[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the Senate Appropriations Committee has approved $57,631,404 million in federal funding for Illinois transportation and economic development projects. 

The Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 appropriations bill for the Department of Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations includes funding for the following projects:

Department of Transportation

Federal Transit Administration:

• CTA Circle Line, Chicago.  $8 million for new transit service extending from North Riverside Park Mall to Chicago central business district.  The Circle Line's goal of connecting existing lines with commuter lines is particularly important to serving the entire region.  The Circle Line is a key component of the City's transportation strategy for the 2016 Olympics.  It provides improved access to venues throughout the entire Chicago region by greatly facilitating transfer connections between all Metra and CTA rail lines.  

• CTA Ravenswood Brown Line, Chicago.  $29,474,404 million to expand capacity on the Ravenswood Brown Line which serves 66,000 passengers each weekday from the inner Loop to the northwest part of the city. Since 1998, ridership on the Brown Line has increased by 21%.  This expansion project will modernize the line by increasing the length of Brown Line platforms to accommodate more cars, and enable CTA to meet growing ridership demands. This year's funding is consistent with a 2003 Full Funding Grant Agreement.

• Buses and Bus Facilities, Statewide.  $5 million to the Illinois Department of Transportation for downstate buses and bus facilities. 

• Metra Connects, Northeastern, Illinois. $6.607 million to expand four major Metra extensions (STAR line, Union Pacific West Extension, Union Pacific Northwest Line, Southeast Service Line).  The Metra Connects program is a coordinated plan to address transportation issues and meet the population explosions within Northeast Illinois.  

The Transportation Community and System Preservation Program:

• Illinois Bike and Pedestrian Trails, Statewide. $3 million statewide for bike  and pedestrian  trail enhancements and improvements in Adams County, Cook County, DuPage County, Macoupin County, Massac County, Montgomery County, Sangamon County, St. Clair County and Will County. 

Surface Transportation Program:

• Intersection Safety Improvements, Olympia Fields. $500,000 for intersection safety upgrades and improvements at 203rd Street and Crawford Avenue. 

• US Highway 30, Whiteside County.  $500,000 for completion of Phase I Engineering and start of Phase II Engineering of the project to construct a four-lane U.S. Highway 30 between Fulton and Rock Falls, Illinois. 

Railroad Research and Development:

• Rail-Grade Crossing Safety, Statewide.  $500,000 for improving rail-grade crossing safety through education and enforcement initiatives under the Illinois Department of Commerce Commission’s Public Education and Enforcement Research (PEERS) program

• Grand Crossing passenger rail CREATE project, Chicago.  $2 million to separate passenger rail from freight to allow additional Amtrak trains and better on-time performance of Amtrak trains from Champaign and Carbondale.  The Grand Crossing Project is part of the Chicago Regional Environmental and Transportation Efficiency program (CREATE). 

Federal Aviation Administration:

• Airport Improvements, Peoria. $1 million to construct a new terminal facility at Peoria Regional Airport. 

• Airport Improvements, DeKalb. $300,000 to acquire land for the expansion of DeKalb Airport.  

Department Of Housing And Urban Development

Economic Development Initiatives:

• Christopher House, Chicago. $250,000 to construct Logan Family Resource Center, a state-of-art family resource center that is designed to help low-income children and families. 

• City of Kankakee, Kankakee. $250,000 to support a project to purchase, renovate and convert houses that are in foreclosure, abandoned or in serious disrepair to affordable use properties. 

• Downtown Development, East Moline.  $250,000 for capital improvements to infrastructure and development projects in downtown East Moline including acquisition and renovation of dilapidated structures.