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Casten delivers $7.9 million in funding for local district projects

President Biden Signs into Law Legislation Delivering $7.9 Million In Local Project Funds Secured by Congressman Casten to Illinois’ 6th

“From addressing learning loss and combating homelessness to helping our small businesses and making it easier for folks to get to work, these investments I fought tirelessly to deliver will supercharge economic development, support the vulnerable, and make our community healthier, safer, and more resilient. This is democracy in action.”

President Biden on Tuesday March 15, 2022 signed into law historic government funding legislation passed by the House on Wednesday that is set to deliver $7.9 million in community project funding secured by Congressman Sean Casten to Illinois’ 6th district. This funding, included in the appropriations government funding package, responds directly to some of the most pressing needs of families and businesses in Chicagoland.

“After an extremely competitive project submission process and many months spent advocating tirelessly for our community, I am proud to deliver $7.9 million in Community Project Funding for Illinois’ 6th district,” said Congressman Casten.

“From addressing learning loss and combating homelessness to helping our small businesses and making it easier for folks to get to work, these investments will supercharge economic development and support the most vulnerable, making a real difference in the lives of so many in Chicagoland. I am proud to have fought for funding that will make our community healthier, safer, stronger, and even more resilient. This is democracy in action.”

“Ninety-one percent of the kids we serve are at the poverty level or below, and suffered a disproportionate share of learning loss and trauma during the pandemic compared to resourced families. We are so grateful to Congressman Casten for recognizing this impact, and for securing funding to provide academic and social emotional support services vital to helping those who need it the most,” said Drew Glassford – CEO – Boys & Girls Clubs of Dundee Township.

“Through this grant, Burr Ridge will be able to provide 500% more stormwater capacity to nearby residents as well as a local elementary school as compared to the failing pipe currently in place. The Village is thankful for Congressman Casten’s support in securing this grant for our community,”said Evan Walter, Administrator of Burr Ridge

“The Pandemic revealed the critical need for youth-focused housing, mental health care and job training. This project will benefit our community for years to come because it’s an investment in youth and families,” said Dawn Melchiorre, interim CEO of 360 Youth Services.

“I echo Congressman Sean Casten’s sentiments on the value and impact this Community Project Funding will have on the families living in Bridge Communities Transitional Housing Program. Due to this investment, families facing homelessness will receive high-quality housing and transformative services where they can start their life anew,” said Karen Wells, CEO or Bridge Communities.

BACOG Executive Director Kimberly Saunders praised Congressman Casten for recognizing and addressing critical needs in the IL 6th, noting “The pedestrian rail crossing project will help eliminate a dangerous obstacle faced each day by high school students from across the greater Barrington area and the road work in Deer Park will help ensure safe driving conditions on a main thoroughfare for the region.”

Rep. Casten championed funding for projects that will directly benefit the 6th district. These include:

- - $614,000 for Deer Park Boulevard – Road Program. The funding would be used for Deer Park Boulevard – Road Program for road reconstruction of 2,750 roadway. Deer Park Boulevard is a thoroughfare through in their commercial district. The current conditions show signs of aging and problematic sound structural condition.
  - $500,000 for Barrington – Pedestrian Grade Separation at Main Street and the Canadian National Railroad. The funding would be used for Pedestrian Grade Separation at Main Street and the Canadian National Railroad, which would allow for uninterrupted pedestrian traffic at this rail crossing in a safe and accessible manner.
  - $197,644 for Bridges Communities, Inc. – Capital Rehabilitation of Glendale Heights Program Campus. The Bridge Communities plans to renovate its Glendale Heights campus, comprising one eight-flat building and one six-flat building. For 33 years, Bridge Communities has been serving extremely low to low income homeless families, mostly single mothers with two or more children. Bridge provides safe, clean and affordable housing and needs to complete this moderate rehab project in order to continue doing so for the families.
  - $3,000,000 for 360 Youth Services – Youth Affordable Housing Resource Center. The funding would be used as a Youth Affordable Housing Resource Center to provide youth-specific housing and homelessness prevention services in DuPage, Kane, Will and surrounding counties. The Center will be a regional access point for trauma-informed mental health care, crisis intervention, family services, vocational training, educational support, rental assistance, legal aid and LGBTQ+ affirming services.
  - $1,080,000 for Downers Grove Sanitary District for Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation. The funding would be used for Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation, approximately 4,500 lf of 42-inch reinforced concrete pipe would be rehabilitated using cured-in-place pipe (CIPP), which will prevent root intrusion, eliminating obstructions and lost capacity due to infiltration and inflow.
  - $785,000 for Village of Burr Ridge for Stormwater Management Improvements. The funding would be used for a regional watercourse in Burr Ridge that is conveyed beneath Elm Street by a large, corrugated metal pipe that has significant corrosion and has reached the end of its useful life. A collapse of this pipe would impact Elm School (District 181) for several months, impede regional traffic in Hinsdale, Willowbrook, and Burr Ridge, and likely result in private property damage to adjacent homes.
  - $750,000 for Morton Arboretum for an Urban Forestry Project. The funding would be used for The Morton Arboretum’s participation in The Chicago Region Trees Initiative (CRTI) which assists municipalities, counties, and other communities in the 7-county Chicago metropolitan region to: plant and grow trees to mitigate and develop resilience to climate change; plant and care for trees to assist community health; and address environmental inequities in under-served and diverse communities. This project increases the urban canopy, diversifies the urban forestry to reduce catastrophic loss, improves capacity of communities to plant and care for trees, and increases tree production.
  - $500,000 Community College District 502 Nursing, Dental Hygiene, and Health Sciences Program. The funding would be used to purchase technology, such as radiological equipment and simulation mannequins, to better prepare students for careers in health care.
  - $250,000 for DuPage Regional Office of Education, Wheaton, IL for high school work-based learning. The funding would be used to hire staff and design programs to prepare high school students for jobs and apprenticeships in manufacturing and other trades.
  - $250,000 for Boys & Girls Clubs of Dundee Township, Carpentersville, IL for an academic and SEL support program – would be used to run programs aimed at low-income K-12 students to address learning loss and social-emotional learning needs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The twelve-bill government funding package will help middle class families with the cost of living, create American jobs, supports the vulnerable, and work to help small businesses and restaurants that are key to our economic future. Taken together, the funding for Illinois 6th and the funding increases for critical government programs will reverse decades of disinvestment in our communities and strengthen our nation.

