The U.S. Senate passed the massive Fiscal Year 2022 omnibus appropriations package yesterday in a vote of 68-31. The bill passed the House in a late night vote Wednesday. The massive $1.5 trillion spending package includes several West Central Illinois projects, according to Illinois Senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin.
Durbin and Duckworth’s office provided a short list of projects that will be funded in Central Illinois from the spending omnibus that also includes $13.6 billion in aid to Ukraine. The spending bill also negated a potential federal government shutdown. The new package does not include any new funding for COVID-19 recovery aid.
According to a press release, the following projects were priorities priorities secured through Durbin and Duckworth’s Congressionally-directed spending requests. The provisions also include many pieces sponsored by 18th District Congressman Darin LaHood and 13th District Congressman Rodney Davis:
- Rural Telemedicine Initiative, Pittsfield: $115,000 to Illini Community Hospital to expand their rural telemedicine program covering a town of 4,200 and a service area of 12,000.
- Law enforcement technology, Springfield: $100,000 for the Springfield Police Department to procure technology to allow police to monitor areas with high rates of gun violence in order to pinpoint when and where gunshots occur, and expedite their response times.
- Illinois Locks and Dams: $45.1 million for the Corps to fund the NESP program to expand and modernize seven locks at the most congested lock locations along the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers as well as fund $1.7 billion in ecosystem restoration.
- Small Business Development Initiative, Macomb: $200,000 to Western Illinois University to expand efforts to address food deserts in locations across the state by providing technical assistance to keep small community grocery stores open, and aid in the establishment of community supported retail grocery stores in both urban and rural areas that struggle with food insecurity.
- Small Business Startups, Sustainability, and Transition, Macomb: $400,000 to Western Illinois University to promote Small Business Startups, Sustainability, and Transition.
- Emergency Operations Center, Macomb: $2 million to Western Illinois University to renovate the university’s library to add a permanent emergency operations facility for the region.
- Child Protection Training, Springfield: $720,000 to support training at the University of Illinois Child Protection Training Academy sites in Springfield and Carbondale.
- Regional Center for Equity and Professional Development, Springfield: $1 million to the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine to create a Regional Center for Equity and Professional Development.
- Facilities and Equipment Upgrades for Drug and Alcohol Rehab Centers, Illinois: $1.33 million to the Gateway Foundation Inc. for facilities and equipment upgrades at rehab centers throughout the state.
- Medical School Facilities and Equipment Upgrades, Springfield: $1.05 million to SIU School of Medicine for facilities and equipment.
- Base Civil Engineer Complex, Springfield: $10.2 million for new facilities to house the Base Civil Engineer Complex of the Air National Guard 183rd Wing at Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport.
- Illinois Electric Bus and Charging Infrastructure Program, Statewide: $8.25 million to the Illinois Department of Transportation to provide grant funding to downstate transit districts for new electric buses and charging infrastructure.
The bill now heads to President Joe Biden for his signature.