Kirk, other Illinois lawmakers call for 30-day comment period on NGA decision

U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., on Wednesday led fellow Illinois lawmakers in calling on the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to provide a full 30 days to allow local officials and the public to comment on the preliminary decision to build the $1.6 billion NGA West headquarters in North St. Louis rather than in St. Clair County, next to Scott Air Force Base.

“I am disappointed by NGA’s preliminary decision that put urban renewal ahead of supporting the warfighter,” Kirk wrote in the letter to Robert Cardillo, NGA’s director. “Extending the comment period and allowing us to thoroughly review this unprecedented decision will not interfere with the project’s timeline.”

The letter to Cardillo was also signed by U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, and U.S. Reps. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro; John Shimkus, R-Collinsville, and Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville.

“We are requesting that Director Cardillo extend the public comment period from 15-30 days to provide everyone an adequate opportunity to digest and respond to NGA’s findings,” said Bost, in whose district Scott lies. “An adequate comment period is absolutely necessary to present the evidence demonstrating that the St. Clair County site remains the superior location for the NGA West facility. It’s the least we should expect for a decision of this magnitude.”

Kirk sent his letter a day after St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern asked the federal lawmakers to formally request that the comment period be extended to the full 30 days from the original 15-day period.

“It remains our contention that the St. Clair County site adjacent to Scott Air Force Base is the superior choice in every respect to include mission security, force protection, workforce recruitment, and fiscal responsibility to the federal taxpayer,” Kirk wrote. “Additional time allows us to provide you substantive comments and feedback from our stakeholders. A full 30-day comment period will not delay your time line to issue the record of decision this spring.”

Kern’s request was prompted by a flood of comments from individuals and groups troubled by Cardillo’s decision, announced last Thursday, to locate NGA’s $1.6 billion western campus — along with 3,100 jobs — on a 99-acre site in North St. Louis, as opposed to a 182-acre site on county land next to Scott.

The NGA is a spy agency attached to the U.S. Defense Department that uses satellite imagery to make maps and other data tools for America’s military and intelligence organizations, as well as for civilian federal agencies.

NGA hopes to begin construction on the 800,000 square-foot NGA West in mid-2017, with completion to follow four years later, and its workforce moving in by early 2022.

This story was originally published April 6, 2016 at 3:29 PM with the headline "Kirk, other Illinois lawmakers call for 30-day comment period on NGA decision."