Congressman Casten said, “The investments in this package address some of our nation’s biggest challenges while providing much-needed support to Illinois. After many months spent advocating tirelessly for the priorities of my constituents, I am proud that the legislation President Biden signed into law today includes my amendment to stop sexual assault on college campuses and my legislative initiatives to increase financial aid for college students, supercharge clean energy development in the Midwest, and deliver $7.9 million in Community Project Funding for Illinois’ 6th district to make our community healthier, safer, stronger, and even more resilient. This is democracy in action.”

This government funding legislation includes several policies and amendments Congressman Casten led his colleagues in helping to secure. These include provisions to:

Reauthorize the Violence Women Act to strengthen lifesaving protections and support for victims and survivors of violence and abuse, including Casten’s amendment to help sexual assault victims on college campuses. Casten’s amendment will ensure campus faculty have the training and resources necessary to recognize victims of sexual or domestic violence and respond to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. After VAWA’s authorization expired in 2018, the House passed a bipartisan reauthorization, but the Senate failed to take it up. It has now been eight years since VAWA was last authorized.

“Since 1994, the Violence Against Women Act has been a lifeline to the one in three women in the U.S. who experience domestic violence, one in five women are raped, and one in six who are victims of stalking. But it needs to be updated and renewed, and that’s exactly what we’ve done today,” said Rep. Casten. “Not only does this VAWA reauthorization make crucial updates to the landmark bill to expand protections to our LGBTQ communities, close loopholes to better protect victims from gun violence, and dramatically increase funding for programs to help children who are exposed to domestic violence in their homes, but it also includes an amendment I introduced to train campus faculty and professionals who deal with students on a daily basis so they can better meet the needs of the one in four undergraduate women who are victims of sexual assault. This is for our mothers, our sisters, our daughters and our friends. But it’s also for all Americans, regardless of their gender who aspire to live in a country that truly provides equal protection and equal opportunity for all.”

Ensure Federal Aid for Higher Education Keeps Up with Inflation by increasing the maximum Pell grant by 6% from last year, bringing the maximum award up to $6,895 and marking the biggest increase in a decade. Earlier this year, Casten introduced the Pell Grant Sustainability Act.

Congressman Casten said, “With college tuition skyrocketing and working families’ wages stagnating– all amidst record inflation– it’s becoming nearly impossible for many students to pursue higher education,” said Rep. Casten. “Our Pell Grant system has made major inroads to help Americans of all backgrounds earn their degrees, but this success will not be sustained if the value of these grants continues to diminish as costs rise. This long overdue increase will ensure these grants continue to open doors to education.”

Combat climate change, create clean energy jobs, and lower energy costs:

$510 million for industrial decarbonization technology R&D, including implementation of the Clean Industrial Technologies Act (CITA), Casten’s bill to establish a crosscutting industrial emissions reduction technology development RDDC&A program, create a competitive grant program to help fund promising demonstration projects of decarbonization technologies, and launch a technical assistance program to help states, local governments, and other eligible entities to apply emissions reduction technologies

$500 million for battery storage technology R&D, including implementation of the Battery Energy Storage Technology (BEST) Act, Casten’s bill to provide the Department of Energy (DOE) with the energy storage technologies necessary to decarbonize the electricity sector while providing access to affordable, reliable to energy for all Americans

A total of $715M for the State Department to provide Bilateral Economic Assistance funding for adaptation, renewable energy development, and sustainable landscapes. The programs enable poor and developing countries to develop clean and renewable energy systems, build resilience to drought, flooding, and other extreme weather events, and steward tropical forests and other carbon-rich and biodiverse landscapes and seascapes. In doing so, they also strengthen American alliances, prevent food and water scarcities, help to avoid conflicts and forced migration, and bolster our own national security.

