Lake County, Illinois is slated to receive millions of dollars in infrastructure funding as part of a new federal bill. This week, President Joe Biden signed the 2022 Consolidated Appropriations Act that includes more than $14 million in funding for Lake County infrastructure projects.
The infrastructure projects, which aim to mitigate flooding, strengthen emergency operations, replace aging infrastructure and expand behavioral health service, were selected among a list of projects submitted by Lake County’s US Representatives, Brad Schneider (IL-10), and Lauren Underwood (IL-14) and US Senator Dick Durbin through the Community Projects Funding and Member Designated Projects federal initiatives.
“Over the years we’ve worked closely with our federal delegation on Lake County’s infrastructure needs,” said Sandy Hart, Lake County Board Chair. “We are extremely excited to hear that they have been successful in their efforts to obtain federal funding for some of our critical projects. We thank our legislators for their tireless advocacy and commitment to successfully garner this funding. It will allow Lake County to be better prepared to handle challenges in emergency communications, flood management and behavioral health that will benefit residents and businesses now and into the future.”
Lake County will receive federal funding for the following projects:
$7.7 million: North Chicago Storm Sewer
(Representative Schneider)
Construction of a new storm sewer and flood storage facility to reduce flooding near Naval Station Great Lakes
$3 million: Dady Slough Flood Storage & Wetland Enhancement (Representative Schneider)
Project to reduce flooding impacts to transportation, homes and businesses near Dady Slough Lake in Waukegan
$1.3 Million: Sylvan Lake Dam Modification
(Representative Underwood)
Improvements to the nearly 100-year-old dam to protect hundreds of homes near Sylvan Lake in Long Grove and Hawthorn Woods
$1 Million: New Lake County Emergency Operations Center (Representative Schneider)
Construction of a new facility integrating the County’s Emergency Operations Center with expanded 911 operations and technology, improving response, coordination, and value for Lake County communities and agencies
$1 Million: Lake County Behavioral Health Center Addition (Representative Schneider)
Doubles the physical capacity at the Lake County Health Department Libertyville Mental Health Center to provide substance use counseling, medication assisted treatment, and counseling to children and youth
$400,000: Des Plaines River Water Reclamation Upgrades
(Senator Durbin)
Replacement of aging equipment that operates the Des Plaines River Water Reclamation facility. This facility serves thousands of residents and is a critical part to Lake County sanitary sewer systems
“We have worked tirelessly to build strong legislative relationships with mayors, the General Assembly and our federal delegations,” said John Wasik, Lake County Board Member (District 6) and Chair of the County Board Legislative Committee.
“This productive process started nearly three years ago. It involved visits to 11 different legislative offices in Washington and personal meetings between our great Lake County staff and the county’s federal partners. These strong bonds resulted in Rep. Schneider, Rep. Underwood and Sen. Durbin delivering funding for major infrastructure and other projects and services that will alleviate flooding, improve mental health care and create living wage jobs. We thank everyone for their extraordinary work and focused attention on Lake County’s needs.”