It’s long, but I thought you might be interested in what 8th District Democrat is asking be included in next year’s congressional budget. I have included the whole district so that you can get an idea of how McHenry County fares at this stage in the budgetary process.
Below are Congresswoman Melissa Bean’s (IL-08) funding requests for FY2010. As part of her commitment to increase transparency in government, Congresswoman Bean in previous years has posted a list of all funding secured in appropriations bills. This year, Congresswoman Bean is posting a list of all funding requests, earlier in the Appropriations process. The projects and amounts requested do not guarantee funding. After requesting priority projects, the House Appropriations Committee considers requests from all Members of the House and decides which projects get funding and at what levels. Therefore, the list of funding requests below cannot be accurately used for a year-to-year comparison against previous lists.
Click here to read more about changes to the federal funding process
Note: Requests are listed by bill and in alphabetical order.
Commerce, Justice and Science
Law Enforcement Advocacy Partnership (LEAP)
Recipient: Turning Point, Inc., located at P.O. Box 723, Woodstock, Illinois 60019
Description: $300,000 through the Department of Justice’s Juvenile Justice account to the LEAP program to support the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) at the local level. This is an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars because LEAP is a collaboration between 15 police departments, the State’s Attorney and Turning Point that provides crisis intervention, emergency shelter, overnight and daily orders of protection, domestic violence training for police, and advocacy in court for domestic violence victims.
Northern Illinois Police Alarm System (NIPAS)
Recipient: Glencoe Police Department on behalf of the Northern Illinois Police Alarm System (NIPAS), located at 675 Village Court, Glencoe, Illinois 60022
Description: In conjunction with other Members, $200,000 through the Department of Justice’s COPS Account for the expansion of NIPAS. NIPAS, a private non-profit mutual aid organization, is responsible for law enforcement coverage of 68 member towns with a total population of approximately 1.8 million residents in northern Illinois. This is an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars because NIPAS serves as a model mutual-aid system for police departments nationwide. Ensuring that they have the atmospheric detection equipment they need will allow them to better combat the effects of hazardous crime sites, improve response time, and save millions of taxpayer dollars through the combining of resources.
Public Safety Communication (McHenry County, IL)
Recipient: McHenry County, located at 2200 North Seminary Avenue, Woodstock, IL 60098
Description: $400,000 through the Department of Justice’s COPS Law Enforcement Technology and Interoperable Communications account to McHenry County, IL to improve communication in areas at risk for both manmade and natural disasters, and as a means to protect data exchange between various local entities. McHenry County is in the process of bringing in new computer technology to the Courts, State’s Attorney, Public Defender, Sheriff’s Office and Jail. This technology upgrade is a critical step toward integrating the County’s criminal justice information system, but it will not complete the project. This is an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars to complete the interface between law enforcement and the court system, thereby allowing McHenry County to completely utilize the benefits of fully integrated criminal justice system. McHenry County received $94,000 in federal support in FY2008, and has committed over $3,000,000 of its own funding to the Integrated Justice Project.
Defense
Large Aircraft Podded Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) Guardian Pod for the KC-135
Recipient: Northrop Grumman Corporation (Defensive Systems Division), located at 600 Hicks Road, Rolling Meadows, IL 60008
Description: $4,495,000 from Air Force Procurement (P-1 Line #:050) for the LAIRCM Guardian Pod for the KC-135 aircraft deployed in support of ongoing operations that have inadequate protection against an Infrared Missile threat. This is an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars to procure and install the Guardian AN/AAQ-24 (V) LAIRCM system on the AFRC KC-135 aircraft.
