Casten Announces Selections for FY2024 Community Project Funding, Would Bring More Than $30 Million in Funding to Address Chicagoland Priorities
Downers Grove, IL (April 17th, 2023) – Congressman Sean Casten (IL-06) today announced his Community Projects for Fiscal Year 2024, which could bring a total of$30,420,455 in federal funding to our Chicagoland community. The 15 projects requested by Rep. Casten will improve emergency services, build out EV charging stations, create safe recreation facilities for children experiencing homelessness, provide clean drinking water, fund job readiness programming for teens, and more. The projects must be passed as part of the FY 2024 omnibus government funding package.
Casten said, “After an extremely competitive community project submission process and some very tough decisions, I’m proud to advocate for funding for projects that will do so much to improve the lives of folks in Chicagoland. From keeping our water clean to improving our 9-1-1 infrastructure, and educating our teens on how to succeed in the workforce to fortifying the EV grid, and from providing a safe recreation area for children to ensuring resilience against floods and stormwater damage, these projects will do so much for our community.”
See a full list of the 15 projects Congressman Casten requested funding for here and below. Last year, Casten delivered nearly $16 million in federal funding for community projects in Illinois’ 6th Congressional district.
Project Sponsor: City of Elmhurst
Project Address: at 209 N. York St., Elmhurst IL 60126.
Requested Amount: $15 million
Project Description: This funding would be used to improve the City’s Waste Reclamation Facility (WRF). This project will prepare the WRF for a known NPDES permit effluent total phosphorus (TP) limit of 1.0 mg/L in 2031 and anticipated future effluent TP as low as 0.35 mg/L. In order to meet the known compliance schedule, the City has initiated this project to replace and/or rehabilitate critical equipment that is beyond its useful life. Upon completion of the project, the City will be well positioned to maintain its known schedule for effluent phosphorus compliance to the 1.0 mg/L limit, and will have the flexibility to implement future improvements as-needed to meet lower effluent TP limits as required by IEPA.
Project Sponsor: Village of Oak Lawn
Project Address: 9446 Raymond Ave, Oak Lawn, IL 60453
Requested Amount: $2,768,760 for upgraded technology infrastructure project of the regional 9-1-1 center
Project Description: The Village of Oak Lawn is in the process of upgrading technology infrastructure for their Police and Fire Regional 9-1-1 Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) to improve interoperability to public safety responders. The Regional 9-1-1 center is responsible for all 911 calls and dispatches emergency responders to 14 local police and fire departments. The project includes necessary upgrades to the PSAPs integrated radio console infrastructure, the procurement of updated 9-1-1 phone system technology, and modernization of workstation consoles to equip with 911 next generation technologies.
Project Sponsor: Village of Alsip
Project Address: 4500 W 123rd St, Alsip, IL 60803
Requested Amount: $372,000 for Policing Equipment and Technology Upgrades
Project Description: Alsip is home to a large industrial district that causes our population to more than double during normal business hours. It also has an I-294 entrance/exit ramp near 127th St and Cicero Avenue which is a highly traveled road in our Village. The Alsip Police Department is also one of 54 Departments in the State of Illinois to achieve an ILEAP certification. The Alsip Police Department is considered a small Department with a total of 43 sworn Officers. The department is looking to upgrade technology in order to remain vigilant in protecting the community. The funds will be used to purchase in dash video cameras, body worn cameras, software, and data storage for the implementation of a body worn camera program for the Alsip Police Department. Moreover, funding will help provide the acquisition of a software that can connect all cameras into one viewing platform that will allow Officers and Dispatch to view all these cameras at one time without needing to log into multiple platforms.
Project Sponsor: Village of Evergreen Park
Project Address: 9418 S. Kedzie Avenue, Evergreen Park, IL 60805
Requested Amount: $1,280,000 for a Water Main Replacement
Project Description: This project will replace a water main first installed in 1926. This will provide safe and clean drinking water to residents, visitors and businesses, including a local hospital. Replacing the aging water main will also decrease the number of leaks in the system, allowing the Village to conserve water resources and reduce the stress on the regional water delivery system.
Project Sponsor: DuPage Pads
Project Address: 601 West Liberty Dr, Wheaton, IL 60187
Requested Amount: $346,840
Project Description: This project will provide children experiencing homelessness who are receiving emergency shelter with a safe, onsite playground space to engage in recreational activities. Currently, the children who stay at the interim housing center do not have access to a place to play outside because they are not within walking distance of a park. Specifically, this funding would enable the installation of a playground structure on the grounds with a child-safe fence, as well as the installation of astroturf, a shed, and cement repairs around the property to ensure safe walking surfaces.
Project Sponsor: Bridge Teen Center
Project Address: 15555 71st Ct, Orland Park, IL 60462
Requested Amount: $700,000 for a Building Acquistion
Project Description: This project will allow the Bridge Teen Center to purchase a building in Orland Park, IL which houses free after school programs and job readiness programming for local teens. The ability to purchase a building would allow the organization to dedicate more resources to their workforce training and youth programming.
