South Suburban Airport Proponents Celebrate Major Milestone |
From left to right: GSU President Dr. Cheryl Green, State Rep. Bob Rita, Reverend James Hunt, CSCC Chairwoman Bonita Estelle, Lynwood Mayor Jada Curry, Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller, State Senator Patrick Joyce, Hazel Crest Mayor Vernard Alsberry, Jr., State Rep. Debbie Meyers-Martin, Park Forest Mayor Joe Woods, State Senator Michael Hastings, U.S. Congresswoman Robin Kelly, Manteno Mayor Tim Nugent, State Senator Napoleon Harris III, Richton Park Mayor Rick Reinbold, former State Rep. David Miller, State Rep. Will Davis, CSEDC Exec. Dir. Reggie Greenwood, State Rep. Anthony DeLuca, Cook County Commissioner Monica Gordon, Hopkins Park Mayor Mark Hodge, and SSMMA President/Glenwood Mayor Ron Gardiner.
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On Tuesday, August 22nd, Southland leaders came together at a special event at Governors State University to celebrate the signing of HB 2531, the South Suburban Act. Congresswoman Robin Kelly, State Senators Napoleon Harris III, Michael Hastings, and Patrick Joyce, along with State Representatives Will Davis, Anthony DeLuca, Debbie Meyers-Martin, and Bob Rita, joined mayors and members of the business community from the Cook, Kankakee, and Will County region to commemorate Governor JB Pritzker’s signing of the bill into law as Public Act 103-0317.
The dignitaries present celebrated this milestone as they are confident that the private sector will respond to the State’s call early next year and prove they are willing to finance and build a smart, green airport in the South Suburban region that expands Illinois' aviation capacity and brings sorely needed jobs to the diverse, hard-working greater south suburban region.
Hazel Crest Village President Vernard Alsberry, Jr., representing SSMMA in the lineup of speakers, said, “This is great for Southland communities as it will spur investment and strengthen our tax base. We want to thank everyone who worked hard to bring about this opportunity to leverage our expansive transportation network and assets for the betterment of the region and the State of Illinois. Next, we need IDOT to issue an open call to interested parties as we know there are experienced private sector developers that have expressed interest in building a south suburban airport!”
PA 103-0317, effective January 1, 2024, requires the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to commence prequalification of respondents that seek eligibility to answer the State’s call for proposals to develop, construct, and manage the South Suburban Airport, within six months. It also expands the permissible types of airport development to include cargo and freight shipment facilities that could meet domestic and global e-commerce shipment demands.
More information and coverage of the press event at GSU is available via the links below
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Upcoming Meetings and Events
Visit our website for SSMMA's meeting schedule, Zoom log-in information, and meeting materials.
SSMMA Transportation Meeting - September 12 at 2:00pm in person at South Chicago Heights Village Hall
SSMMA Business Meeting -
September 28.
September 21-23.
SAVE THE DATE!
Jingle & Mingle Holiday Dinner -
December 7 at Dream Palace, hosted by Mayor Curry & the Village of Lynwood.
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SDA hosts Regional and Local Finance Tools Workshop for Municipalities |
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The Southland Development Authority (SDA), SSMMA, and the Village of Hazel Crest hosted an informational workshop for south suburban municipalities last week at Hazel Crest Village Hall, highlighting regional and local finance tools available to municipalities for economic development purposes.
Mayor Vernard Alsberry welcomed a diverse audience from across the South Suburbs including mayors, managers, and municipal economic development, community development, and planning staff. The event showcased expert insights on incentives available for developers in the region. Presenters included Brett Michaelson from the tax services firm Ryan, Adam Dotson of Sandrick Law Firm, Sarah Kobetis from SSMMA, and Nick Griefer along with Jeff Allen representing the SDA.
Topics spanned from the strategic use of TIF districts and Cook County tax incentives to the Southland Reactivation Act and employing capital stacks for project advancement.
