More than $44.7B approved for Ill. roads, education, conservation

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (KFVS) - Governor JB Pritzker signed the Rebuild Illinois package Friday, June 28.

The package consists of four bills.

One of the bills, House Bill 62, appropriates more than $44.7 billion for capital projects.

According to Gov. Pritzker’s office, the funding will go towards projects and grants for transportation, education, state facilities, environment/conservation, broadband deployment, health care and human services and economic and community development.

The following is the break-down of funding and details for each of the areas approved in HB 62:

Transportation: $33.2 billion

More than $14 billion for new roads in bridges
Nearly $11 billion for IDOT’s Multi-Year Plan for roads and bridges
$4.7 billion for mass transit, including the RTA (CTA, Metra and Pace)
$1 billion for passenger rail, including Amtrak and other inter-city rail projects
$558 million for aeronautics
$492 million for the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program (CREATE)
$312 million for grade crossing protection
$150 million for ports
$679 million for other transportation projects

Education: $3.5 billion

$2.9 billion for higher education, including deferred maintenance and new projects at public universities, private universities and community colleges
$415 million for preK-12 school maintenance
$111 million for early childhood education

State Facilities: $4.4 billion

$4 billion for deferred maintenance and new projects at state facilities, such as the decrepit state crime lab
$350 million for the State Capitol

Environment/Conservation: $1 billion

$867 million for environmental, conservation and recreation projects, including:
$290 million for hazardous waste
$110 million for water revolving fund
$100 million for unsewered communities
$92 million for ecosystem restoration
$75 million for park and recreational facility construction
$40 million for well plugging
$35 million for land acquisition
$31 million for flood mitigation
$29 million for Illinois green infrastructure grants
$23 million for Open Space Land Acquisition and Development
$22 million for dam and waterway projects
$20 million for conservation reserve enhancement
$140 million for renewable energy projects, including solar and energy efficiency upgrades at state facilities and transportation electrification in low-income communities