Rep. Bobby L. Rush Announces FY2023 Funding Requests for IL-01 Community Projects

Rep. Bobby L. Rush
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Rep. Bobby L. Rush Announces FY2023 Funding Requests for IL-01 Community Projects (Washington, DC)  — Today, U.S. Representative Bobby L. Rush (D-Ill.) announced that he submitted the following funding requests to the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations for community projects in Illinois’ First Congressional District.

Here is a summary of the funding requested for each recipient listed below:

Recipient: Antioch Haven Homes Foundation Ltd
Project Title: Build Antioch
Recipient Address: 401 W Englewood Avenue, Chicago, IL 60621-3237
Amount Requested: $4,000,000
Explanation of Request: This request is for funding of the repair and renovation work of the education building and fellowship hall, which are connected to the Antioch Missionary Baptist Church.  A fire recently destroyed the main sanctuary of the Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, and the attached education building and fellowship hall.  The smoke and water damage requires full mitigation and repair work in both the education building and fellowship hall, along with abatement of asbestos and lead-based paint.  Antioch Haven Homes Foundation Ltd. uses the education building and fellowship hall to provide services such as job training, tutorial programs, exercise classes, health fairs, basketball, financial literacy programs, and food giveaways.

Recipient: Beloved Community Family Wellness Center
Project Title: Building Expansion to Increase Access to Health Care
Recipient Address: 6819 S. Halsted Street, Chicago, IL 60621-1833
Amount Requested: $2,000,000
Explanation of Request: Beloved Community Family Wellness Center’s (BCFWC) project consists of the expanding the Englewood building to the north to establish interior build-out the first and second floor consisting of 7,000 square feet. The expansion will provide for the construction of a dental clinic, 5 additional exam rooms, a nutrition/wellness program, and behavioral health services. This expansion will allow BCFWC to increase access for 1,200 unduplicated new patients, which will generate approximately 3,600 additional visits, bringing annual visits to 55,264, which is a 12% increase in visits at our Englewood site.

Recipient: Bright Star Community Outreach
Project Title: Workforce Enrichment
Recipient Address: 333 E 35th Street, Chicago, IL 60616-3951
Amount Requested: $175,000
Explanation of Request: Bright Star Community Outreach (BSCO), in partnership with NCAT — National Center for Arts and Technology, under the umbrella of Manchester Bidwell Corporation (MBC) — proposes to provide comprehensive and transformative programming in workforce development to end the cycle of poverty of its participants. Participants are engaged in a year-long cohort; the MBC model partners with local business and industry leaders to provide placement opportunities at the completion of the program. Their educational model has a proven track record of success with a graduation rate of 65% and placement rate of 82% into stable employment. The continuum of workforce development trains individuals to be more productive and prosperous in the workplace, which benefits both the employer and the employee. To date, according to University of Chicago research, BSCO’s work has translated into a 14% reduction in robberies, a 10% drop in aggravated assaults, and a 17% drop in shootings in the specific catchment area that they serve.

Recipient: Chicago Public Schools
Project Title: Investments in supplies and equipment to prioritize the arts.
Recipient Address:

  • Fernwood Elementary School (10041 S Union Avenue, Chicago, IL 60628)
  • Charles H. Wacker Elementary School (9746 S Morgan Street, Chicago, IL 60643)
  • Marcus Garvey Elementary School (10309 S Morgan Street, Chicago, IL 60643)
  • Stagg Elementary School (7424 S Morgan Street, Chicago, IL 60621)
  • Edward H White Career Academy (1136 W 122nd Street, Chicago, IL 60643)
  • Wadsworth STEM Elementary School (6650 S Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637)

Amount Requested: $500,000
Explanation of Request: Chicago Public Schools (CPS) will use funding to increase access to the arts within their school community. Examples might include the purchase of supplies and equipment to ensure a newly-hired arts teacher can outfit their emerging arts program according to the school’s vision or the development of an in-depth arts residency with a highly-qualified arts partner that would provide arts enrichment over the course of a school year. Each selected school is a school in need of extra investment to meet the district goal of prioritizing arts in every school in every community.

