OpEd: Senator Patrick Joyce (July 2023)
OpEd: Senator Patrick Joyce (July 2023) (Kankakee, IL) — Orange is a popular color as the weather turns cool and families enjoy Halloween. But for Illinois roadways this summer, orange is the sign of progress.
Gov. Pritzker’s Administration earlier this month announced its latest Multi-Year Program. This is the latest effort by the Illinois Department of Transportation to use funds from the state’s capital construction program and prioritize the roads, bridges and other infrastructure that will see improvements over the next six years, across the state.
The progress under Rebuild Illinois, the construction program that was approved in 2019, is apparent: more than $12 billion in awarded projects leading to more than 5,300 miles of road improvements. We are headed sharply upwards.
IDOT plans to put $27 billion into transportation construction over the next six years statewide. It aims to get 96 percent of interstates into acceptable pavement condition, and 94 percent of our interstate bridges there.
The 40th State Senate District covers parts of IDOT District 1 (for South Cook and Will counties), and IDOT District 3 (Kankakee and Grundy counties). More than $1.4 billion of miles of much-needed infrastructure work is headed our way over the next few years, as you might notice starting later this summer including:
- Nearly $100 million for replacing a bridge and reconstruction portions of the Interstate 57 interchange in Kankakee
- $50 million for improvements on IL Route 53
- $57 million for resurfacing I-57 south of Kankakee, including the interchange of U.S. Routes 45 and 52 in Kankakee
- Pavement work on U.S. 30 and 14th Street in Chicago Heights
IDOT has a handy website for more detail on the projects in the pipeline locally and across the state: https://idot.illinois.gov/
We can expect some delays and inevitable frustrations that come with them as we travel on our local and state roads while they are under construction. Take your time, leave early when you can and be patient: each dollar spent to rebuild and expand our transportation network is an investment in our local workforce and in a brighter future for our district and our state. Travel safely.
More good news for creating jobs comes from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, which has announced $10 million is now available for organizations to provide training opportunities to boost diversity in the construction trades through the Illinois Works Pre-Apprenticeship Program.
July is Parks and Recreation Month, and we are blessed in this area to have many incredible places to hike, canoe, boat, hunt, and so much more. I hope you are able to get out and enjoy our parks and recreation facilities this summer.
Helping support our first responders is one of my top priorities. The legislation I sponsored this year to help state employees take time off for volunteer firefighter training has become law this summer, and I believe this is an important step forward as communities face critical shortages in volunteers.
I will have more updates on my work in Springfield as Gov. Pritzker signs bills we acted on this spring. You can see the various bills I sponsored at the Illinois General Assembly website: https://ilga.gov/senate/
I urge you to contact me anytime I can help: 708-756-0882, or at http://www.
Sen. Patrick Joyce
D-Essex, 40th State Senate District
OpEd: Senator Patrick Joyce (July 2023)
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