Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $4 Million In Federal Funding For Rural Community Development In Southern Illinois

CHICAGO – (RealEstateRama) — U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced $4,198,600 in federal funding for projects in Clay, Crawford, Edgar, Marion, Moultrie, Richland, and Pulaski Counties to support rural community development projects. Today’s funding, provided through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Community Development Initiative Grant, will provide assistance to benefit public safety, water infrastructure, local VFWs, mental health facilities, and more.

“This federal funding will help boost communities in southern Illinois, serving to improve drinking water infrastructure, police vehicles and public safety, mental health services, and much more,” said Durbin. “I will continue working with Senator Duckworth to ensure that our state’s rural communities have access to the critical federal investments that drive economic growth.”

“Illinois communities deserve the resources they need to effectively serve hardworking families across our state. These investments in public safety, mental health facilities and clean water supplies will go a long way towards strengthening local economies, and I look forward to working closely with Senator Durbin to secure more investments like these to support our rural communities,” Duckworth said.

Under this announcement, the following projects will receive USDA funding:

·         City of Flora (Clay County): $21,100 grant to refurbish two of the current sirens and replace the three sirens that are no longer working on the north and east sides with two new sirens that will be located in the center of town and on the east side of town by the airport.  The project also includes the equipment and software needed to remotely run the sirens.  The new software also enables the sirens to be used as a public announcement system.  The two new sirens cover more area than the three that they will be replacing.
·         Clark-Edgar Rural Water District (Edgar County): $95,000 loan to fund a cost overrun that has occurred due to a lapse in time due to the receipt of CDAP grant funds. The project will construct approximately 122 linear feet of 3 and 4 inch water main and appurtenances to serve approximately 42 new customers in Johnson Township (South) in Clark County.  This project will alleviate a health hazard that exists with high levels of nitrate and bacterial contamination.
·         Moultrie Independent Telephone Company (MITCO) (Moultrie County): $4,000,000 loan to make system improvements, in the form of Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) additions, in their single exchange of Lovington.  In addition, MITCO will also install new associated electronics.
·         Pulaski County Memorial Post No. 8891 Veterans of Foreign Wars of the US Inc. (Pulaski County): $17,300 grant to repair and renovate an existing VFW building.  The project consists of the installation of a new roof, repairs to ceiling tiles, installation of three new doors, painting and new lighting.
·         Southeastern Illinois Counseling Center (Richland County): $20,400 grant to replace the roof on Southeastern Illinois Counseling Center’s facility located on Micah Drive in Olney, Illinois. The entity provides social services including mental health and alcohol and drug abuse counseling, rehabilitation services to developmentally disabled individuals and psychological services to residents in the rural areas of Southeastern Illinois.
·         Village of Odin (Marion County): $20,000 grant to purchase a police vehicle for the Village of Odin.  The police vehicle will include new lights and radio equipment.
·         Village of Oblong (Crawford County): $17,300 grant to purchase a 2016 AWD Utility Police Inceptor vehicle. This vehicle will replace the 2011 Dodge Charger that has high mileage and needs costly repairs.
·         Village of Woodlawn (Jefferson County): $7,500 grant for a Preliminary Engineering Report (PER) for the Village of Woodlawn.  The PER report will be used to prepare a water line replacement project in the near future for the Village.

Source: U.S. Senators Dick Durbin