managed by Pacific Management

Agency; property address; landlord; square feet; annual rent or lease-to-own payment

• Department of Human Services; 100 N. 1st St. Springfield; Alzina Building LLC; 122,421; $2,115,434
• DHS; 5000, 5010 & 5020 Industrial Drive, Springfield; Cagnoni Reyhan Partnership; 163,750; $1,298,862
• Environmental Protection Agency; 104-110 E. Washington, Springfield; Cagnoni Development LLC; 11,340; $44,679.60
• DHS; 100 South Grand Ave. E., Springfield; Harris Building I and II LLC; 101,700; $1,205,145
• Department of Healthcare and Family Services; 201 South Grand Ave E. Springfield; Government Property Fund II Charlotte, NC; 180,300; $3,081,327
• DHS; 319 E Jefferson, Springfield; Uptown Inc; 57,000; $180,690
• DHS; 1124 N Walnut St. Springfield; Marilyn Mason; 7,902; $113,315
• DHS; 400 W Lawrence Ave., Springfield; Public Asset Services Corp Chicago; 61,000; $1,212,070
• DHS; 809 Commercial Ave., Springfield; Todd Renfrow; 4,840; $42,786
• Department of Public Health; 801 Commercial Drive, Springfield; Uptown Springfield Inc.; 3,500; $11,970
• Department of Revenue; 201 E. Madison St., Springfield; Midwest Equities LLC; 22,672; $225,813
• HFS; 1001 N Walnut, Springfield; Midwest Equities LLC; 14,350; $154,693
• Department of Employment Security; 11006 Airport Trail, Litchfield; DIO AIRA Properties LLC Riverton; 6,000; $94,200
• Central Management Services; 2713 Stevenson Drive, Springfield; BJD Properties, LLC; 12,500; $86,875
• Department of Children and Family Services; 208 W. Cook St., Springfield; John P Pruitt; 11,700; $161,343.00
• DCFS; 726 S. College St., Springfield; John P Pruitt; 17,225; $237,533
• Department of Transportation; 2713 Stevenson Drive, Springfield; BJD Properties; 18,750; $224,062
• DHS; 100 S. Grand Ave. E., Springfield; Harris Building I and II LLC; 54,000; $639,900
• HFS; 3130 Chatham Road, Springfield; Chatham Road LLC; 3,946; $53,271
• IEPA/IDOT; 1021 North Grand Ave. E., Springfield; U.S. Bank, Trust No. 4010351 Chicago; 347,700; $2,806,341
• DHS; 401 S. Clinton, Chicago; U.S. Bank, Trust No. 401029 St. Paul, Minn.; 160,500; $1,585,053
• IDOT; 201 W. Center Court, Schaumburg; U.S. Bank Trust No. 4019412 Chicago; 148,000; $2,857,500