U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth secured more than $182 Million through Congressionally-directed spending for Illinois projects in the Fiscal Year 2023 Omnibus Appropriations Act. The bill passed the Senate and now heads to the House of Representatives.
The list below includes some of the construction related projects secured through Durbin and Duckworth Congressionally-directed spending requests:
- Capital Improvements, Peoria
$3.5 million to the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research for necessary modernizations to the federal buildings that house laboratories of the Agricultural Research Service. These improvements include repair and/or replacement of aging heating and cooling, electrical and pneumatic systems at NCAUR, a federal laboratory that has been responsible for countless agriculture, food safety, environmental, and health care discoveries since its inception.
- Capital Improvements, Urbana
$500,000 to the Agricultural Research Service for necessary repairs and modernizations to its facilities in Urbana, Illinois. These improvements include repairs to the soybean field laboratory that houses the USDA Soybean Germplasm Collection, as well as upgrades to heating and cooling, electrical and water systems in a second building.
- Library Renovation, Dixon
$210,000 to the Dixon Public Library to renovate 1700 square feet of space in its current building, which is more than 120 years old. This renovation will create a multi-purpose programming space for library and community meetings and gatherings.
- Mobile Rural Telemedicine Initiative, Quincy
$710,000 to Blessing Health System to expand an established telemedicine program with a mobile clinic containing diagnostic and telemedicine equipment. This mobile clinic would provide physical exams and diagnostic tests such as EKG's, X-rays, ultrasounds and lab services, in communities in which such services are not available.
- Rural Telemedicine Expansion, Eureka
$163,000 to Carle Eureka Hospital to expand its rural telemedicine program covering a town of 5,000 people. The acquisition of mobile telemedicine carts, telemedicine provider workstations, and other related equipment will allow this rural hospital to expand access to specialty care, mental health care, and support services to members of the community and reduce the need to travel in order to obtain such services.
- Rural Telemedicine Initiative, Rockford
$218,000 to Saint Anthony Medical Center to expand telehealth services to additional rural hospitals and clinics surrounding Rockford. Funding would allow the hospital to procure the necessary equipment to establish telehealth programs in small, rural hospitals and utilize scarce resources across a rural service area.
- Capital Improvements, Flora
$2,505,000 to Clay County Hospital and Medical Clinics to expand and remodel County Hospital's Flora clinic to create a space that is conducive to providing safe, accessible, collaborative care to patients for many years into the future.
- Capital Improvements, Mt. Morris
$1,000,000 to Mt. Morris Fire Protection District to provide funding for the design, engineering and site work for the construction of a new fire station in Mt. Morris, Illinois. The existing fire station has not been updated since the 1920's.
- Bubbly Creek Restoration Project, Chicago
$1.3 million to the Army Corps of Engineers to complete design on the restoration of the South Fork of the South Branch of the Chicago River known as Bubbly Creek.
- Des Plaines River Project, Cook and Lake Counties
$11 million to the Army Corp of Engineers to begin construction on a combined flood protection and ecosystem restoration project for the Upper Des Plaines River watershed.
- Library Solar Power Project, Chicago
$1 million to the City of Chicago to retrofit and install solar panels at libraries on the South and West sides.
- NESP LaGrange Lock Project, Beardstown
$49.3 million to the Army Corp of Engineers to complete design on the modernization of the LaGrange Lock on the Illinois River as part of the Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program (NESP). NESP seeks to expand and modernize seven locks at the most congested lock locations along the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers and fund $1.7 Billion in ecosystem restoration.
- Sewer Project, Cahokia Heights
$3.5 million to the Army Corp of Engineers to complete a new sewer project in Cahokia Heights.
- Sewer Rehabilitation Projects, Wood River and Belleville
$3.5 million to the Army Corps of Engineers to continue ongoing sewer rehab projects in Wood River and Belleville.
- Chicago Shoreline Morgan Shoal Project, Chicago
$200,000 to the City of Chicago to support the Morgan Shoal project to protect residential and public properties and Lake Shore Drive from flooding and erosion
- Horseshoe Lake Flooding and Restoration Project, East St. Louis
$500,000 to the City of East St. Louis for a flood control project at Horseshoe Lake State Park
- Road Viaduct Drainage Improvements, Flossmoor
$200,000 to the Village of Flossmoor to support drainage improvements
- Stormwater Infrastructure Project, Rock Island
$500,000 to the City of Rock Island for levee pumps needed to prevent flooding.
- Stormwater Infrastructure Project, Hampshire
$518,000 to the Village of Hampshire to help fund the replacement of undersized storm sewers to accommodate the increases in stormwater that the area sees.
- Emergency Operation Center Project, Rockford
$1 million to the City of Rockford for the construction of a Homeland Security Emergency Operations Center for coordination of emergency response activities in the City of Rockford. This center will serve as the hub of all response activities for fire, police, public works and other governmental and non-governmental officials.
