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Homes sold quickly and at higher median prices in September, even as statewide home sales dipped slightly amid lower than normal housing inventory levels, according to Illinois REALTORS®. Statewide home sales (including single-family homes and condominiums) in September 2017 totaled 13,657 homes sold, down 4.0 percent from 14,223 in September 2016

The Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) announced today that it has been awarded the prestigious Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) in recognition of outstanding accounting and financial reporting and management.

U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tim Scott (R-SC), Bob Menendez (D-NJ) Todd Young (R-IN), Joe Donnelly (D-IN) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today introduced the Lead-Safe Housing for Kids Act of 2017, which would require the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to adopt prevention measures and update its lead regulations to protect children from the risk of lead exposure.

U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) today announced that the City of Litchfield has been awarded a $2.1 million infrastructure investment grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA).

Congressman Dan Lipinski (IL-3) has announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded Midway Airport a $2.25 million grant to extend a taxiway.

Congressman Adam Kinzinger (IL-16) responded to the announcement that the Surface Transportation Board (STB) had rejected the Great Lakes Basin Transportation (GLBT) rail line proposal. The rail line would have run through parts of Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana. Applauding this decision, Congressman Kinzinger released the following statement:

U.S. Representative Mike Bost today announced a grant award to fund the construction of roadway improvements for industrial expansion in Mount Vernon. The project will improve access to allow current industries to ship and receive goods more efficiently, along with improving water service for the area, which will result in new higher paying jobs and additional employment throughout the region.

This week, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05) toured an affordable housing building equipped with energy efficient technology and other measures designed to cut consumers’ energy bills and make the building more comfortable for tenants. He joined Elevate Energy, as well as the building property manager and contractors, to see the facility and discuss energy efficiency and affordability in Chicago.

U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) awarded six local community colleges and non-profits in Illinois a total of $6,501,644 million through YouthBuild, a job-training and educational program for at-risk youth ages 16 to 24. 

U.S. Representative Bobby L. Rush (D-Ill.) introduced three new bills that focus on key issues of the energy sector, credit reporting and home loan lenders. Rush introduced H.R. 3540, the Quadrennial Energy Review Act of 2017, H.R. 3538, the Mortgage Sale Transparency Act of 2017 and H.R. 3539, the Mugshots Elimination Act of 2017.

U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and U.S. Representative Mike Bost (R-IL-12) today called on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) to complete its investigation into the mismanagement at the Alexander County Housing Authority (ACHA) in Cairo, Illinois as soon as possible and make its findings public. In a bipartisan letter to Acting Inspector General Helen Albert, the members warned that while the OIG’s investigation is ongoing, hundreds of tenants in Cairo are being forced out of their housing units due to years of negligence and mismanagement by ACHA administrators.

With the turning of a shovelful of earth a mile underground, a new era in international particle physics research officially began today. In a unique groundbreaking ceremony held this afternoon at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, South Dakota, a group of dignitaries, scientists and engineers from around the world marked the start of construction of a massive international experiment that could change our understanding of the universe.

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved its $38.4 billion energy and water spending package, including a provision offered by U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) requiring the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps) to release a draft plan within 30 days of the bill’s passage for keeping Asian carp from reaching the Great Lakes.  This plan, referred to as the Brandon Road Study, was set to be released on February 28, 2017, but has been stalled by the Trump Administration

Four teens from Chicago’s South Side are using their creativity, and an opportunity created by a unique Chicago partnership, to flip the narrative on violence. At this year’s Windy City International Film Festival, these teens are shining the spotlight on the lives behind the headlines with their powerful documentary film Rise Up which depicts how violence has impacted their lives