08.15.11

Durbin Announces More Than $9.5 Million in DOJ Funding to Enhance Community and Law Enforcement Safety

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has awarded a total of $9,593,477 in Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants to support Illinois law enforcement officers.

 

“Our nation's law enforcement officers are called upon day after day to protect America's citizens,” Durbin said. “As these brave men and women put themselves in harm’s way, we must ensure that they are equipped with the best tools possible to do their jobs well, and today’s grants will help meet that goal.”

 

The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant, named in memorial of a young police officer who was killed while on duty, is administered by The Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). The grants are awarded to states and units of local government to support a broad range of activities to prevent and control crime and to improve the justice system.

 

The following Illinois government offices and programs will receive funding:

 

  • Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority: $9,517,027 in Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant funding for statewide Multi-Jurisdictional Drug Prosecution Programs, Expanding Multi-Jurisdictional Narcotics Units, and the Local Law Enforcement Equipment Program.

 

  • City Of Moline: $76,450 in Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant funding to provide for a safer community through increased officer presence and essential law enforcement services by purchasing and installing law enforcement equipment and retaining law enforcement personnel.