By Benjamin Cox on May 11, 2021 at 10:39am
New Ward 1 Alderwoman Darcella Speed takes her oath of office during the May 10th Jacksonville City Council Meeting.
Public protection and utilities were the largest items requiring action last night for the new Jacksonville City Council. Prior to the workshop session, Ward 1 Alderwoman Darcella Speed was officially sworn in.
During the workshop session, Jamie Hedden of Benton & Associates gave a second presentation concerning Town Brook Rehabilitation. Hedden said that the Illinois Department of Natural Resources had completed a study on the best solution to eliminating flooding along the Town Brook. He said that IDNR had selected a plan of replacing two culverts at the railroad spur just north of Routt Street to allow for better flow of water. The plan says that 73 structures will be removed from the 100 year flood plain and present capitalized benefits of $5.7 million dollars. The project is estimated to cost a littl
Sun-Times file
Parkway Gardens, one of the biggest and most notorious affordable housing complexes in Chicago, is up for sale.
Related Midwest, the real estate and development firm that owns the sprawling property in Woodlawn, is seeking a buyer for 694 apartments spread among nearly three dozen buildings. The 13-acre campus stretches from 63rd to 65th streets between Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Calumet Avenue.
The most prominent marketing feature for prospective buyers is a contract with federal housing authorities that ensures subsidized rent for years to come.
What’s not mentioned: the gun violence that’s troubled Parkway Gardens and the surrounding area for years. A portion of King Drive along Parkway Gardens known as “O Block” a reference to a gang member who was killed nearby was once the most dangerous block in the city.
Student loan payoff program draws homebuyers to Illinois
Image from Shutterstock.com.
Illinois is drawing homebuyers to the state with a $25 million SmartBuy program that helps pay off student loans and provides a loan of $5,000 for a down payment or closing costs.
So far, 26 people have bought homes through the program among nearly 200 who enrolled between Dec. 1 and late March, the Chicago Tribune reports. The SmartBuy program is being offered by the Illinois Housing Development Authority.
Lawyers are among those impacted by high student loans. More than 55% postponed or decided not to buy a house because of student debt, according to a 2020 survey report by the ABA Young Lawyers Division.
Lawmakers from both parties told officials from Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration on Thursday, March 11 that the General Assembly should have some say in how the state spends the $7.5 billion in federal funds that Illinois expects to receive from the newly-enacted American Rescue Plan.
Those comments came during a virtual hearing of the House Revenue and Finance Committee that took place just hours after President Joe Biden signed the $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill into law.
“I think the legislature would like a say in appropriating money, given our role,” Rep. Michael Zalewski, D-Riverside, said to the director of the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget, Alexis Sturm. “So my hope is that you could convey that to the governor’s office and we can develop a framework to work together on that.”
Capitol Recap: With stimulus on the way, lawmakers want a say herald-review.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from herald-review.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.