Project Sponsor: United Cerebral Palsy Sequin of Greater Chicago Employment and Day Services
Project Address: 3100 S Central Avenue, Cicero, IL 60804
Requested Amount: $842,000
Project Description: The purpose of UCP Seguin’s Employment and Day Services Project for Persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities is to ensure safe, accessible, energy efficient, and functional environments for low-income persons with IDD. Its eight E&DS Centers require ongoing improvements to meet these needs. UCP Seguin has identified significant needs in two of its E&DS Centers for inclusion in this project: one located at 7550 West 183rd Street in Tinley Park, Illinois, which serves 18 individuals with IDD annually; and, the other at 17-19 East Park Boulevard in Villa Park, Illinois, that annually serves 32 individuals with IDD. UCP Seguin will redesign spaces within these two centers to provide a wider range of innovative offerings, while also growing their capacities to serve more individuals with IDD in need, especially expanding to serve more Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) who come from socio-economically marginalized communities.
Project Sponsor: Forest Preserve District of DuPage County
Project Address: 3S580 Naperville Road, Wheaton, IL, 60189
Requested Amount: $750,000 for the Maple Grove Bridge Replacement
Project Description: The Maple Grove Bridge Replacement will help protect water quality and maintain recreational access in the Maple Grove Forest Preserve, part of the DuPage County Forest Preserve. Bridge inspections have determined the bridge, which crosses St. Joseph’s Creek, is structurally deficient. The bridge provides north-south access through Maple Grove Forest Preserve and between ballfields at Gilbert Park and neighborhoods along Gilbert Avenue and Maple Roads. It also carries a significant sanitary sewer overflow pipe for the Downers Grove Sanitary District. Its permanent removal would eliminate the only north-south pedestrian route in the preserve and minimize the sanitary district’s service area. The Maple Grove Bridge Replacement project was certified as a priority within the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County’s Master Plan, approved in 2019.
Project Sponsor: Village of Indian Head Park
Project Address: 201 Acacia Drive, Indian Head Park, IL 60525
Requested Amount: $947,775 for Water Main Repairs
Project Description: The proposed water main repair projects are essential to continued access to safe drinking water for the residents and businesses of Indian Head Park. These water main sections are located near the Village's primary commercial and industrial neighborhoods. Water main breaks in these areas can be very disruptive to the local businesses and residents who rely on them for safe and accessible drinking water. Additionally, increased water main breaks increase costs for the Water Department, which over time may necessitate increasing fees, something the Village wants to avoid for its residents and businesses.
Project Sponsor: Village of Western Springs
Project Address: 740 Hillgrove Avenue, Western Springs, IL 60558
Requested Amount: $1,000,000 for the Ridgewood Drive Flood Project
Project Description: A new sewer outfall and added inlets on Ridgewood Drive are needed to stop the flooding from occurring and impacting the 32 homes on the street that are rendered inaccessible during a flooding event. Due to a lack of upstream detention, undersized culverts, undersized ditches and a lack of suitable flow paths significant flooding occurs on Ridgewood Drive in the Ridgewood subdivision. Approximately 300 acres of drainage area flows through Ridgewood Subdivision on its way to Flagg Creek (which is the western border of the subdivision). Over half of the drainage area is offsite flows from the unincorporated cook county known locally as LaGrange Highlands. During heavy short duration high intensity rainfalls the existing drainage systems are overwhelmed resulting in stormwater flowing westward through side yards, down Longmeadow Drive and eventually pooling on Ridgewood Drive.
Project Sponsor: Oak Brook Park District
Project Address: 1450 Forest Gate Road, Oak Brook, IL 60523
Requested Amount: $1,479,080 for the Ginger Creek Accessbile Bridge and Shoreline Restoration
Project Description: This project will allow for safe, accessible, and unobstructed trail access over Ginger Creek and natural restoration will contribute to creating healthier creeks (Ginger Creek and Salt Creek), which is an asset to the community, a recreational amenity for residents, and an essential component of a healthy environment.
Project Sponsor: Village of Hodgkins
Project Address: 8990 Lyons Street, Hodgkins, IL 60525
Requested Amount: $2,000,000 for Water System Rehabilitation
Project Description: The Village of Hodgkins water system is need of rehabilitation and upgrades to ensure that safe drinking water is provided to its residents. The project would rehabilitate the Village of Hodgkins water system. The project scope would consist of the following: the interior and exterior of the elevated water tank would be rehabilitated to provide safe potable drinking water per EPA guidelines, rehabilitation of the water reservoir to comply with AWWA fire flow guidelines, pump rehabilitation and replacement to comply with EPA operating system requirements and reconstruction of the water main connection to Justice Willow Springs Water Commission.
Project Sponsor: City of Hometown
Project Address: 4331 SW Hwy, Hometown, IL 60456
Requested Amount: $300,000 for a Sewer Lining Project
Project Description: The lining of the sewers will prevent cracking and breaking of sewers, which are old and damaged. The City has proactively cleaned the sewers, and the lining project will be ready to go as soon as funds are dispersed.
Project Sponsor: Village of Bedford Park
Project Address: 6701 S. Archer Road, Bedford Park, IL 60501
Requested Amount: $1,200,000 the Installation of Electric Vehicle Chargers
Project Description: For FY24, the Village of Bedford Park is seeking $1,200,000 in federal funds to install at least 12 DC Fast Charging Electric Vehicle Chargers throughout the Village and at the Wintrust Sports Complex.
Project Sponsor: Village of La Grange
Project Address: 53 S. La Grange Road, La Grange, IL 60525
Requested Amount: $1,434,000 for Storm and Sewer Rehabilitation
Project Description: $1,434,000 for Storm and Combined Sanity Sewer Rehabilitation in La Grange in fiscal year 2024. The funding would be used for Storm and Combined Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation, approximately 92,900 LF of pipe would be evaluated and rehabilitated to ensure optimal functionality for resiliency against flooding and stormwater.