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.
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Politico

13 hours ago

• Politico

Who Pritzker could pick for his No. 2

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Now that she's running for U.S. Senate in 2026, she wouldn't be able to be on the governor's ticket, too. So, Pritzker would have to name a new running mate. Names that have popped up: Deputy Gov. Andy Manar, state Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth, former Deputy Gov. Christian Mitchell and Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencia. They all bring something to the table: Manar is the budget maestro in the governor's office. And the central Illinois native is someone Pritzker trusts to carry out his vision for the state should he leave for D.C. Gordon-Booth was a House budgeteer. Mitchell is a former state lawmaker who served during Pritzker's first term, overseeing public safety, energy and infrastructure issues. And Valencia is a City Hall veteran who, like Stratton, is a good retail politician. 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Chicago Tribune

4 days ago

• Chicago Tribune

Gov. JB Pritzker signs budget amid federal funding uncertainty, unaddressed transit issues

Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday signed his seventh state budget, balanced as he promised with cuts, taxes and one-time revenue boosts but leaving for future months the battle over one major spending issue, an expected $771 million shortfall for Chicago-area transit systems. Legislators adjourned their spring session without passing a transit plan, and Pritzker on Monday did his best to deflect responsibility for the problem, saying transit is 'not a state budget issue… It's really a separate matter entirely.' 'The answer is not that the state is solely responsible for filling that gap. There are lots of sources,' Pritzker said, ticking off Cook County, the collar counties, the city of Chicago, riders and changes within the systems as players in solving the problem. 'Everybody's focusing only on the state when actually there's a whole lot to put together here.' While it's true that transit funding has been negotiated separately from the state's operating budget throughout the year, state lawmakers have the ability to implement tax increases as possible funding solutions. Proposals to increase fees on ride-shares and deliveries failed to make it out of the General Assembly. State legislation would also be needed to reorganize the transit systems now under the Regional Transportation Agency. The transit issue remains unaddressed at a time when federal funding remains uncertain as Republicans in Washington negotiate major budget cuts. Democratic state Rep. Kam Buckner of Chicago, a lead budget negotiator in the House who has also been a leader in discussions on the transit issue, said legislators may have to convene in Springfield this summer if the federal cuts affect the state budget. If they do, they could take up the transit issue. 'We know that we've got a volatile federal government. Things are uncertain and unstable and there may be some things that trigger us to have to return back to that building and do work,' Buckner said. 'And if we do, transit may be something that we also look at, which is why it's important for us to have the conversations now and be ready for whatever next time it is that we make it back to that building.' Pritzker has for months blamed Trump's moves to dramatically decrease federal spending for some of the state's budget woes, and at Monday's signing ceremony the governor and other state leaders repeatedly drew a contrast between the state's budget priorities and those of the Republican tax and spending bill in Washington. 'Despite all the uncertainty in these turbulent times facing the nation, Illinois' fiscal year 2026 budget drives economic growth, it maintains the progress that we've made for working families and it continues our hard-earned fiscal responsibility,' Pritzker said. The governor, a potential presidential candidate in 2028 who hasn't yet announced whether he'll run for reelection next year, also addressed Trump's late Sunday order that directed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to prioritize deportations from cities run by Democrats, including Chicago. Pritzker predicted Trump won't try to deploy the National Guard to protect immigration agents and federal buildings in Chicago as he did in Los Angeles, saying the move was a political loser for the president. If Trump did try to deploy the Guard, Pritzker said, the state would rely on the courts to rein him in. 'But we know that ICE is coming once again in force to cities across the country, so we expect to see them once again in Chicago. I don't know exactly how big the force will be,' Pritzker said. The spending plan Pritzker signed makes nearly $400 million in spending cuts beyond what he proposed in February, budget negotiators said last month. It increases taxes on tobacco products including vapes and nicotine pouches, online sportsbooks, and overseas and out-of-state corporate earnings. Combined with one-time revenue measures, the enhancements together total more than $800 million. Republicans have said the level of tax increases and additional funding measures in the budget is unacceptable. 