Frankfort Earmarked For $200K In Illinois Capital Bill Funding

FRANKFORT, IL — The $45 billion infrastructure funding bill passed by lawmakers and signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker last week includes $200,000 for a project in Frankfort. The "Rebuild Illinois" plan is the most significant state capital bill since the $31 billion "Illinois Jobs Now" plan introduced by former Gov. Pat Quinn a decade ago.

The capital bill is backed by increases in taxes and fees, including $500 million from a doubling of the gas tax, as well as revenues from state's expansion of legalized gambling. According to a preliminary outline of Pritzker's capital proposal last month, the spending will create an estimated 90,000 jobs a year, with the largest share going to transportation projects.

"After years of neglecting our state's roads, bridges, mass transit, and buildings, Illinoisans' health and safety have been jeopardized, and job creation has been hindered," Pritzker said. "Our plan to rebuild our roads, bridges and communities will create hundreds of thousands of jobs throughout our state. The Rebuild Illinois plan will reinvigorate our economy and strengthen our rightful status as the transportation and supply chain hub of the nation."

The final draft of the capital bill, House Bill 62, includes a grant for $200,000 in Frankfort. According to the bill, $200,000 will be appropriated from the Build Illinois Bond Fund to the Department of Commerce of Economic Opportunity for a grant to the village of Frankfort. The grant will be used for a downtown parking lot expansion, including additional parking for the historic downtown Frankfort area.

Mayor Jim Holland thanked Senator Mike Hastings for including the $200,000 for Frankfort.

"In recent years, residents, visitors and downtown businesses have expressed considerable concern about a lack of parking in the area," Holland said. "We have been studying ways to improve the parking situation for over a year. Using this money to add parking to Frankfort’s historic downtown will generate considerable economic activity that will bring value to this expenditure."

Patch reporter Jonah Meadows contributed to this report.