October 20, 2021

Senate Appropriations Committee Unveils Annual Spending Bills With Illinois Priorities Secured By Durbin

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced that the Senate Appropriations Committee released nine draft Fiscal Year 2022 appropriations bills for Commerce, Justice, and Science; Defense; Financial Services and General Government; Homeland Security; Interior; Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education; Legislative Branch; State and Foreign Operations; and Transportation; and Housing and Urban Development. Durbin worked to secure Congressionally-directed spending for Illinois projects in these appropriations bills.

 

“These bills invest in Illinois and support President Biden’s ambitious agenda,” Durbin said.  “Specifically, the return of Congressionally-directed spending provides Members of Congress, who know their states and districts better than federal agency personnel in Washington, with the ability to direct much-needed federal funding to priority projects in their communities.”

   

These funding bills include the following Illinois priorities secured through Congressionally-directed spending requests:

 

Commerce, Justice, Science

 

  • Communications system upgrades, Matteson:  $275,000 to the SouthCom Combined Dispatch Center for communications systems that will provide more detailed information to the public, allow for more focused policing as well as notification to community fire departments in a more timely fashion. 

 

  • Community Violence Prevention Initiative, Chicago: $640,000 for Advocate Aurora Health System and University of Chicago Medicine to conduct a targeted neighborhood assessment to understand the specific causes of violence and the local strategies that may work best to prevent and intervene in violence. 

 

  • Community-based legal services, Chicago:  $200,000 for the Lawndale Christian Legal Center to support and enhance the community-based legal services to juveniles and emerging adults, ages 24 and younger, who reside in North Lawndale. 

 

  • Equipment and Technology Upgrades, Statewide: $575,000 to the Illinois Secretary of State Police (ISSP) for procurement of a robot used to identify, analyze and render safe any explosive hazards or hazardous materials. 

 

  • Evidence-based violence reduction initiative, Chicago: $500,000 to Heartland Alliance to support READI Chicago, an evidence-based violence reduction initiative providing intensive, innovative programming to men at the highest risk of gun violence involvement. 

 

  • Law enforcement technology, Springfield: $100,000 for the City of Springfield to procure technology to allow police to monitor areas with high rates of gun violence in order to pinpoint when and where gunshots occur, and expedite their response times. 
  • Neighborhood Policing Initiative, Chicago: $500,000 to the City of Chicago for the expansion of the Neighborhood Policing Initiative (NPI), a new community collaborative policing program in Chicago in which officers regularly engage with residents to problem solve and build strong community relations.
  • Urban Flood Susceptibility Index, Chicago: $175,000 to the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP), to develop resources for local and county governments in northeastern Illinois to help make their flood resilience project prioritization processes more equitable by updating CMAP’s Urban Flood Susceptibility Index with new data to help county and local governments equitably prioritize flood resilience projects to address the needs of those most vulnerable to climate change. 

 

Financial Services and General Government 

  

  • Behavioral Workforce Initiative, Joliet: $300,000 to Will County for the expansion of the Will County Behavioral Workforce Pipeline project, which provides career training, supportive services and educational resources to individuals from a substance use disorder for entry-level jobs as recovery coaches in community organizations.   

 

  • Small Business Development Initiative, Macomb: $200,000 to Western Illinois University to expand efforts to address food deserts in locations across the state by providing technical assistance to keep small community grocery stores open, and aid in the establishment of community supported retail grocery stores in both urban and rural areas that struggle with food insecurity. 

 

  • South State Street Properties, Chicago: $52 million to the General Services Administration to allow for the demolition of the four unoccupied and deteriorating federal buildings on South State Street, directly adjacent to the Dirksen Courthouse, as well as associated costs of remediation and site improvements.

 

  • Workforce Development Initiative, DeKalb: $500,000 to Northern Illinois University to work with local food entrepreneurs to improve their sustainability and accelerate growth while providing employment opportunities to underserved community residents and experiential learning for college students.

 

  • Workforce Training Initiative, Chicago: $600,000 to the Haymarket Center to support direct vocational services and job training through its recently completed, on-site kitchen program. 

 

 Homeland Security

 

  • Emergency Operations Center, Macomb: $2 million to Western Illinois University to renovate the university’s library to add a permanent emergency operations facility for the region.
  • Flood Walls & Flood Gates, DuPage County: $915,000 to DuPage County to install hydraulic floodwalls and floodgates to protect more than 130 homes in the St. Joseph Creek Condominiums in Lisle.