'This unprecedented tax-payer funded spending growth has included no meaningful tax relief for Illinois families and will continue to hold our state back,' Senate Republican leader John Curran of Downers Grove said Monday. In response to the state's transaction tax on online sports books, FanDuel operator Flutter announced plans last week to introduce a new 50 cent fee on each bet placed in Illinois. The state's tax is 25 cents for the first 20 million wagers in licensed sportsbooks per year, then 50 cents for additional bets. FanDuel will remove the fee if Illinois drops the tax, the operator said. Barring a decision to convene this summer, state lawmakers aren't scheduled to return to Springfield until their annual fall session, when they could address the transit fiscal cliff. Depending on the outcome of the federal budget currently being negotiated by Republican lawmakers in Washington, Illinois legislators may also need to discuss changes in federal funding to the state or impacts to Illinoisans, such as potential cuts to Medicaid. The budget package signed by Pritzker after passage by Democratic allies in the legislature included funding for a number of capital projects. Despite the fiscal challenges, the plan includes $8.2 billion in new spending on infrastructure projects, which are separate from the operating budget and funded by dedicated taxes and borrowing. Republicans, none of whom voted for the budget package, again complained that they received nowhere near the money for large projects accorded their colleagues across the aisle. Proviso Township High School District 209, which is in House Speaker Emanuel 'Chris' Welch's district and where he once served as school board president, is in line to receive $40 million for 'costs associated with capital improvements and an outdoor sports complex at Proviso West High School,' whose alumni included the Hillside Democrat. Welch defended the outlay, calling it 'a regional project' that could not only benefit his constituents — many of whom live just west of Chicago's city limits — but others in Cook County and further west into DuPage County. 'It's going to be a major transformational economic development tool for that entire region. It's going to help hotels. It's going to help restaurants. It's going to help communities build new housing because sports complexes drive economic development,' Welch said. Another point of contention: an expected $1.3 million payment to a contractor for a migrant tent encampment in Chicago's Brighton Park community that was never built. The appropriation was a result of a settlement between Pritzker's Illinois Department of Human Services and contractor GardaWorld Federal Services, after Pritzker in 2023 halted construction on the project and made assurances that GardaWorld would foot the bill. 'When you consider the total amount that was being spent to prepare that site, that settlement seemed like as good a deal as we could get in a settlement agreement,' Pritzker said. His administration had pledged $65 million in tent encampment work, and in addition to what the state is now set to pay out, the city spent about $1.7 million on site remediation and a settlement with the Brighton Park property's owner. With a number of legal battles between the state and Trump administration ongoing, the budget boosts appropriations from the state's general revenue fund for operations at Attorney General Kwame Raoul's office by more than $15 million compared to last year, though the total funding from all sources to that office is expected to stay close to flat. The budget also provides $118 million in grant funding for safety-net hospitals serving low-income patients and communities, less than the roughly $160 million some lawmakers were hoping for. It devotes $75 million to help ensure pensions for newer state employees meet a federal requirement that they are on par with Social Security benefits. A line item for Stateville prison near Joliet, where the maximum security facility was emptied last year in preparation for an expected rebuild, dropped by more than $10 million from the governor's proposal to $137 million in the budget he signed. Other prisons, including Sheridan, Pinckneyville and Menard correctional centers, as well as Logan women's correctional center, saw their budgets tick slightly up compared to the February proposal. The overall spending plan also cut back on various programs, including a politically polarizing initiative that provides Medicaid-style health insurance for noncitizens ages 42 to 64. That program was zeroed out, a savings the governor's office estimated at $330 million, though the budget includes $110 million to continue coverage for those 65 and older. Lawmakers also followed Pritzker's recommendation to pause one of his key priorities: a $75 million annual increase to boost the number of seats in state-funded preschool programs. The budget would keep the spending level with the current fiscal year that ends at the end of the month. Democrats also scaled back on the $350 million annual increase in school funding required under a 2017 state law, withholding $43 million that normally would go to a grant program designed to help school districts with high property tax rates and low real estate values. NASCAR's Chicago Street Race received a new $5 million allocation from the state's general revenue fund for 'costs associated with operating expenses.' The public expense to hold the race was a hot topic among Chicago aldermen after the city spent nearly $4 million on the inaugural 2023 race, but received just $620,000 in direct payments from the racing company. The current budget has two grants for the organization, a spokesperson for the state Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity said, covering $2 million for tire delivery, installation and removal of racecourse barriers, and other labor and staffing costs from the 2023 race. Another $5 million was set aside in 'bonded capital,' including $2.5 million in process with DCEO for purchase and installation of the racecourse barriers, DCEO said. The other $2.5 million is unreleased. A NASCAR spokesman said the association will submit expenses to DCEO for their review and approval after the end of this year's race, July 5-6. The state has also spent advertising dollars at the 'Enjoy Illinois 300' race in Madison and at NASCAR events at the Chicagoland race track in Joliet, NASCAR said. Pritzker said he couldn't speak to why $5 million was put in the budget for NASCAR but said the state's tourism budget has increased in his 6 1/2 years as governor. 'Specifically, the investment in tourism yields revenue for the state that is vastly more than the investment that gets made by our tourism office,' he said. 'So, I'm proud of the work that we've done. And we're going to continue to make investments (there).' Separately, Pritzker on Monday signed a one-year delay on the state's novel and controversial law banning certain credit card fees on taxes and tips, which financial institutions are currently challenging in federal court. The provision was part of last year's budget plan.