Recipient: Chicago State University
Project Title: Initiative to Improve Access to Communication and Media Careers for Black and Latino Students Through Improved Higher Education Facilities
Recipient Address: 9501 S King Drive, Chicago, IL 60628-1501
Amount Requested: $1,600,000
Explanation of Request: In order to fully prepare Chicago State University (CSU) students for careers in communications, media and theater (CMT), the institution will modernize its learning facilities. CSU has the basic infrastructure in place to train students in CMT careers including a radio station, TV studio, audio and video edit suites, black box and proscenium theater. However, these teaching spaces have outdated technology.  For example, the TV studio has the original 1979 light grid and the theater has a light grid and equipment inferior to most local high schools.  With this funding, CSU proposes a $1.6 million investment to update equipment in all of the CMT teaching labs.  The equipment will bring the training facilities up to current technological standards by adding industry standard cameras, audio, edit suites, LED lighting, media projection and sets.  The upgrade will allow Black and Latino students on the South Side of Chicago who seek an affordable media education to gain access to the booming media job market by training on the same educational equipment as Illinois students at predominantly white private universities in the area.

Recipient: Chicago Transit Authority (CTA)
Project Title: Englewood Racine Green Line Station Feasibility Study
Recipient Address: 6314 South Racine Avenue, Chicago, IL 60636
Amount Requested: $2,000,000
Explanation of Request: The project would conduct detailed planning and conceptual design to determine how a new station could be constructed to meet community needs, accessibility requirements, and historic considerations.  This request would fund the next step in understanding the cost of transit investment at the Racine Green Line Station and would ultimately lead to greater mobility options for residents of the neighborhood.

Recipient: Green Era Educational NFP
Project Title: Green Era Renewable Energy & Urban Farm Campus
Recipient Address: 650 W 83rd Street, Chicago, IL 60620-1937
Amount Requested: $3,888,000
Explanation of Request: The Green Era Renewable Energy and Urban Farm Campus is transforming 9 acres of brownfield in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood into a first-of-its-kind vibrant hub for organics recycling, green energy and jobs, fresh produce, small business incubation, educational programming, and community green space.  This project will focus on building the Campus’ closed-loop anaerobic digester that will use a natural, biological process to recycle food waste into clean renewable energy and nutrient-rich compost to support local food production.  The Campus is set to begin anaerobic digester operations in Q2 2022 and open to the public in Spring 2023.  Green Era is a unique community-based energy project that will uplift Chicago as a blueprint for the nation in developing an equitable green economy and sustainable future.  Green Era’s mission is to lead the transformation to Illinois’ clean energy economy by developing synergies between local farming and proven green technology to cultivate equitable access to fresh food and foster community engagement and economic and neighborhood revitalization.

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Recipient: Grow Greater Englewood
Project Title: Ujima Hive
Recipient Address: 6533 S Stewart Avenue, Chicago IL 60621-3109
Amount Requested: $2,000,000
Explanation of Request: Ujima Hive is a 28,000 square foot Resiliency Hub.  In an emergency, the Hub will help distribute resources, while, the rest of the time, it will house multiple functions which support community development.  The building will contain a food pantry and free community café; office space for movement-based organizations; community space for young adults; state of the art studio for recording and broadcasting; computer labs; food accelerator and plant based research space for new agri-tech business to have technical support and access to capital; and a rooftop garden.

Recipient: Illinois College of Optometry
Project Title: Illinois College of Optometry Glaucoma Services
Recipient Address: 3241 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60616-3878
Amount Requested: $445,000
Explanation of Request: The Illinois College of Optometry will secure additional instrumentation required for the evaluation and management of complex glaucoma patients. The proposal also includes funding for patient education technology that will enhance patient understanding of their disease and improve compliance with their treatment plan.  Glaucoma is a progressive disease that, if not effectively treated, can lead to severe visual impairment and total blindness.

Recipient: Illinois Institute of Technology
Project Title: Bronzeville Opportunity Engine
Recipient Address: 10 West 35th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60616-3717
Amount Requested: $2,000,000
Explanation of Request: This project would fund capital improvement and renovations to establish a “Bronzeville Opportunity Engine” on Illinois Tech’s campus. Once completed, the Opportunity Engine would include approximately 16,000 square feet of renovated space dedicated to community workforce development, small business and entrepreneurship education, startup incubation and pre-collegiate programming.  Through providing access to high-impact tech and entrepreneurship programming, the Opportunity Engine would aim to enable community members to start or advance careers in high-growth tech industries.  Workforce development activities would include training for certificates and industry credentials needed to find employment in high-growth, high-wage jobs with high rates of open and unfilled positions. Examples of high-demand areas include cloud computing, data science, database management, CRM management, AI, cybersecurity, electronic arts, high-tech manufacturing, semiconductor and microelectronics, and more.  The goal of the Opportunity Engine will be to help people in our community prepare for careers that require technical skills and then secure internships or other career opportunities that lead to placement.

