Latest news with #andEconomicOpportunity
Fox News
3 days ago
- Business
- Fox News
PASTOR COREY BROOKS: I'm building hope on Chicago's notorious South Side
After the Civil Rights victories, many folks on the South Side of Chicago expected things to get better. It was already a solid working class community with a grocery store, a delicatessen, and other small businesses. Instead the liberal policies that came out of the post-60s era nuked us into a devastating culture of one thing that always strikes me is that not one new building since the 1960s has been built in my neighborhood. McDonalds left years ago and so did Walgreens. Both structures sit empty. The Projects which takes up most of my neighborhood has declined precipitously since its days of providing apartments to working class families. Nobody owns anything. So the gangsters claimed ownership and renamed the projects after their friend who was gunned down: is why I consider it a miracle that I along with my staff at Project H.O.O.D. have been fortunate to start the building of a nearly 100,000 square foot Leadership and Economic Opportunity Center. To see the construction, the cranes, the daily arrival of construction materials, the cement poured and on has been nothing short of amazing. We are not just building a center but a symbol of hope. I know this might sound cliched for the more cynical folks, but there is nothing cliched about hope in my neighborhood. As I mentioned earlier, we have had generations of children born into a world where they know the government as one of their parents. So, by building this center we are teaching these children that anything is possible and attainable. The blight they were born into does not have to be permanent. They can be the change just like I decided one day to beauty of this center, once built, is that it will help them develop into intelligent and developed individuals with ambitions for a good career and life. Inside those beams and boars, there will be job training, financial literacy, trauma counseling, trade school, music and arts center, a STEM lab, entrepreneurship accelerators, and a private Christian school for boys who have been written off by the system. By giving the youths in our neighborhood this opportunity, we are creating the possibility that they will one day be able to follow the path of opportunity of their own we still have a ways to go when it comes to finishing the building. We have completed 40% of the progress so far. The steel is up, the cables being wired, the elevator shafts being built, the walls forming, and the floors have been installed. The vision is becoming visible. What started as a rooftop dream is now a street-level revolution. I have already noticed changes in the neighborhood culture. Moms and Dads bring their young ones to watch the building being constructed. Kids tell me they can't wait to visit and that they're going to bring their friends. The older residents tell me they never thought they would see such a sight in their lifetimes. All of them keep asking me when the center will finally open.I tell them soon, as soon as possible. We have received no government handouts for this work and we have been pushing forward to stretch every dollar with faith, grit, and sacrifice. We still have to raise more funds to build this center as a debt-free enterprise so that every dollar we have goes to our kids, the future of a day goes by when I don't thank the people of America for their donations. Their generosity made this miracle possible. I also want to thank the team at Fox News Media for giving me this platform to speak to America — I can never repay them for their generosity. For those of you who are reading this and are wondering if change is still possible in my neighborhood as well as the greater America — I say look at this building. It's not just steel and concrete. It is proof. It is proof that when people gather around a purpose, poverty can be pushed back, violence can be replaced with a purpose, and despair can give way to you are in America, you can be the change for a better future.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Pritzker goes to Jacksonville to announce money for downtown revitalization projects
