New mattresses delivered to Lincoln Hotel
Old mattresses and box springs donated to charity

July 30, 2008

The first shipment of new mattresses and box springs were delivered to the President Abraham Lincoln Hotel and Conference Center today in an effort to improve customer service and increase the hotel’s sale price in advance of its auction later this year, Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias said.

The new bedding, which will be delivered weekly through the end of August, is among $270,000 in necessary improvements planned before the state puts the hotel on the market. Each of the hotels 316 rooms should have new mattresses, box springs and pillows before Sept. 1.

After Giannoulias installed a new management team at the hotel last year, the hotel generated approximately $1.2 million in profits. The state will invest part of that money to improve the condition of the property.

“After we took title to the hotel and read the customer feedback cards, the aging mattresses were always the No. 1 complaint,” Giannoulias said. “We believe the investment in new bedding will help the purchase price of the hotel in the next several months.”

The used bedding will be donated to local charities including the Salvation Army based in Springfield and the Central Illinois Christians in Mission in Decatur. The charities are picking up the mattresses, so the state will not have to incur any costs for the bedding’s removal, delivery or storage.

“It is unbelievable how many people are sleeping on the floor or sleeping on beds that are not fit to be slept on,” said Jerry Aldridge, president of Central Illinois Christians in Mission, which will accept dozens of sets of bedding and donate it to needy families or other charities. “This donation is truly a blessing because bedding is our No. 1 request.”

The Salvation Army plans to accept dozens of sets of the bedding and sell them in its stores.

“We are thrilled with the donations of these mattresses.  Our Rehabilitation Center in Springfield is very dependent on the sales of our thrift stores,” Van Wirth, Salvation Army's Adult Rehabilitation Center administrator, said. “With a donation like this, it is a win-win situation.  We are able to offer decent bedding to the general public and use the money from those sales to help save a man's life."  

Shortly after taking office last year, Giannoulias urged the court to appoint a receiver to manage the day-to-day operations and finances of the hotel after the former owners fell way behind in paying back their state-backed loan.

In the last 10 years the owners made only two payments toward the loan. They currently owe $29.5 million in unpaid principal and interest and have not made any payments in the last five years, costing Illinois taxpayers more than $2,300 a day.

In January, Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge Patrick J. Londrigan signed a foreclosure order on the hotel. In March, the state took title of the hotel and plans to sell it soon to recoup what it can for Illinois taxpayers.

In the meantime, Giannoulias said the state will make fiscally responsible choices to improve the quality of the hotel and find ways to support the community.

“We are happy to partner with these central Illinois charities to make sure that these sets of bedding don’t go to waste,” Giannoulias said.