In today’s construction news, read about the search for a company to oversee the design and construction of two prisons with a total budget of $900 million, which was announced by Illinois officials on Friday. On the other hand, given that Kamala Harris was supported by a number of the biggest labor organizations, including the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, and the Building Trades Unions of North America, construction trade unions are probably less happy with the outcome.
Illinois Officials Start Construction of Two New Prisons
Original Source: Illinois Officials Take First Step Toward Construction of 2 New Prisons
Illinois officials announced Friday that they will hunt for a contractor to plan and build two $900 million prisons.
In November, the Illinois Capital Development Board will release a bulletin requesting construction management and owner’s representative team proposals to oversee the project. The team will begin replacing the century-old Stateville Correctional Center in suburban Chicago and the Lincoln women’s Logan Correctional Center.
It is the Illinois Department of Corrections’ first concrete step toward the project since Gov. J.B. Pritzker committed capital construction funding last spring. The Corrections Department’s reluctance to share plans and timelines has alarmed lawmakers.
Before publishing a professional services bulletin requesting offers, the Capital Development Board rarely announces. However, board spokesperson Lauren Grenlund said the project’s breadth and size and the requirement for some firms to undergo a lengthy prequalification procedure prompted officials to do so.
“This is big one,” Grenlund added. “We don’t always put out pre-advertisements, but we wanted to get this to industry professionals quickly.”
A firm is likely to be chosen early next year, according to Grenlund. For project details, she referred questions to Corrections. Prison system spokespersons received calls and emails for comment.
Two 1,500-bed single-cell jails for women and men with minimum-, medium-, and maximum-security inmates were announced.
The notification indicated they would provide therapeutic spaces with programming, medical (and) mental health, dietary, and recreational services to help people reintegrate into their communities.
Over employee protests, Corrections authorities have all but evacuated Stateville Prison, which opened in 1925, after a court decision declared it untenable and unavailable. They claimed it should stay open until a new facility is built and opens next door to spare them from traveling farther to work in other jails and to avoid disrupting educational and social service services for convicts.
Union spokesperson Anders Lindall said the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Council 31 reached an agreement with the Corrections Department that allows many Stateville employees to work at prison facilities on campus.
Last summer, corrections officials said they were considering moving Logan prison from Lincoln in central Illinois to the Stateville campus in Crest Hill, 40 miles (64 kilometers) southwest of Chicago, because up to 40% of its women are from Chicago. Lincoln-area authorities, residents, and American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Council 31 jail workers protested that proposal.
Skeptical lawmakers have also questioned each new prison’s 1,500 beds. Recently, state prison populations have plummeted. Stateville had 568 inmates in June with a capacity of just over 3,000. Logan held little over 1,000 in June despite its 1,400-person capacity.
Trump’s Victory and US Construction
Original Source: What Trump’s victory could mean for US construction
After a close presidential election, Donald Trump appears to have won.
Trump told fans in Florida, “America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate”.
What might he do with that mandate for US construction issues?
It’s early, but organizations representing different industry interests will likely try to get a new administration’s attention on their issues.
It will be welcomed by the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), a national trade association with 23,000 members that supports Trump.
It cited President Joe Biden’s administration’s 2023 demand of project labor agreements on federal and federally aided projects over $35 million as harmful for business.
The politically neutral Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) condemned the proposal as a barrier to non-union workers and businesses working on federally funded projects.
After North America’s Building Trades Unions, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers backed Kamala Harris, construction trade unions may be less pleased.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the Chips & Science Act, introduced under Biden’s administration, have led to billions of dollars in construction project investment nationwide, boosting construction jobs.
How will Trump’s second term vary from the Biden/Harris administration’s construction approach?
1) Tax reduction predicted
Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) into law in 2018. A unique flat tax rate (21%), contrasted to a tiered tax rate of 15% to 39% depending on a firm’s taxable income, had important implications for the construction industry.
