'Once-In-A-Generation': $30M Headed To Lake County Stormwater Projects

WAUKEGAN, IL — State and local officials announced Monday that $30 million in federal coronavirus relief dollars have been allocated to 14 stormwater management projects in Lake County.

The funding was earmarked for north suburban projects through the state budget approved last year using money from the American Rescue Plan Act, the $1.9 trillion bill signed into law in March 2021. State officials said work on the projects is scheduled to begin later this year.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker, local Democratic lawmakers and county officials touted the funding Monday at a campaign-style event at Cristo Rey St. Martin College Prep School in Waukegan. According to the governor's office, the projects will provide benefits to more than 2,300 properties and 25 roadways across the county.

"This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Lake County," Kurt Woolford, executive director of the Lake County Stormwater Management Commission, said at the announcement. "Investing in Lake County's infrastructure is important, and July 2017 is an event that many of us will not forget. That was a record-breaking flood event that destroyed and impacted many homes throughout Lake County — thousands — and that really opened our eyes to where the problems are."

There are 920 square miles of natural water sources in Lake County, including 170 lakes and rivers, 400 miles of streams and thousands of acres of wetlands, according to state officials.

Woolford said the county's flooding issues were not limited to a single watershed.

"It's an all our watersheds across the entire region," he said. "But what was good about that event is it's stress-tested our infrastructure, and we identified the problems and we know where the improvements can be made."

State Rep. Rita Mayfield (D-Waukegan) said the devastation families in the North Chicago, Gurnee, Park City and Waukegan area experience from annual flooding is horrible.

"An additional $30 million of infrastructure will make all the difference in the world to the citizens of Gurnee," Mayfield said. "I live in Gurnee. I know that devastation. I used to live in Waukegan, we had a pond at the end of our street every single year. When our basement flooded, we lost precious memories that my mother could never retrieve."

U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Highland Park) was credited by the governor with bringing home "the bacon" when it comes to federal infrastructure funding.

"$30 million for stormwater management in our communities is the difference between looking up in the skies and knowing the next rain is going to cause damage throughout our communities, and looking up and knowing that the rain is going to bring green gardens and beautiful flowers," Schneider said. "Our communities deserve to know that we can handle whatever nature is going to throw at us."

The 10th District congressman said the area has seen four 100-year floods over the past four years.

"We know that climate change is causing more intense storms," he said. "But by coming together and responsibly investing to build the resiliency and fix our communities — the infrastructure, the roads, the bridges, the stormwater management systems — we know we're going to make our communities better and stronger."

The $30 million will be divided against the following projects, according to the governor's office:

Antioch — Sequoit Creek Channel Improvements
Fox Lake — Knollwood Subdivision Flood Mitigation and Road Improvements
Grayslake — Haryan Farm Drainage System Improvements
Highland Park — Highlands Neighborhood Drainage Improvements
Lake Forest — Burr Oak Stormwater Detention and Storm Sewer
Lake Forest — Skokie River Channel Improvements Phase 2
Libertyville — Oak Spring Lane Storm Sewer Bypass
Libertyville — Seavey Master Plan Highlands Subdivision Phase 1
Libertyville — Seavey Master Plan Highlands Subdivision Phase 2
Libertyville — Rockland Road Area Storm Sewer – Final Phase
Park City-Waukegan — Dady Slough Outlet and Infrastructure Improvements
Park City-Waukegan — Park City Flood Mitigation Storm Sewer
Shields Township — Talbot Avenue Drainage Improvements
Warren Township — Wildwood Area Stormwater Infrastructure Improvements

Pritzker said the first project would break ground next week, although he did not specify which one it would be.

Speaking Monday in Waukegan, at the event he said was aimed at "celebrating" infrastructure spending included in last year's budget, the governor said that the Rebuild Illinois bill he signed in June 2019 has led to the replacement of more than 3,500 miles of roadways and almost 350 bridges across the state.

"The local leaders standing here, sitting here with me today, know what happens when the state doesn't invest in the basics. Infrastructure crumbles, our future growth slows, businesses and families see fewer reasons to call Illinois and Lake County their home," Pritzker said.

"We all know Lake County is renowned for its natural beauty, but the waterways that make this region such a great place to live require high quality, efficient infrastructure," the governor said. "By combining federal state and local resources, we can truly fulfill that responsibility and in turn, strengthen and revitalize your communities. That's what good government looks like."

According to materials presented to the Lake County Board, the money will be distributed through September 2023. The $30 million is the first allocation of $122 million that was been allocated to Lake County stormwater in its Fiscal Year 2022 budget.

No expense matching is required for the grant, which is administered by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, or DCEO. Lake County stormwater management officials estimated the county would spent about $2.37 million on the projects, according to a list of projects presented to the county board.

Half of the first phase of projects will receive the largest contribution of $2.75 million. According to a county spokesperson, the stormwater management commission has approved a second round of projects but cost estimates have yet to be completed. A countywide request for proposals for the third round of allocations will be issued in August, and proposals will be due in early October.