This workshop, orchestrated by SDA with support from SSMMA, emphasized the potential of collaborative efforts in propelling economic growth. For those who couldn’t attend, the event’s presentations can be found on our website. Stay tuned for updates on similar programs in the future! |
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Grant Opportunities and Resources |
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• LAST CALL FOR APPLICATIONS! Cook County Small Business Source is accepting applications for the 2023 Source Grant which will provide $40 Million to small businesses to help stabilize operations, foster recovery and resiliency, and advance equity in a post-pandemic economy.
• Cook County will award up to $5 million in capacity-building grants to community-based organizations serving Cook County residents. Starting Block Grants will provide up to $100,000 over two years to small organizations. Application deadline is September 8, 2023. Learn more.
• The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has released the Fiscal Year 2023 Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods (RCN) Program, with up to $3.16 billion available for planning and construction projects.
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News from Community Partners |
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Supporting Municipalities for Asylum Seeker Services |
• The Metropolitan Mayors Caucus and Illinois Department of Human Services recently announced a notice of funding opportunity for $42.5M which was included in the State’s FY24 budget for municipality funding of asylum seeker services.
• An Information Session will be held virtually via Zoom on Tuesday, August 29, 2023 at 10:00am
• Application Deadline: September 15, 2023. Learn more.
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County Environmental Job Opportunities
• Cook County currently has several job openings available to the public.
• The jobs include Energy Manager, Energy Analyst, and two Environmental Control Engineers who will help with waste/recycling fieldwork.
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• On September 9 at 9:00am Rep. Will Davis will host a free Community Shred Day where residents can also take advantage of electronic recycling and turn in prescription drugs.
• The event will be held at 1912 W 174th East Hazel Crest,IL.
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Discovery Partners Institute and the University of Illinois-Chicago to Host Virtual Workshops on Empowering Leadership in Sustainability |
• DPI and UIC are proud to extend an exclusive invitation for free virtual workshops, dedicated to ESG and empowering sustainability leadership on September 14-15.
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• The MWRD Green Infrastructure Partnership Program is now accepting pre-applications for Green Infrastructure Projects.
• Pre-applications are mandatory to apply and must be on file by December 31, 2023. Learn more.
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ComEd, Metropolitan Mayors Caucus Offer Grants to Power Community Light Events this Holiday Season |
• ComEd and the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus are now accepting applications for grants of up to $2,500 each as part of the ComEd Powering the Holidays Program.
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Business Utility Savings & Incentives |
• ComEd & NiCor have teamed up to assist regional businesses with tapping into various programs offered to help business owners with money saving offerings and incentives for their utility expenses.
• Attend this in-person event on September 14 at Nicor in Glenwood, IL. Learn more.
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Job Postings & Requests for Proposals |
• Municipalities and organizations can send job openings and proposals here to be publicly posted.
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Granite Launches Edgeboot for SPC Customers
• The Suburban Purchasing Cooperative (SPC) is pleased to announce that telecommunications program vendor Granite (Contract #205) has launched edgeboot, an advanced managed power distribution unit (PDU) that leverages powerful artificial intelligence and dual ethernet/LTE connectivity to revolutionize network management. This one-of-a-kind feature provides control and monitoring capabilities, including a hard reboot without human intervention that allows
Granite to immediately reboot their equipment remotely if service is not working. 95% of all issues can be fixed by utilizing edgeboot to reboot equipment, saving time and money over sending a technician to a customer’s location.
• With this service, Granite can restore service in minutes instead of hours. Edgeboot combines state-of-the-art technology with intelligent features to provide unprecedented control and
monitoring capabilities. Utilizing customizable endpoints and configurations, edgeboot monitors the connectivity of network devices and takes necessary actions, including a hard reboot, without requiring human intervention. Managing edgeboot devices is made simple through the user-friendly edgeboot Portal.
• This platform offers out-of-band access to device health statuses, performance metrics, event logs, and most importantly, the ability to reboot devices on a recurrent schedule or on-demand. Edgeboot can significantly reduce downtime, troubleshooting efforts, and dispatch
costs. For more information, please contact staff or Granite Senior Sales Executive – IL Government & Education Frank Ventrella, 630-649-0823 or fventrella@granitenet.com.
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Have something you'd like included in our next newsletter? Email it to news@ssmma.org.
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