Recipient: Leo High School
Project Title: Leo Community Pool Project
Recipient Address: 7901 S Sangamon Street, Chicago, Illinois 60620-2532
Amount Requested: $250,000
Explanation of Request: Refurbish Leo High School’s swimming pool.  Nearing 100 years old, the pool at Leo High School is in desperate need of significant repair and maintenance; it has been closed since 2007.  Once refurbished, the pool will be made available to community youth for swimming lessons, family swim, and youth competitive teams.  A recent study shows that 64 percent of Black/African American children cannot swim, despite the fact that 87 percent of non-swimmer youth plan to visit a beach or pool during the summer months.  This renovation will create a community aquatic facility where neighborhood youth can learn to swim and engage in water recreation in a supervised, safe environment.

Recipient: The National Museum of Gospel Music
Project Title: Raising the Roof — The National Museum of Gospel Music
Recipient Address: 3301 S. Indiana Avenue, Chicago, IL 60616-3838
Amount Requested: $500,000
Explanation of Request: The funding will support a multi-phase, adaptive reuse construction project sited for Pilgrim Baptist Church, a local and national landmark.  This project seeks to preserve and honor Pilgrim’s historical and cultural impact by developing the first major institution in the United States dedicated to the legacy and influence of gospel music.  The National Museum of Gospel Music seeks to create a permanent presence to inspire people of all ages to learn about the rich history and impact of gospel music and its contributions to the foundation of American music culture through exhibitions and programs.  The project is in the preservation and restoration phase and includes work on the historic limestone walls and other structural elements required to enclose the building and prepare it for use as the National Museum of Gospel Music.

Recipient: Village of Manhattan
Project Title: Well 7 Improvements and Radium Reduction Treatment Project
Recipient Address: 808 Andrea Drive, Manhattan, IL 60442
Amount Requested: $4,968,000
Explanation of Request: The Village of Manhattan supplies drinking water for 9,500 residents from ground water wells.  To enhance the water system’s operational resiliency and to provide a safe and dependable supply of water, the Village of Manhattan needs to make improvements to the Village’s Well 7 to increase pumping capacity and provide treatment to remove Radium from the well’s water.  The Village obtains its water from a deep bedrock aquifer that has naturally occurring Radium that can pose a hazard to human health.  Proper treatment can remove the Radium while improvements to the well, well house and mechanical equipment will greatly improve the water systems performance and resiliency.

Recipient: Village of Midlothian
Project Title: 149th Street & Pulaski Road Water Main Replacement
Recipient Address: 149th Street & Pulaski Road, Midlothian, IL 60445
Amount Requested: $1,330,000
Explanation of Request: This project will replace a deficient and leaky segment of transmission main that has been forced to remain closed. The segment of water main is carried beneath METRA railroad facilities and Midlothian Creek and its poor condition and closure causes unacceptable water service levels to homes in the southeast section of the Village during emergency events.

Recipient: Will County
Project Title: Laraway Road, Nelson Road to Cedar Road
Recipient Address: Laraway Road, Nelson Road to Cedar, New Lenox, IL 60451
Amount Requested: $ 1,500,000
Explanation of Request: There are segments of arterial roadways in Will County that are carrying traffic volumes in excess of their design capacity, resulting in traffic congestion, vehicle delays, safety concerns, and the resulting emissions that contribute to global warming and climate change.  The Will County Division of Transportation has identified road widening on Laraway Road, between U.S. 52 and to the east of the Cedar Road intersections, as a priority to address these concerns.  Capacity improvements are also needed at the intersection of U.S. 52/Laraway Road.  These improvements will ease current congestion and will also position the Laraway Station District, a mixed-use, transit-oriented development in New Lenox, for future development.

Rep. Bobby L. Rush Announces FY2023 Funding Requests for IL-01 Community Projects

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