Ultra-Wide Coverage VIS/NIR Sensor for Force Protection
Recipient: Goodrich ISR Systems Barrington, located at 550 West Northwest Hwy, Barrington, IL 60010
Description: $2,850,000 from Navy, Research and Development, RDT&E, Force Protection Advanced Technology (Line 16, PE# 0603123N) for the Ultra-Wide Coverage VIS/NIR Sensor for Force Protection. This is for developing, integrating and demonstrating a new visible/near infrared sensor that would be used for airborne persistence surveillance. The advanced sensor technologies will be incorporated to include high resolution, high quantum efficiency, very large format visible / near IR detectors coupled with high fidelity, geo-spatially accurate optics. These technologies will be integrated into a comprehensive surveillance system suitable for manned, or unmanned, and long endurance missions.
Wide Area Sensor for Force Protection (Targeting)
Recipient: Goodrich ISR Systems Barrington, located at 550 West Northwest Hwy, Barrington, IL 60010
Description: $2,050,000 from Navy, Research and Development, RDT&E, Force Protection Advanced Technology (Line 16, PE# 0603123N) for the Wide Area Sensor for Force Protection (Targeting). This is for developing the wide area sensor program to build a deployable day/night, wide-area, persistent surveillance system to provide real-time surveillance for combat troops in theater. These technologies will be integrated into a comprehensive surveillance system suitable for manned, or unmanned, and long endurance missions.
Energy and Water
Lake County Wetland Preservation and Restoration Plan
Recipient: Lake County, located at 18 North County Street, Waukegan, IL 60085
Description: $200,000 in the Army Corps of Engineers Planning Assistance to States account to prepare a countywide plan to identify key wetlands. This is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because these wetlands will be preserved and restored to reduce flood damages, improve water quality, and protect high quality natural resources. The Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission projects a 63 percent increase in population in the Des Plaines River watershed from 1990 to 2030. Already, Lake County has lost over 42 percent (38,000 acres) of its wetlands since settlement. Therefore, the plan promulgation process will: (1) examine the County’s remaining wetland resources and their potential flood damage reduction, water quality functions, and natural resource value, (2) use County database information to identify areas that continue to experience flood damages, (3) identify those wetlands that should be preserved or restored, and (4) develop a prioritized list of these resources that can be used by SMC, other agencies, and local groups to implement projects.
McCook and Thornton Reservoirs
Recipient: Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, located at 100 East Erie Street, Chicago, IL 60611
Description: In conjunction with other members, $5,000,000 in the Army Corps of Engineers General Construction account for the McCook and Thornton Reservoirs construction project authorized by the Water Resources Development Act of 1988. This is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because completing the McCook and Thornton Reservoirs and bringing them fully on-line is crucial to local communities, the health of Lake Michigan and its tributaries, and to the economic development of the region. Without timely completion of the project, communities will face decreased drinking water allocations, significant decreases in water quality and thousands of homes will be vulnerable to flooding. In fact, at any one time, over 550,000 homes are subject to flooding with annual damages sustained exceeding $150 million.
Financial Services
Harper College Northwest Suburban Small Business Incubator
Recipient: Harper College, located at 1200 W. Algonquin Road, Palatine, Illinois 60067
Description: $150,000 through the Small Business Administration’s Salaries and Expenses Account for Harper College’s Northwest Suburban Small Business Incubator, which will provide vital assistance to local entrepreneurs who are starting new small businesses. This is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because r50esources will be allocated to provide support services such as legal, accounting and business counseling professionals to allow entrepreneurs to concentrate on growth and lay a foundation for a successful start-up. This project will also create at least 30 individual incubators in addition to common areas needed to support individual businesses.
Interior and Environment
Hunterville Subdivision Sanitary Sewer Project (McHenry, IL)
Recipient: City of McHenry, located at 333 S. Green Street McHenry, IL 60050
Description: $150,000 in the EPA’s STAG account to provide sewer and water lines to Hunterville Park. This is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because at present time, the 62 households in the Hunterville subdivision utilize septic systems that routinely fail and contaminate the Fox River. This project would extend city sewer and water service to Hunterville, which is pitched toward the Fox River, preventing the contamination currently resulting from the subdivision’s reliance on outdated septic systems.
