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U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) announced today that President Obama has issued a U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Disaster Declaration for Grundy and Iroquois Counties, which will allow residents and businesses in the region severely impacted by severe storms, flooding, and tornadoes earlier this summer to receive SBA loans.

Hundreds of homes and businesses along the Des Plaines River will be better protected from flooding with the completion of Levee 37 construction, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-09), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, Illinois Department of Natural Resources and other local officials announced today at a ribbon cutting ceremony for the project.

The Justice Department announced today that the owners and operators of the Williams Trailer Court mobile home park in Marion, Illinois, had agreed to pay $75,000 to settle allegations that they discriminated against African Americans and families with children, in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act. The settlement was approved today by the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.

August 2015—The North Shore and Barrington housing markets remains stable with the number of new listings, closed sales and median sale prices all up compared to July 2014, according to North Shore – Barrington Association of Realtors (NSBAR)

The strong summer housing market continued in July as home sales and median prices posted robust gains while the time it took to sell a home declined, according to the Illinois Association of REALTORS. Statewide home sales (including single-family homes and condominiums) in July 2015 totaled 16,901 homes sold, up 8.0 percent from July 2014 when 15,644 homes sold

Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Director Lisa Bonnett has issued an order to seal the property identified as Advanced Asymmetrics, Inc., located at 109 South Kossuth, in Millstadt, St. Clair County, from public access due to health and safety concerns from chemicals remaining in the abandoned laboratory.

U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05), a member of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition, went on a tour through the Pullman and Calumet region to highlight the positive impact environmental restoration can have on community development.

Businesses and state governments would have the certainty they need to plan critical infrastructure projects if the long-term bi-partisan transportation bill passed by the U.S. Senate becomes law, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) said today following a tour of the Midwest Inland Port in Decatur. Since 2009, Congress has passed 34 stop-gap measures to keep the country’s major transportation and infrastructure programs from shutting down, with the most recent vote in late July– the third extension this year alone

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced today that the City of Chicago, Illinois has received $10,210,000 in funding through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Aviation Administration for infrastructure improvements and upgrades at Chicago Midway International Airport. Of this funding, $210,000 will be used to purchase additional equipment. In addition, $10 million will be used for noise mitigation efforts near Chicago Midway International Airport.

The Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) today launched its new 1stHomeIllinois loan program to help make homeownership a reality for up to 4,000 first-time homebuyers in 10 Illinois counties hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis. The program provides $7,500 in down payment assistance with an interest rate as low as 4.125 percent for a secure, 30-year fixed rate mortgage.

Congressman Mike Bost (IL-12) issued the following statement after the Obama Administration issued an onerous rule for coal-fired power plants, demanding that generators cut their carbon dioxide output 32 percent

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its final Clean Power Plan rule to reduce emissions from existing power plants. Rep. Jan Schakowsky released the following statement in response

U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) today helped pass long-term highway and rail bill that invests $6.3 billion in Illinois highways and transit systems over the next three years and includes Kirk-authored legislation to reform and reauthorize the Export-Import Bank and open access to low-interest financing for freight and passenger rail projects.

U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05), a leader of the Quiet Skies Caucus, along with Reps. Tammy Duckworth (IL-08) and Jan Schakowsky (IL-09) released the following statement in response to the list of steps the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) will be taking to address the noise issue at O’Hare

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the Senate has passed a long-term, bipartisan transportation bill that provides the certainty that businesses and state governments, like Illinois, need to plan critical infrastructure projects and create good-paying jobs. Since the previous long-term transportation bill expired in 2009, Congress has passed 33 stop-gap measures to keep the country’s major transportation and infrastructure programs from shutting down.