Members of Congress request federal funding for various Will County projects

Members of Congress representing Will County announced the list of projects they are requesting funding for through the annual appropriations process.

The Community Projects Funding is an initiative that allows members to request direct funding for projects that benefit their districts, according to a news release.

Under congressional guidelines, each representative may request funding for projects for fiscal 2023, although only a handful may actually be funded. Projects are restricted to a limited number of federal funding streams, and only state and local governments and eligible nonprofit entities are permitted to receive funding.

U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-Naperville, announced the following requests for projects in Will County:

• $1.2 million for Pace Bus’ new building for its park-n-ride location in Bolingbrook with public restrooms, vending machines and signage with real-time bus departure information. Pace has deployed indoor waiting areas at other park-n-rides along Interstate 55. The new facility would be fully accessible to people with disabilities.
• $1.1 million for the Forest Preserve District of Will County’s effort to establish safe pedestrian accommodations from the Route 53 corridor to the regional trail systems of Will County and beyond. An estimated 1.3-mile trail would connect multiple residential developments along Route 53 to a school, regional trail systems, the Midewin National Tallgrass Praire and local businesses. The project is in the feasibility phase.
• $884,000 for the United Way of Will County to launch a Resilient Youth program consisting of 22 training sessions for more than 500 teachers to help over 26,000 students throughout the county.
• $500,000 for the city of Joliet to support the creation of the regional water authority and cost to bring Lake Michigan water to Joliet and surrounding towns.
• $500,000 for the University of St. Francis in Joliet to provide accelerator funds and mentorship to businesses and entrepreneurs in underserved categories and offer community-based programming. The funding will help launch additional programs for businesses founded by people of color, women and veterans.
• $500,000 for VNA Healthcare to support the construction of a new health care center in Joliet. It will support 24 examination rooms, a wellness kitchen, waiting areas, a lab, nursing stations and a mental and behavioral health services department.

U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Naperville, announced the following requests for projects in Will County:

• $353,000 for Joliet Junior College to relocate its small-business support department and enable JJC to increase staffing and services to meet the demand of entrepreneurs in the area.
• $500,000 for the VNA Healthcare center in Joliet.

U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Chicago, announced the following requests for projects in Will County:

• $4.9 million for the village of Manhattan to enhance its water system’s operational resiliency and provide a safe and dependable supply of water to the village’s 9,500 residents. The village needs to improve its Well 7 to increase pumping capacity and provide treatment to remove radium from the water.
• $1.5 million for Will County to widen Laraway Road between Route 52 and to the east of Cedar Road intersections to address traffic concerns. Capacity improvements also are needed at the intersection of Route 52 and Laraway Road in New Lenox.