Casten, who was recently named SEEC Power Taskforce Chair, also secured a 30.8% increase in Research & Development to build our next generation clean energy grid. Congressman Casten has led the charge on improving transmission and siting policy in the United States to prepare for and anticipate the renewable energy transition.

Congressman Casten said, “After securing $505 million for clean energy battery storage and $500 million for the development of low-carbon industrial technologies in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, I was thrilled to secure an additional $500 million for each of those efforts at the Department of Energy. This marked a 50% increase in energy storage funding as a whole, which will be essential for our transition to a clean energy economy. Industrial emissions were the third largest category of US emissions in 2018, representing 22% of all US greenhouse gas emissions – or nearly 1.5 billion tons of CO2 equivalent, and this funding will seek to reduce these emissions as quickly as possible.”

Provide $13.6 billion in assistance for the people of Ukraine, as they face Russia’s unprovoked, premeditated war (one pager). Additionally, the House passed separate legislation to economically isolate Putin’s regime by codifying and building upon the restrictions announced by President Joe Biden in response to the escalating war in Ukraine. The legislation includes a ban on import of Russian oil into the US, encourages a review of Russia’s status in the World Trade Organization, and signals U.S. support for sanctions on Russian officials over human rights violations by strengthening the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, as the U.S. works to isolate the Putin regime..

“Right now, the Ukrainian people are being terrorized by a brutal despot running a petrostate whose power is the result of global dependence on Russian oil. This must end,” said Congressman Casten. “Banning Russian energy imports is a necessary first step, but preventing oil-rich oligarchies from being able to afford military aggression in the long term demands that we double down on cleaner, cheaper energy produced in the U.S.”

“What we’re seeing right now makes clear that our transition to a clean energy economy isn’t just necessary to protect Americans against climate devastation,” Continued Congressman Casten. “National security demands investments in clean energy. American energy independence demands investments in clean energy. Insulating Americans against energy price inflation demands investments in clean energy. I’m proud to have fought for the successful passage of the Suspending Energy Imports from Russia Act to move towards a secure energy future for America.”

This government funding legislation includes significant investments to:

Help Working Families With The Cost of Living: reducing costs by expanding child care and early learning programs to more working families, investing in America’s K-12 public schools, expanding access to homeownership, and bringing the promise of rural broadband to more communities
Create American Jobs: putting folks to work in good-paying jobs rebuilding our infrastructure, helping small businesses grow and thrive, fostering the green energy jobs of tomorrow, and supporting high-quality job training and apprenticeship programs so every American can contribute and succeed
Support the Vulnerable: meeting Americans’ basic needs by strengthening nutrition assistance, funding more affordable housing and strengthening the social safety net
Honor Our Promise to Veterans: funding benefits, bolstering the VA’s health care system and reducing backlogs
Deliver Justice for Women and Girls: cracking down on gender-based violence with a long-overdue reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act

Protect Our National Security: with robust funding for defense, diplomacy and global development, a strong focus on cybersecurity, and investments in responsible border and maritime security that keeps us safe and respects the rights and dignity of migrants
Confront the Climate Crisis: through a renewed focus on environmental enforcement, pioneering funding for environmental justice, and historic investments in clean energy and climate science
Strengthen Public Health: by rebuilding our health care infrastructure, establishing funding for President Biden’s new cancer research initiative, and confronting urgent health crises – including maternal health, mental health, substance misuse, and gun violence
This legislation will also unlock critical infrastructure investments that have already been authorized by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, creating good-paying jobs across Illinois.

Rep. Casten secured $7.9 million in funding for projects that will directly benefit Illinois’ 6th district. Read more about each community project funding recipient and the impact this funding will make, here.

$614,000 for Deer Park Boulevard – Road Program.
$500,000 for Barrington – Pedestrian Grade Separation at Main Street and the Canadian National Railroad.
$197,644 for Bridges Communities, Inc. – Capital Rehabilitation of Glendale Heights Program Campus.
$3,000,000 for 360 Youth Services – Youth Affordable Housing Resource Center.

$1,080,000 for Downers Grove Sanitary District for Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation.

$785,000 for Village of Burr Ridge for Stormwater Management Improvements.
$750,000 for Morton Arboretum for an Urban Forestry Project.

$500,000 Community College District 502 Nursing, Dental Hygiene, and Health Sciences Program. $250,000 for DuPage Regional Office of Education, Wheaton, IL for high school work-based learning.

$250,000 for Boys & Girls Clubs of Dundee Township, Carpentersville, IL for an academic and SEL support program

Taken together, the funding for Illinois 6th and the funding increases for critical government programs will reverse decades of disinvestment in our communities, strengthen our nation, and protect our planet.

A detailed summary of the legislation is available here.

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Ray Hanania

Ray Hanania is an award-winning columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.

Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.

Email Ray Hanania at rghanania@gmail.com.

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