The City of Kankakee’s City Council passed a resolution on Monday, August 19, to recognize the 50th Anniversary of the Community Development Block Grant, a grant program the city has participated in since at least 1988.
The Community Development Block Grant was established by the U.S. Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 and provides funding to local communities to support community and economic development needs, including infrastructure, housing, disaster recovery, and job creation. The City of Kankakee is one of 41 participating communities in Illinois and has seen annual funding fluctuate by tens- or hundreds-of-thousands of dollars.
While the number of participating communities across the country has doubled, from 594 communities to 1,245, program funding has never been adjusted for inflation by Congress, forcing communities like Kankakee to stretch CDBG dollars as far as they can go. Barbi Brewer-Watson, executive director of the Economic and Community Development Agency, the city department that administers and monitors CDBG programs in Kankakee, said, “We are so appreciative for the CDBG funding we receive each year and for the tremendous impact it has and continues to make in our city. With project costs constantly increasing, it’s getting more and more difficult to provide enough assistance to those who need it.”
During the past 36 years, Kankakee has used CDBG funding to serve Kankakee residents in many ways. CDBG dollars help homeowners with home rehab projects and emergency repairs, provides local service agencies with capacity-increasing grants, demolishes properties that pose health and safety threats, and acts as matching funds for other federal grant opportunities like the Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes Production grants. Second Ward Alderman and Community Development Committee chair David Baron stated, “Whether CDBG dollars have been deployed to demolish blighted properties or replace a furnace right before winter sets in, funding youth sports or meals for seniors, this malleable program has improved the lives of countless Kankakee residents. Its impact during the past half-century cannot be overlooked.”
To learn more about the CDBG program and use your voice to help determine how the City of Kankakee uses this funding, the ECDA hosts monthly Community Conversations from March to October to gather resident feedback in creating the city’s annual program plans. The last two Community Conversations of 2024 are: Thursday, September 12, at 6 p.m., at the Kankakee Public Library, and Thursday, October 10, at 6 p.m., at the City Life Center.
Questions may be directed to the ECDA office at 815-933-0506 or via email at yourvoice@citykankakee-il.gov.