Normal, IL, USA / www.cities929.com Jan 22, 2021 11:47 AM (The Center Square) – Taxpayers paid nearly $187,000 for rentals and catered meals for members of the Illinois House earlier this month as lawmakers gathered at a convention center in Springfield rather than the Illinois State Capitol. The cost for the off-site session at the Bank of Springfield Center from Jan. 8 through Jan. 14 was $40,000 more than what was spent on a similar setup last spring. That brings the total extra cost of COVID-19 sessions for the House to $330,820.03. “That’s $300,000 that we don’t have,” said state Rep. Steven Reick, R-Woodstock. “The Senate has been able to meet in the capitol building and I don’t see any reason why we can’t exercise some social distancing and things like that and get into the capitol building to do that kind of stuff.”