Nearly 100 airports across Illinois will receive state\nfunding in the coming months for projects ranging from new runways and road\nrelocations to the purchase of mowers and snow removal equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The money comes from the $45 billion Rebuild Illinois\ncapital infrastructure plan which passed the General Assembly and the governor\nsigned into law in 2019. Another $11.5 million for the projects will be\ncontributed by local sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gov. JB Pritzker was in Moline Wednesday to publicize the\nfunding for 96 airports around the state, including $5.6 million for the Quad\nCities International Airport. The Quad Cities funding will go toward entrance\nroad realignment and parking expansion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCrucially, these dollars are going first and foremost to\nprojects that might not otherwise be eligible for the full federal funding that\nthey need to finish,\u201d Pritzker said of the Rebuild Illinois funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The new expenditures will be used for large, small, rural\nand urban airports, the governor noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The state grants range from $36,000 for the Illinois Valley\nRegional Airport in LaSalle County to acquire a tractor with a flex wing mower\nto nearly $11.8 million for the Morris Municipal Airport in Grundy County for a\ncrosswind runway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stan Knudson, a public information officer for the city of\nMorris, said in a phone call the funding will allow the airport to expand its\noperations. It currently has a single north-south runway which means certain\naircraft can\u2019t land there if the wind is blowing unfavorably. Adding an\neast-west runway would accommodate more aircraft, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Knudson said that funding would go toward the entire process\nfrom engineering to construction, and he was unsure on a timeline for\nconstruction. The project is also slated to receive just under $3 million in\nlocal funding, according to the governor\u2019s office. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Knudson said funding requests go through the Illinois\nDepartment of Transportation Division of Aeronautics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, was a supporter for the capital\nplan when it passed in 2019 and she called the airport an \u201ceconomic driver\nwithin our region.\u201d The project had been in the works since 2003 but was made\npossible by the 2019 capital bill funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cProjects like this are critical for the betterment of our\nstate,\u201d Rezin said. \u201cI would like to thank former Morris Mayor Dick Koczick and\nMorris Municipal Airport Manager Jeff Bogen for years of hard work and planning\nthey put in to make this new crossroad runway a reality.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rezin credited the governor and IDOT for approving the plan,\nand area Rep. David Welter, R-Morris, and current Morris Mayor Chris Brown for\nadvocating for the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
St. Louis Downtown Airport in St. Clair County is slated to\nreceive $5 million for ramp and taxiway access from the airfield, including a\njetblast noise mitigation barrier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The funding will provide improvements that will benefit four\naircraft maintenance providers operating at St. Louis Downtown Airport. The\nproject will support more than 450 aerospace manufacturing jobs by improving\nproduction safety, reliability and efficiency, improving airport businesses and\nincreasing global competitiveness for southwestern Illinois and the state of\nIllinois, according to Sen. Christopher Belt, D-East St. Louis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSt. Louis Downtown Airport is a vital economic engine in\nthe Metro East,\u201d Belt said in a news release. \u201cI will continue working with\nRep. Latoya Greenwood to bring our tax money home from Springfield in order to\nmaintain and create jobs in our area.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
St. Louis Downtown Airport is the third busiest airport in\nIllinois and was recognized by the IDOT Division of Aeronautics as the 2021\nReliever Airport of the Year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The project has been in the planning stages for several\nyears, Belt stated. Construction is anticipated to begin in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Cairo Regional Airport near the state\u2019s southern tip\nwill receive $309,000 from the state, including $72,000 to acquire snow removal\nequipment and $237,033 to replace airport lighting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Tri-Township Airport in Carroll County will receive\n$171,000 to install new electric airfield security gates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport in Springfield will see\nmore than $3 million to rehabilitate its north airport\u2019s public parking lot and\nroadways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bolingbrook\u2019s Clow International Airport will receive $2.8\nmillion, $67,500 of which will help replace its rotating beacon, while more\nthan $2.1 million will go toward the construction of a replacement parallel\ntaxiway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Southern Illinois Airport in Jackson County will see over $1\nmillion, with $252,000 going toward the relocation of Fox Farm Road and\n$751,000 going to expand the southeast aircraft parking apron.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Rebuild Illinois plan is a multimodal infrastructure\npackage covering roads, bridges, waterways, air travel and rail, as well as\nbike and pedestrian pathways. Of the funding for the Rebuild Illinois plan,\n$33.2 billion is slated to go directly toward transportation in accordance with\nthe state\u2019s 2016 \u201clock box\u201d amendment that requires the state to use\ntransportation related funds for their stated purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 2019 plan was largely funded through a doubling of the\nmotor fuel tax to 38 cents, a rate that now goes up annually at the inflation\nrate. The measure also increased several fees motorists pay to the secretary of\nstate, including registration fees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The vertical infrastructure component of the bill, which\nprovides for infrastructure improvements on state buildings, is funded through\nrevenues resulting from a massive 2019 gambling expansion and an increase to\ntaxes on cigarettes and e-cigarettes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n