Village of Johnsburg Wastewater Treatment Facility
Recipient: Village of Johnsburg, located at 1515 Channel Beach Drive, Johnsburg, IL 60050
Description: $500,000 through the EPA’s STAG account for Village of Johnsburg to assist with the construction of a centralized wastewater treatment and collection system. This funding would compliment $462,200 that was received in The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008. This is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because an estimated 300,000,000 gallons of raw or partially treated wastewater that is being discharged from failed or failing septic tanks into the Fox River each year. In addition to being one of the nation’s most popular recreational waterways, the Fox River is the primary source of drinking water for some 200,000 people. Improving the quality of its water will also complement ongoing efforts to clean up and restore the ecosystem of the Illinois River, into which the Fox River flows.
Village of Spring Grove Water Main Extension
Recipient: Village of Spring Grove, located at 7401 Meyer Road, Spring Grove, IL 60081
Description: $150,000 in the EPA’s STAG account to expand the sewer and water main through the town of Spring Grove, which is 95% comprised of septic systems that are adjacent to a high value aquatic resource. This is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because he septic systems in this area are failing and even with temporary repairs, they can’t keep up with current and proposed infrastructure in the area. The biggest impact the water main extension would have is on the local elementary school, which is in dire need of expansion but can’t proceed without access to the water main. The extension will also increase the number of users on the municipal system and add to the number of hydrants available to a commercial area.
Water’s Edge Waldorf School, (Wauconda, IL)
Recipient: Water’s Edge School, located at 150 East Bonner Road, Wauconda, IL 60084
Description: $11,000 in the EPA’s STAG account to provide clean drinking water to the children at Water’s Edge Waldorf Elementary School. Water’s Edge School is located 400 yards from the Wauconda Sand & Gravel Superfund site. This is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because the school currently draws its drinking water from a groundwater aquifer contaminated with vinyl chloride. Like $750,000 received four years ago to aide nearby homes, this grant will be used to remove the school from this potentially contaminated water supply and instead hook up to a clean, permanent supply of municipal drinking water.
Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education
Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital
Recipient: Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital, located at 450 West Highway, Barrington, IL 60010
Description: $72,500 through the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Account for the Breast Cancer Center at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital. This funding is an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars because it will support the development of a centralized digital mammography reading station at the Breast Care Center “headquarters” on the Advocate Good Shepherd campus, so the hospital’s radiologists have the equipment and capacity they need to read and interpret a rapidly growing volume of screening and diagnostic mammograms.
Children’s Memorial Hospital Intensive Care Unit Facilities
Recipient: Children’s Memorial Hospital, located at 2300 Children’s Plaza, Chicago, IL 60614-3394
Description: $500,000, in conjunction with other Members, through the Department of Health and Human Services HRSA Health Facilities Account to help build a new hospital. This is an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars because construction of a new hospital will allow Children’s Memorial to continue providing all children in our region with access to the best minds in pediatric medicine and science and the most advanced cures, treatments and technology in a family-centered environment.
F.A.S.T. Solutions Initiative
Recipient: McHenry County, located at 2200 North Seminary Avenue, Woodstock, IL 60098
Description: $250,000 through the Department of Education, Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FISPE), or the Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Training and Employment Services to fund the F.A.S.T Solutions Initiative. This program is an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars because it will provide flexible and sustainable workforce training in a “boot camp” format which is designed to provide intensive, short-term occupational training in specific fields identified by employers through their participation on the McHenry County Workforce Investment Board (WIB).
Specialty Care and Diagnostic Testing (Lake County, IL)
Recipient: Lake County, located at 18 North County Street, 9th Floor, Waukegan, IL 60085
Description: $500,000 through the Department of Health and Human Services HRSA Account to assist Lake County’s two safety net providers – HealthReach and LDHD/CHC. Providing this assistance is an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars because it helps prevent patients from deteriorating to the point that they must receive care in local hospital emergency rooms, which is more costly, and facilitates access to diagnostic services such as x-rays, ultrasounds, MRIs, CT scans, biopsies, cardiac stress test and referrals to specialists.