The tax law also favored foreign-based enterprises. The bill switched the US from a worldwide to a territorial tax system in which each subsidiary pays the tax rate of the country where it is legally situated, saving the difference between the US’s higher tax rate and the company’s lower tax rate.
Corporate tax cuts are permanent until (if ever) amended, but individual tax cuts expire in 2025.
ABC hailed the TCJA’s launch. ABC president and CEO Mike Bellaman and ABC board chair Buddy Henley wrote to Trump’s campaign requesting “tax certainty and fairness” for small construction enterprises.
2) More deregulation?
Trump’s second term may include tax reform and industry deregulation. In his first term, Executive Order 13771 (2017) required executive departments and agencies to repeal two regulations before implementing a new one.
After Biden took office in 2020, the order was rescinded, but Trump’s government may reinstate it. The Republicans appear to have seized control of the Senate, but the House is still up for grabs. A split Congress may be less likely to approve harsh deregulation proposals.
A president cannot repeal Davis-Bacon Act modifications, which the AGC and ABC have challenged in court.
Conservative thinktank Project 2025 outlines policy. The Heritage Foundation, linked to Trump and his prior government, recommended for a DBA revamp. The US House and Senate must approve such an action.
(3) Chinese goods and materials tariffs to continue?
The Trump administration’s ‘America First’ economic policy shifted the country away from multilateral free-trade agreements and toward bilateral trade treaties.
Trump’s government put steep taxes on imported commodities, primarily from China, including building materials like solar panels, steel, and aluminum.
Nearly every country importing goods to the US was charged taxes, but Chinese imports were hit hardest. In May, Biden reinstated duties on Chinese imports after easing most Trump-era penalties, notably for US allies.
Biden maintained the more than US$300-billion tariffs his predecessor imposed and added $18 billion to a new list of Chinese items subject to duties, including electric vehicles, batteries, semiconductors, solar cells, and ship-to-shore cranes.
While it is difficult to predict the outcome of any Trump-China trade war, a Trump presidency is not expected to differ significantly from the Biden administration in this regard, at least in the short term.
He wants to abolish China’s ‘most-favoured-nation’ trading status and impose 60% taxes on Chinese imports. Reuters quoted Carnegie Endowment for International Peace senior fellow Tong Zhao as saying, “Beijing is particularly wary of a potential revival of the trade war under Trump, especially as China faces significant internal economic challenges.
“China expects Trump to accelerate the decoupling of technologies and supply chains, which could threaten its economic growth and indirectly affect its social and political stability.”
Trump may not be able to impose a 60% tariff on Chinese imports. In response to unfair trade practices by other nations or for national security, the president can raise tariffs. He may not be able to use either justification for Chinese imports.
4) Limited construction labor?
Trump may mobilize US agencies to deport unprecedented numbers of immigrants. That strategy includes removing suspected gang members from the nation using the wartime 1798 Alien Enemies Act.
If enough people were deported, construction and other immigrant-dependent businesses could face labor shortages.
However, the plan is expected to face legal challenges, and if Trump attempted mass deportations (his running mate JD Vance estimated that such an operation could remove a million people a year), it would require the National Guard or state and local law enforcement and more detention space. This would demand a large budget. Immigrant advocacy group the American Immigration Council estimates that deporting 13 million illegal immigrants would cost $968 billion over a decade. For these reasons, some doubt mass deportations will affect the construction labor supply.
Summary of today’s construction news
To sum it up, legislators who are skeptical have also questioned each new prison’s proposed 1,500-bed capacity. The number of inmates in the state has drastically decreased in recent years. With 568 residents as of June, Stateville has a stated operational capacity of little over 3,000 prisoners. Logan’s capacity, which was slightly over 1,000 in June, is estimated to be around 1,400.
On the other hand, according to the American Immigration Council, an advocacy group for immigrants, deporting 13 million illegal immigrants in the United States would cost $968 billion over just over ten years. Because of these factors, some people believe that mass deportations that could affect the supply of labor for construction are improbable.