JACKSONVILLE, Ill. (WCIA) — The state will be issuing $30 million in grants to downtown revitalization projects across the state. The projects are focused on either improving infrastructure or building out housing options 'Our state government treated these towns across the state as a relic of the past rather than a key part of our future,' Pritzker said. 'Main streets and downtowns were losing their small businesses, in part because they needed upgrades and improvements that local governments sometimes could not afford.' Pritzker chose to announce the grants in downtown Jacksonville — a city that has utilized plenty of state grants to spruce up their square in downtown. Now, they will get an additional $2 million to build out workforce housing in a town that badly needs it. 'We need to fill these jobs,' Ezard said. There's jobs opening that we can't fill, but we need places for them to leave that are for the live that are affordable.' Jacksonville Mayor Andy Ezard said the te face lift for downtown has given the town a spark, which they now hope to capitalize on with more projects and more investment. 'We have seen the vibe change completely,' Ezard said. 'There's an art scene, there's a culture, there's there's a renaissance of business is used to an aging downtown, which had many dead storefronts closed, just look ran down. We cleaned it up.' Here is a full list of grants awarded provided by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. RDMS Grantee Economic Development Region Award Amount Project Description Bubin Properties, LLC East Central $771,263 Phase 1 of the renovation planned for the vacant building at 48 East Main Street in Downtown Champaign and for adjacent properties. City of Bloomington North Central $1,999,603 Initial element of 'Downtown for Everyone' Streetscape Program to revitalize downtown Bloomington through various roadway and infrastructure improvements. City of East Moline Northwest $2,000,000 Improvements will support economic growth by transforming 15th Avenue – the City's 'Main Street' – into an accessible, connected corridor that prioritizes space for pedestrians, shops and restaurants. City of Hillsboro Central $749,275 The City's Downtown Main Street Improvement Project Phase II addresses sidewalks, curbing, water service and lighting. City of McHenry Northeast $771,263 Reconstruct Riverside Drive from Venice Avenue to just past Pearl Street in the City's downtown district. City of Mendota Northwest $1,988,625 'Rise From the Ashes Revitalization Project' will develop a multi-purpose city-owned and city-managed downtown building impacted by devastating fire in 2022. City of Morris Northeast $771,263 Design, engineering and installation of streetscape enhancements in downtown Morris recommended in the Morris Downtown Master Plan. City of Nokomis Central $330,000 The Downtown Streetscape & Beautification Project will install storefront ADA sidewalk along Illinois Route 16 (W. State St.) from S. Spruce Street to Pine Street. City of Rockford Northern Stateline $2,000,000 Madison Street Phase II streetscape improvements. City of Spring Valley Northwest $695,430 The City of Spring Valley Downtown Revitalization Project will bring streetscape improvements enhancing access to the businesses in the 100 and 200 blocks on St. Paul St. City of West Chicago Northeast $2,000,000 Streetscape project will improve the aesthetics, functionality, accessibility and state of repair of Main St. and Turner Ct. between Washington St. and Wilson Ave. JAC Managing Member LLC Southwest $2,000,000 Restore Jacoby Building Renovation in Alton to develop a 1904 furniture company building into 18 apartments, a restaurant and an art center. Re:purpose Development LLC Southern $771,263 Rehabilitation and redevelopment of Hoffman Hart building in downtown Centralia. The Springfield Project Central $1,999,251 The CAP 1908 Innovation Center will be a business incubator, accelerator and co-working space, offering a wide range of small business and organization programming on Springfield's East Side. Village of Lake Villa Northeast $855,013 'Station One' project will acquire and develop a vacant fire station building and mixed-use commercial property for mixed-use development that includes commercial, residential, civic and public recreation spaces. Village of Walnut Northwest $297,750 This final phase of the Village's rehabilitation would include sidewalk replacement/improvements, new modern street light installation and installing a new asphalt pavement surface. And here is the list of RISE grants, which are for affordable housing developments in the state. RISE Grantee Economic Development Region Award Amount Project Description City of Carbondale Southern $2,000,000 Phase 2 of Washington Street Entertainment and Events Plaza – construction of a market-activity pavilion at the Carbondale Entertainment and Events Plaza. City of Effingham Southeast $373,500 Purchase of 2.6 acres of property on Heritage Ave. to develop and provide affordable workforce housing. City of Jacksonville Central $2,000,000 Project will acquire an identified site to develop workforce housing. City of Monmouth West Central $1,504,646 Project includes the reconstruction/streetscaping of Main St. from 2nd Ave. to 1st