Chicago Tribune

4 days ago

• Chicago Tribune

Column: Waukegan loses another firm to Wisconsin

While Gov. JB Pritzker was trying to answer inane questions from congressional Republicans last week, officials in Wisconsin were finalizing a deal to bring a top-notch Waukegan manufacturer to the Badger State. The impending move of Yaskawa America was but one in a series of recent bad jobs news for Illinois. Pritzker was among three Democratic governors summoned before the GOP-led House Committee on Oversight and Reform to defend the state's sanctuary laws for undocumented immigrants. He sparred with committee members, including Illinoisan Republicans Darrin Hood of Dunlap, a suburb of Peoria, and Mary Miller of Oakland, near Charleston, home of Eastern Illinois University. The governor could have used the wasted time — he was asked if he had ever used a woman's bathroom (he didn't think so) or if he supports the terrorist Hamas organization in Gaza (Pritzker is Jewish) during long hours of political theater — to be back home and work to save more than 2,100 Illinois jobs. That's the number that will be disappearing from the Land of Lincoln even before the announcement from Yaskawa that it will be pulling up stakes and moving to Franklin, Wisconsin, southwest of Milwaukee. According to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, 14 companies across the state, from Libertyville to Naperville to Momence in Kankakee County, will be furloughing workers. In Libertyville, 133 employees at two Bristol Myers Squibb sites in Innovation Park, off Route 45, south of Winchester Road, will be out of work beginning July 1. The pharmaceutical firm announced the layoffs early last month. Cardinal Logistics Management Corp., a North Carolina-based transportation and warehousing company, has gotten rid of 43 employees in Naperville Momence Packing Co., which makes Johnsonville sausage products, is scheduled to lay off 274 workers beginning Aug. 1. The aging facility's operations will move to other plants in Wisconsin and Kansas. Those are substantial job losses, but it is the Yaskawa move that hurts the most. Once again, Illinois has lost a major company to nearby Wisconsin, one which has been in Waukegan on Norman Drive, off Route 43, just north of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, since 1998. This is occurring while Wisconsin tourism, mainly supported by Illinoisans, for the third year in a row, set new records in total economic impact, number of visitors, and state and local revenue in 2024. The Wisconsin Department of Tourism says America's Dairyland brought in $25.8 billion from tourism last year. Yaskawa America won't be a tourist. Company officials said late last week the firm plans to invest at least $180 million and create more than 700 new high-paying jobs in Wisconsin. The company manufactures industrial robots, motion control devices, low- and medium-voltage alternating current drives, and solar inverters for numerous industries, including the semiconductor, machine tool, automotive, HVAC, pumping, oil and gas. The firm will consolidate its North American headquarters and training facility from Waukegan into one location in Franklin over the next eight to 10 years. The 800,000-square-foot campus in Franklin will include the Yaskawa America headquarters, training and lab building, as well as manufacturing and packaging facilities. 'We take pride in our cutting-edge technology, our commitment to quality, and our world-class manufacturing, and we look forward to a strong future of growth and innovation in Franklin,' Mike Knapek, chief executive officer of Yaskawa America, said in a statement announcing the move. The company's parent, Yaskawa Electric Corp., based in the northern Japanese city of Kitakyushu, is celebrating its 110th anniversary this year. The corporation has more than 15,000 employees worldwide with 81 subsidiaries and 24 affiliate companies. It has been operating in the U.S. since 1967. 'I am really excited to be celebrating Yaskawa's decision to relocate its headquarters to Wisconsin and expand its footprint here in the Badger State, bringing with them millions of dollars in capital investment in Southeastern Wisconsin and hundreds of high-quality, family-supporting jobs,' Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers crowed in announcing the firm's move out of Waukegan. Evers said the state has authorized up to $18 million in tax credits contingent upon the number of jobs created and the amount of capital investment during the relocation period. 'Companies from across the globe are choosing Wisconsin to grow and expand because they know we have the best workers making the best products,' Evers added, dismissing Illinois workers, noting Wisconsin is strengthening its 'position as a leader in advanced manufacturing'. Yaskawa joins the roster of Illinois firms which continue to find the grass is greener north of the border. Pritzker and Illinois economic development officials have yet to find a battle plan to counter the corporate exodus. They just seem to wave goodbye as more jobs walk away.