- Drinking Water Expansion Project, DuPage County
$300,000 to DuPage County to expand the York Township Drinking Water System to 1,200 additional residents in unincorporated DuPage County.
- Lead Service Line Replacement, Quincy
$400,000 to the City of Quincy to accelerate the replacement of Quincy's lead service lines.
- Lead Service Line Replacement, Waukegan
$500,000 to the City of Waukegan to accelerate the replacement of lead service lines in Waukegan with a focus on lower income, underserved areas.
- Sewer Extension, Peoria
$600,000f to the City of Peoria to extend the city's sewer system for new economic development.
- Storm Sewer Installation, Streator
$400,000 to the City of Streator to install new storm sewers, eliminate combined sewer overflows, and reduce residential basement sewer backups.
- Water Connection Project, Cook County
$500,000 to the Village of Bedford Park for a new water main to supply the Village of Lemont with drinking water.
- Water and Sewer System Updates, Will County
$500,000 to Will County to replace damaged sewer lines in Fairmont, a disproportionally impacted low-to-moderate income community in unincorporated Will County.
- Water Line Replacement, Centralia
$500,000 to the City of Centralia to replace Centralia's outdated and deteriorating main steel water line to prevent catastrophic failure of its water system.
- Water Main Improvements, Ivesdale
$250,000 to the Village of Ivesdale to replace outdated, failing cement asbestos water mains.
- Water Main Replacement, Edwardsville
$500,000 to the City of Edwardsville to replace Edwardsville failing and undersized water mains on Cass Avenue.
- Water and Sewer System Updates, Cahokia Heights
$2 million to the City of Cahokia Heights for the rehabilitation of a portion of the main trunk line sewer.
- Lead Service Line Removal, Chicago
$1 million to the City of Chicago to remove lead service lines in licensed daycare centers.
- ADA Improvements, Murphysboro
$20,000 to the Historic Liberty Theater to renovate one of the theater's restrooms to meet ADA requirements.
- Wastewater Treatment Improvements, Cedar Point
$530,000 to the Village of Cedar Point to upgrade the wastewater treatment facility, including dike repairs, sludge removal, rock filter replacement and repairs to the outlet piping.
- Water Main Improvements, Diamond
$601,000 to the Village of Diamond to replace approximately 2,000 feet of an aging and failing watermain and rehabilitate three sanitary lift stations that are over 30 years old.
- Community Clinic, Chicago
$1 million to the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago to partner with Stone Community Development Corporation to create a new community health clinic site in Austin to serve children and families.
- Behavioral Health Clinic Expansion, Hazel Crest
$450,000 to Aunt Martha's Health and Wellness to renovate and purchase equipment for a new behavioral health clinic in Hazel Crest.
- Facility Expansion, Chicago
$1 million to the Chicago Children's Advocacy Center for renovations to better meet the needs of child victims of sexual abuse and expand capacity for mental health services.
- New Nursing School, Chicago
$750,000 to National Louis University to help establish a new School of Nursing by supporting facility renovations and equipment purchases.
- Nursing Facility Expansion, Normal
$2 million to Illinois State University to construct a new facility for the College of Nursing.
- Rural Health Institute, Springfield
$1 million to Southern Illinois University School of Medicine to create a new Institute for Rural Health.
- Teaching Program Development, Chicago
$750,000 to Lawndale Christian Health Center to construct an exam room clinic in conjunction with their new medical residency program.
- Unity Point Mental Health Project, Peoria
$1 million to Methodist Health Services to support renovations for a new facility to house both inpatient and outpatient care for the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Unit at Unity Point Health.
- Community Center Renovations, East Saint Louis
$1 million to the City of East St. Louis for capital improvements to its community center.
- Dauberman Road Extension and Grade Crossing Project, Kane County
$500,000 to Kane County for the Dauberman Road extension and grade separation project.
- East Grand Avenue Rehabilitation, Williamson County
$360,000 to Williamson County to rehabilitate East Grand Avenue.
- East Riverwalk Project, Kankakee
$475,000 to the City of Kankakee to support the East Riverwalk along the Kankakee River.
- Fieldhouse Project, Chicago
$500,000 to the Chicago Park District to rebuild the Cragin Park fieldhouse in the Belmont-Cragin community of Chicago.
- Learning Center Upgrades, Niles
$200,000 to the Village of Niles to support capital improvements to the Niles Teen Center.
- New YMCA Facility, Ottawa
$250,000 to the Ottawa YMCA to construct a new facility serving a low-income population in LaSalle County.
- Road Improvements, Chicago
$1.2 million to Cook County Department of Transportation and Highways for full reconstruction of
Butler Drive, a key link in interstate commerce, and the adjacent truck loading areas with pavement designed for heavy vehicle use.
- Affordable Housing, Chicago
$1 million to Breakthrough Family Housing to provide 14 units of new affordable housing to families in the East Garfield Park community area on Chicago's west side.
The above information was obtained through the Dick Durban website.
