CHICAGO – Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich today announced nearly $600,000 in funding for new sanitation and water drainage improvement projects in Clinton County. These key initiatives will improve the health and quality of life of working families in Clinton County, as well as provide the necessary infrastructure for economic growth. This aggressive effort to improve the quality of infrastructure and public facilities is a major theme of the Governor’s Opportunity Returns initiative for Southwest Illinois, his comprehensive, pro-active strategy for restoring economic opportunity to the area.
“Improving infrastructure in Clinton County is not only about fostering business growth and attraction, it’s about building safer, stronger and healthier communities where families can live, work and raise their children from one generation to the next. This is an investment in the region’s economic vitality as well as its quality of life,” Gov. Blagojevich said.
The funds for this initiative are part of the Community Development Assistance Program (CDAP), a federally-funded grant program that assists Illinois communities by providing grants to local governments to assist them in financing economic development, public facilities and housing rehabilitation projects. The program is targeted to assist low-to-moderate income people by creating job opportunities and improving the quality of their living environment. The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) administers the program.
“Gov. Blagojevich understands that making these kinds of critical infrastructure improvements are vital to ensuring that our working families have access to the basic necessities that most people take for granted. This also makes Clinton County primed for more economic development,” State Rep. Kurt Granberg (D-Centralia) said.
These CDAP initiatives address a crucial need for the region. Communities with established infrastructure are under constant pressure to upgrade and rehabilitate their systems to keep up with changing Environmental Protection Agency regulations, changing populations and changing needs. As more rural water wells are becoming undrinkable, rural water providers assume even greater importance.
Adequate sewer and water service is also vital to community and economic development. Without basic infrastructure, communities cannot compete for company relocation and expansion, but with a healthy infrastructure in place, communities can create jobs and prosper.
The Clinton County public facilities improvements are:
LOCATION TYPE DESCRIPTION COST
Clinton County Public Facilities New sewer system and treatment plant $395,430
Clinton New Memphis Sanitary District
Irishtown Township Design Engineering Design wastewater collection & treatment system $200,000
Clinton Harbor Light Bay Sanitary District
Total: $595,430
“Gov. Blagojevich understands that the best way to continue creating and retaining good jobs in Clinton County is to foster a highly competitive, attractive business climate. Ensuring that communities across the region have safe and reliable water and sanitation infrastructure is a vital part of that effort, and these investments will lay the foundation for a more vibrant local economy today and tomorrow,” DCEO Director Jack Lavin said.
Gov. Blagojevich’s Opportunity Returns regional economic development strategy is the most aggressive, comprehensive approach to creating jobs in Illinois’ history. Since a one-size-fits-all approach to economic development just doesn’t work, the Governor has divided the state into 10 regions – each with a regional team that is empowered and expected to rapidly respond to opportunities and challenges. Opportunity Returns is about tangible, specific actions to make each region more accessible, more marketable, more entrepreneurial and more attractive to businesses. It is about upgrading the skills of the local workforce, increasing the access to capital, opening new markets, improving infrastructure, and creating and retaining jobs. Opportunity Returns is about successfully partnering with companies and communities, both large and small, to help all of Illinois reach its economic potential.