Transportation and Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Illinois Route 120 Corridor (Lake County, IL)
Recipient: Lake County, located at 18 North County Street, 9th Floor, Waukegan, IL 60085
Description: $1,000,000 from the Transportation, Community and System Preservation (TCSP) account in the FY10 Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) budget for phase one engineering of a freeway section of the Illinois Route 120 corridor between U.S. Route 12 and Illinois Route 131. This funding would compliment $975,000 that was received in The Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009, and the $980,000 that was received in The Fiscal Year 2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act for this project. East-west travel across Lake County continues to become more congested as the county grows. This is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because creating the Illinois Route 120 Corridor will be a coordinated effort including several local municipalities, Lake County, and the state of Illinois in order to reduce congestion and increase traffic flow.
Meacham Road Tollway Access Ramps (Schaumburg, IL)
Recipient: Village of Schaumburg, located at 101 Schaumburg Court, Schaumburg, IL 60193
Description: $500,000 from the Transportation, Community and System Preservation (TCSP) account in the FY10 Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) budget for phase one engineering of a west-bound off ramp at Meacham Road from U.S. Interstate 90. This funding would compliment $475,000 that was received in The Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009 for this project. The Village of Schaumburg is the largest center of economic development in the State of Illinois outside the City of Chicago, generating nearly $3 billion in retail sales each year. More than 5,000 businesses take pride in their Schaumburg address and Woodfield Mall has been named the Illinois Number One Tourist Attraction. This is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because the Village has worked closely with the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, and the adjacent municipalities on developing this plan, which has broad community support.
Metra Commuter Rail System Development of the Suburban Transit Access Route Line (Northeastern, IL)
Recipient: Metra Commuter Rail, located at 547 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, IL 60661
Description: In conjunction with other Members of the Illinois Delegation an appropriation of $5 million from the Section 5309 New Start funds in the FY09 Federal Transit Administration (FTA) budget for the Metra Suburban Transit Access Route Line (STAR). This funding would complement the $13,227,500 that was received in FY08 and FY09 for this project. This essential funding would be used by Metra for preliminary engineering and environmental assessment work for the STAR Line. This forward-looking suburb to suburb commuter rail line, which was authorized under SAFETEA-LU, would continue this initiative that will link more than 100 communities and their rail lines in the Chicagoland region. This is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because this project is vital to the region in terms of alleviating traffic congestion, providing new commuting opportunities, and linking communities and places of business with new service promoting additional economic development.
Metra Commuter Rail System Expansions and Upgrades to the Union Pacific Northwest Line (Northeastern, IL)
Recipient: Metra Commuter Rail, located at 547 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, IL 60661
Description: $5 million from the Section 5309 New Start Funds in the FY09 Federal Transit Administration (FTA) budget for the Metra Union Pacific NorthWest (UP-NW) Line. This funding would complement the $13,227,500 that was received in FY08 and FY09 for this project. This funding for a vital commuter rail line authorized under SAFETEA-LU would be used by Metra for preliminary engineering on the UP-NW line. This is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because these improvements will provide an essential upgrade to Metra’s second busiest line that will include a new station, an extension of track, new facilities, and enhanced overall service.
Miller Road Widening (McHenry County, IL)
Recipient: McHenry County Department of Transportation, located at 2200 North Seminary Avenue, Woodstock, IL 60098
Description: $500,000 from the Transportation, Community and System Preservation (TCSP) account in the FY10 Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) budget to widen Miller Road from Illinois Route 31 to River Road. This funding would compliment $6,839,000 that was received in SAFETEA-LU and The Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009 for improvements to Miller Road. This is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because by widening Miller Road from Routes 31 to River Road in McHenry, Illinois to four lanes, existing and projected traffic demands would be met well into the future for this heavily traveled north-south thoroughfare in eastern McHenry County.