* Governor JB Pritzker…

Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) today announced $26.5 million in funding for the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) for Public Infrastructure and Housing Rehabilitation. Grantees will be selected through a competitive Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) process. […]

Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) for Public Infrastructure

Public infrastructure grants are designed to provide communities with funding to improve public infrastructure, public health and quality of life. These projects include construction of storm sewer pipes, waterline replacements, and water storage tank construction, and other critical projects that help mitigate flooding and support sewage management, water delivery and other public water necessities.

Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) for Housing Rehabilitation

Housing rehabilitation grants are designed to assist low-to-moderate income homeowners with improvements to ensure safe and sanitary living conditions. Eligible uses of funds include structural work, lead remediation, electrical, plumbing, new appliances, flooring, ADA, and accessibility accommodations, and more.

An additional $1.9 million is available for Economic Development projects funded by the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) on an as-needed basis. This grant funding opportunity includes up to $1 million for economic development projects. This includes construction, reconstruction, and installation or rehabilitation of commercial or industrial buildings, structures and other real property. […]

Eligible applicants can apply for Public Infrastructure grants from $300,000 to $1 million and Housing Rehabilitation grants from $300,000 to $650,000. Applications for both grants will be accepted until December 4, 2024, at 5 p.m. Applications for economic development funding will be accepted on a rolling basis. DCEO will be hosting an Administration and Application Workshop for grant applicants on October 1, 2024, and October 2, 2024, at the Northfield Center in Springfield at 8:30 to12:30. p.m. Interested applicants can register and find more information on the DCEO website. Applicants can also view the Public Infrastructure and Housing and apply for the grants, on the DCEO website.

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | CTA begins using gun detection system powered by AI: The $200,000 ZeroEyes test run, which has been in place for about a month, will run through summer 2025 to start, CTA Vice President of Security Kevin Ryan said. The program uses the CTA’s existing cameras to detect guns once they have been exposed, and is now installed on more than 250 of the agency’s roughly 30,000 cameras, he said. […] So far, the program has detected guns carried openly by law enforcement officers and toy guns, including large electronic water guns, he said. ZeroEyes alerted Chicago and CTA officials to the toy guns, noting they were not believed to be lethal weapons, and then it was up to local officials to determine how to respond, Ryan said.

* Block Club Chicago | The Race To Build Quantum Campus Is On — And South Siders Won’t Be Left Behind, Officials Say: The quantum campus is the latest proposal for the South Works brownfield, following failed pitches for a movie studio campus, a 20,000-home neighborhood and the mixed-use Chicago Lakeside development, among other ideas. “I know that is very difficult for people” to have seen so many stalled proposals for the site in the past, Angela Tovar, the city’s chief sustainability officer, said last month.

* Sun-Times | NASCAR street race to return to Chicago in 2025: The race has brought tourists to the city but has also been met with complaints by some Chicagoans. Some Sun-Times readers cited traffic woes and that part of downtown being out of commission for other activities as reasons to move or stop the street races. Others welcomed the positive attention and money it brought to the city.

* Tribune | Beach volleyball returns to Chicago on Labor Day weekend — and features Olympic medalists: Fresh off winning a silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Brandie Wilkerson and Melissa Humana-Paredes will headline the AVP Chicago Open on Labor Day weekend. Returning to Chicago is special for the Canadian duo, as they first played together here in 2022. “Technically, this spot was the first time Melissa and I ever played volleyball together,” Wilkerson said. “That event that we paired up for, we weren’t officially a team. We were kind of just giving it a go because obviously we both played on the AVP and our partner situation had changed, so we’re like, let’s just try it out.

* Sun-Times | White Sox just as bad under Grady Sizemore, but players love him – and the feeling is mutual: “I love those guys in there,” Sizemore said of his clubhouse. Love is in the air, unaffected by the glum drum roll of daily defeats in a season headed to 120 or more. Whether Sizemore gets a chance to build his case for the full-time manager’s job for next year and beyond remains to be seen. General manager Chris Getz likes what he has seen, but remains intent on his stated plan to search outside the organization after the season.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* WGN | Thornton Township meeting canceled, but Supervisor Tiffany Henyard speaks uninterrupted: With no trustees in attendance, the special Thornton Township meeting called by Thornton Township Supervisor Tiffany Henyard ended before it began, but Henyard saw an opportunity to speak uninterrupted to the small group of people in the room. […] “That’s what all the hate is about. Your super mayor became too powerful too quick,” Henyard said. “I’m so rare, I’m so unique, and that’s why everybody got problems all about control.”

* ABC Chicago | Longmeadow Parkway Bridge over Fox River in Kane County opens after years-long, $204M project: There is also a bike and pedestrian path. The project, which used federal, state and local funds, cost $204 million. Kane County initially planned to pay for the bridge construction with tolls.

* Daily Herald | Kane GOP outraged at ‘First Amendment area’ at county building: A First Amendment brouhaha is brewing at the Kane County Government Center, with Republicans accusing Kane County Board Chairman Corinne Pierog of violating their free speech rights by creating a “First Amendment area” away from the main building’s front door.

* Naperville Sun | Demolition for Block 59 development in Naperville nearly finished: Block 59 is a $53 million, 91,000-square-foot venture. When complete, the complex will bring a slew of new dining options to the city, including Yard House, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Cheesecake Factory, Piccolo Buco by Cooper’s Hawk, Shake Shack, Stan’s Donuts, First Watch, Fresh Fin, Crisp & Green and Velvet Taco.

*** Downstate ***

* WSIL | A Dozen Staff Members at Menard Correctional Center Taken to Hospital After Experiencing Symptoms: Authorities said all Menard Correctional Center staff members have since been released from the hospital. The Illinois Poison Control Center, along with the St. Clair County EMA’s Hazmat Team, is assisting with the investigation. The Menard Correctional Center is placed on a level 1 lockdown and all personal protective equipment (PPE) is available to the staff members there.

* SJ-R | More than a kicker: Glenwood’s Mia Gerger has passion for football: Ask Mia Gerger what she loves most about being a kicker on the Chatham Glenwood football team, and she rattles off several things. She says the football team, including the coaching staff, is a large family and she’s happy to be part of that. She loves making kicks that help her team win games or advance in the postseason, such as she did in a Class 6A second round playoff game last year at Oak Lawn Richards. But what she truly embraces is the pressure.

* WSIL | 100 Blankets Donated to Veterans Honor Flight of Southern Illinois: The Veterans Honor Flight of Southern Illinois received another donation, this being one which will help keep everyone comfortable during their flight to Washington D.C. The Veterans Honor Flight of Southern Illinois stated they are beyond grateful for the donation of 100 travel blankets for their 13th flight coming up.

*** National ***

* CBS | Bugs, mold and mildew found in Boar’s Head plant linked to deadly listeria outbreak: The outbreak has grown to 57 hospitalizations in 18 states linked to recalled products from the plant. At least nine deaths have now been reported, including two in South Carolina and one each in Illinois, New Jersey, Virginia, Florida, Tennessee, New Mexico and New York. […] Records released by the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service to CBS News through a Freedom of Information Act request tally 69 records of “noncompliances” flagged by the agency over the past year at the Jarratt plant.