Ave. and from Archer Ave. to Boston Ave., with the previously reconstructed Public Square between the two sections of the project. City of Pana Central $1,245,000 Develop three-parcel lot in downtown Pana into outdoor event space, including service hook-ups for food trucks, ADA-compliant restrooms and outdoor seating. City of Red Bud Southwest $932,041 Infrastructure development for the Red Bud Business Park. City of Woodstock Northeast $1,047,750 Renovate the Opera House's Stage Left Café and its west annex as a reception and bar area, and Woodstock will install three dual-screen interactive kiosks on the Square to engage residents and visitors in music and art, holiday celebrations, cultural events and Opera House and Stage Left Café performances. McLean County Regional Planning Commission North Central $250,000 Fund the Housing Coordinator position over the two-year grant performance period. Village of Flanagan North Central $895,361 Dredging of Lagoon at wastewater treatment facility. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Effingham awarded $3 million infrastructure grant
Feb. 4—The City of Effingham received a $3 million grant from the Regional Site Readiness Program through the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) for water, sewer and road extensions to a 154-acre plot of land near J & R Collision Centers on the South Side of town. "Through this funding ... grantees will undertake due diligence and development projects to better prepared sites to attract future investment and new job opportunities in the industrial sector across Illinois' Economic Development Regions," according to a press release. kAm%9:D :D E96 7:CDE E:>6 E96 srt~ 92D 2H2C565 7F?5:?8 E9C@F89 E96 AC@8C2>[ D2:5 t77:?892> t4@?@>:4 s6G6=@A>6?E s:C64E@C %@55 wF==]k^Am kAm"%9:D :D 2 AC6EEJ :??@G2E:G6 AC@8C2> E92E E96J 42>6 FA H:E9[" D2:5 wF==]k^Am kAm%96 AC@;64E H:== 6IE6?5 p:CA@CE #@25 E@ E96 H6DE 23@FE '[d__ 766E] w2G:?8 E96 H2E6C[ D6H6C 2?5 C@25 6IE6?D:@?D 4@>A=6E6 H:== :?46?E:G:K6 :?5FDEC:2= 56G6=@A6CD E@ 9@A67F==J C6=@42E6 E@ t77:?892>]k^Am kAm"(96? J@F'C6 =@@2:? @3DE24=6D :D :?7C2DECF4EFC6[" D2:5 t77:?892> !F3=:4 (@CJ w6F6C>2?]k^Am kAm%96 7:CDE DE6A @7 E96 AC@46DD H2D 8C2?E HC:E:?8[ H9:49 E96 4:EJ 925 96=A H:E9 7C@> |:=2?@ 2?5 vCF?=@9[ 244@C5:?8 E@ w6F6C>2?]k^Am kAm"%96J'C6 6I46==6?E 2E 8C2?E HC:E:?8[ 2?5 H6 4@F=5?'E 92G6 5@?6 E9:D H@CH:E9@FE E96>[" D2:5 w6F6C>2?]k^Am kAm}@H E96 8C2?E 28C66>6?E H:== 36 56=:G6C65 E@ E96 4:EJ 7@C 2AAC@G2=] xE H:== E2@?E9D] %96 ?6IE DE6A :D 56D:8?:?8 6G6CJE9:?8 2?5 86EE:?8 E96 4@CC64E A6C>:ED[ H9:49 H:== E2@?E9D] %96 AC@;64E D9@F=5 36 4@>A=6E6 3J E96 6?5 @7 a_af[ D2:5 w6F6C>2?]k^Am kAm~77:4:2=D D2J E96C6 2C6 D@>6 =625D 2D E@ H9@ >:89E AFC492D6 E96 AC@A6CEJ[ 3FE H@F=5 ?@E 5:D4=@D6 E96>]k^Am kAm"xE'D ;FDE 2 9F86 @AA@CEF?:EJ 7@C t77:?892> 3642FD6 :E C62==J 6IA2?5D @FC :?7C2DECF4EFC6 :?E@ D@>6 G6CJ AC:>6[ 56G6=@A23=6 8C@F?5[ 2?5 :E'D 6I4:E:?8 E@ D66 H92E 4@F=5 56G6=@A @FE @7 E9:D[" D2:5 w6F6C>2?]k^Am Effingham Daily News Reporter Marie Adamick can be reached at or 618-510-9230
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Pritzker announces $2.4M for Rockford infrastruture for future IL Route 2-US 20 development
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — Rockford will benefit from $2.4 million in funding for 'site ready' construction projects aimed at laying the groundwork for upcoming development. The money comes from $31 million in total Regional Site Readiness Program grants from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. 'Readiness planning, assessments, infrastructure improvements – these things are all the fundamental work that must be done for businesses and investments to flourish and jobs to grow across the state,' said Pritzker. 'In every corner of Illinois, there are communities that are overflowing with untapped potential but do not have the resources and support they needed to fully realize it. Now, standing in front of you, I'm happy to say a whole lot has changed – we are investing in our sites, we are thinking about the future, and we are growing economic development across the state.' Rockford will dedicate its funding to road and water infrastructure near the Illinois Route 2 and US 20 interchange. This comes as a from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development's Planning and Environmental Linkage study for the area, located northwest of the Chicago-Rockford International Airport and 4.5 miles from downtown Rockford. The city hopes to use the area for an industrial business park. In addition, Belvidere will receive nearly $3 million to extend water and sewer to a 137-acre site on Chrysler Drive east of the Stellantis auto plant. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