 

  • Emergency Operations Center Generator Replacement, Wauconda: $48,000 to the Wauconda Fire Protection District to replace an emergency back-up generator, which will be used to power their emergency operations center in a disaster.

 

Interior

 

  • Pullman National Monument Master Plan, Chicago: $300,000 to the Historic Pullman Foundation for the rehab and stabilization of Market Hall, a historic structure within the Pullman National Monument. 
  • Sewer System Upgrades, Cahokia Heights: $1.5 million to the HeartLands Conservancy to help address urgent and systemic sanitary sewer overflow issues in Cahokia Heights including repairing and replacing sewer pipes, surface drainage systems, and pump stations

 

  • Water Reclamation Facility Upgrades, Lake County: $400,000 to Lake County to replace aging, critical equipment for the Des Plaines River Water Reclamation Facility.

 

  • Water Main Replacement, Joliet: $500,000 to the City of Joliet to replace aged, leaking water mains needed as part of the City’s Alternative Water Source Program.
  • Sewer Infrastructure Extension, Malta: $250,000 to the Village of Malta to extend sanitary sewer infrastructure to serve Malta and Kishwaukee Community College.

 

  • Water Treatment Plant Upgrades, Metropolis: $400,000 to the City of Metropolis to rehab and upgrade their water treatment plant.

 

  • Flood Resilience Efforts in Underserved Communities, Chicago: $1.5 million to the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Chicago to build flood resilience in historically underserved areas of the Chicago region facing sewer overflow issues.
  • Water Main Replacement, Monmouth: $500,000 to the City of Monmouth to replace outdated water mains.

 

  • Lead Service Line Replacement, North Chicago: $500,000 to the City of North Chicago to accelerate the replacement of lead service lines and water mains.

 

  • Combined Sewer Overflow Prevention, Peoria: $450,000 to the City of Peoria for their Spring Street Water Infrastructure Project to address combined sewer overflow issues.

 

  • Emerald Ash Borer Reforestation Program, Schaumberg: $250,000 to the Village of Schaumberg to plant new trees and remove infected trees.

 

  • Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge Expansion, McHenry County: $500,000 to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to expand the federally protected Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge.

 

Labor, Health and Human Services, Education

 

  • Violence Intervention and Prevention Services, Chicago: $750,000 to UCAN Chicago to expand delivery of trauma-informed violence prevention and intervention programming to more communities facing high rates of violence.
  • Intergenerational Trauma-informed Care, Cicero: $1 million to the University of Illinois Health’s Mile Square Health Center to expand behavioral health and addiction treatment services at its Cicero clinic location.

 

  • Teacher Shortage Program, Charleston: $750,000 to Eastern Illinois University to expand the capacity of its Grow Your Own teacher program and develop an online Masters of Arts in Teaching program to help accommodate student needs.

 

  • Elementary School Renovation Program, Chicago: $475,000 to Chicago Public Schools to upgrade STEM, Fine and Performing Arts, and personalized learning technology classrooms in six CPS elementary schools.
  • Renewable Energy Infrastructure Training Program, Chicagoland: $500,000 to IBEW to support curriculum, training, and instructors for programming in two high schools in the Chicago region and at an after-school program that will educate high school students on career opportunities in the unionized electrical and renewable energy industries.

 

  • Child Protection Training, Springfield: $720,000 to support training at the University of Illinois Child Protection Training Academy sites in Springfield and Carbondale.

 

  • Senior Meals and Workforce Development Programs, Chicago: $1 million to the Chinese American Service League (CASL) to expand their Senior Meals Program.
  • Education/Employment Resources for Adolescents, Cook County: $315,000 to Cook County Health for a new Emergency Medical Technician Apprenticeship.

 

  • Health Simulation Lab, Chicago: $450,000 to Chicago State University to purchase science laboratory equipment for the Health Sciences Simulation Lab

 

  • Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, New Lenox: $500,000 to Silver Cross Hospital to build the Cook County’s first and only Level 3 NICU to provide advanced care for premature newborns, full-term babies with congenital disorders, and address infant mortality rate.
  • Hospital Mobile Health Care Unit, Chicago: $600,000 to Lurie Children’s Hospital to deliver health care services and skilled professionals to medically underserved communities.

 

  • Center for Immersive Learning, Aurora: $775,000 to Aurora University to provide hands-on training opportunities for AU’s nearly 800 nursing students.

