Hynes lifted the suspension of payment following the signing of a project labor agreement Friday between Adkins and the Northwestern Illinois Building and Construction Trades Council. In January, Hynes denied payment of the grant to Adkins on the grounds that the company was not in compliance with the state’s Prevailing Wage Act.

“As I said in January, I support the ethanol industry and the investment that Northern Illinois farmers have made in the Lena plant, but I also support fair and equitable wages,” Hynes said. “This agreement protects the investments of the farmers, as well as pays a fair wage to construction workers. I’m proud of this solution.”

The project labor agreement with the Northwestern Illinois Building and Construction Trades Council ensures that construction workers will be paid the prevailing wage in Stephenson County and that proper labor laws will be followed at Adkins’ Lena facility.

“The agreement would not be a reality had Comptroller Hynes not suspended the grant,” said Tom Kisting, president of the Northwestern Illinois Building and Construction Trades Council.

Tom Smith, the council’s business administrator who negotiated the agreement, said a fair contract was obtained as a result of the Comptroller’s actions. “Nine months ago none of us thought this solution would occur, and now that it has we are grateful for Comptroller Hynes’ intervention,” Smith said.

In August of 2002, Hynes issued an Executive Order that allowed his office to suspend payments of grant agreements whose recipients are not in compliance with the Prevailing Wage Act. In January, Hynes refused to pay the $2 million grant payment from the Build Illinois Bond fund for work on the Adkins Energy Cooperative. Although Hynes initially asked the Illinois Department of Labor to examine the status of the project for which the grant would fund, Friday’s labor agreement pre-empts any further investigation.

The Comptroller’s office expects the state’s Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to resubmit the grant agreement, after which time Hynes said the payment will be released to Adkins.

“There have been many concerns raised over the course of the past nine months and we have made progress in addressing them,” Hynes said. “I pledge to keep that positive momentum going and will work with the appropriate state agencies to get the grant money to Adkins so the community of Lena can enjoy the benefits of better paid jobs and Illinois farmers can prosper through this investment in ethanol production.”