 

  • Mental Health Center Renovation and Expansion, Quincy: $800,000 to The Knowledge Center at Chaddock to expand and improve child and adolescent mental health care.

 

  • Nurse Training & Workforce Development, Peoria: $850,000 to support state-of-the-art training and education to nursing students.
  • Behavioral Health Institute Renovation, Chicago: $900,000 to Holy Cross (Sinai) Hospital to increase access to substance use and mental health treatment for patients.

 

  • Federally Qualified Health Center Expansion, Belleville: $1 million to Chestnut Health Systems to expand their Federally Qualified Health Center services to Belleville.

 

  • Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, Chicago: $1 million to Rush University to help establish their Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases.

 

  • Outpatient Facility Rehabilitation Project, Carterville: $1 million to Southern Illinois Healthcare to renovate the outpatient rehabilitation buildings at Herrin Hospital and in Carterville, Illinois, into a single location recently acquired by SIH.
  • Regional Center for Equity and Professional Development, Springfield: $1 million to the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine to create a Regional Center for Equity and Professional Development.

 

  • Young Adult Program Building Renovation, Chicago: $1 million to Thresholds to renovate and expand existing treatment space to enable it to serve more patients. 

 

  • Community Health Clinic Expansion, Whiteside County: $1 million to Whiteside County to expand the county-operated Community Health Clinic.

 

  • Special Olympics Programming, Chicago: $600,000 to Special Olympics Chicago to expand its offered activities.

 

  • Mental Health Peer Support Program, Chicago: $90,000 to expand NAMI’s Peer Support Program for individuals with lived mental health experiences providing support services for families and individuals facing mental health challenges.

 

  • Federally Qualified Health Center Expansion, Chicago: $1 million to Esperanza Health Center to support a significant expansion of Esperanza’s flagship Federally Qualified Health Center in the low-income, predominantly-Latino community of Brighton Park. 
  • Rapid Response Naloxone Program, Will County: $175,000 to Will County to support an opioid overdose intervention program.

 

Transportation, Housing and Urban Development

 

  • Illinois Electric Bus and Charging Infrastructure Program, Statewide:  $8.25 million to the Illinois Department of Transportation to provide grant funding to downstate transit districts for new electric buses and charging infrastructure.

 

  • Airport Cargo Ramp Expansion, Rockford:  $5 million to the Rockford Airport Authority to construct an aircraft parking apron for increased international air cargo traffic as part of the airport’s new international cargo facility.

 

  • CTA 103rd St. Garage Electric Bus Initiative, Chicago:  $2 million for Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) for upgrades to its 103rd Street facility to accommodate electric buses and charging infrastructure.

 

  • Reas Bridge Replacement, Decatur/Macon County:  $3.5 million to Macon County to finalize design and begin construction on the replacement of two structurally deficient bridge segments on the Reas Bridge crossing Lake Decatur.

 

  • Youth Center Improvements, East St. Louis:  $350,000 to the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation to make capital improvements to its youth center.
  • Rosemont Transit-Oriented Development, Cook County:  $300,000 to Cook County for the transit oriented development near the Rosemont CTA Blue Line station.

 

  • Women and Families Shelter Upgrades, Chicago:  $478,000 to Margaret’s Village to make repairs and upgrades at their transitional shelters for homeless women, children, families, and seniors.

 

  • Washington Park Framework Plan, Chicago:  $500,000 to develop a Washington Park Framework Plan including restoration of the historic park structures around the site of the future Obama Presidential Center.

 

  • Upgrades for Adult Disability Community Services Centers, Cook and DuPage Counties:  $287,000 to the United Cerebral Palsy Seguin of Greater Chicago to renovate their community day sites for adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities.

 

  • North Avenue Safety Improvements Project, Cook County:  $200,000 to the Village of Oak Park to implement safety recommendations to revitalize the North Avenue corridor.

 

  • Improvements to State/Lake Elevated Transit Station, Chicago: $1 million to the City of Chicago to support the ongoing design and rebuild of the CTA’s State/Lake Station.
  • Road Upgrades, Marion: $600,000 to the City of Marion repair and resurface three roads (Main, Bainbridge, Pentecost Streets).
  • Foster Care Family Services Center, Kendall County:  $200,000 to Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Kendall County for a multiuse space serving families involved with the foster care system.

 

  • Saint Anthony Hospital and Community Campus Plan, Chicago:  $450,000 to Saint Anthony Hospital to create a master plan for a new Focal Point Community Campus in Little Village that will include a new St. Anthony Hospital.

  

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