Stimulus spending targets not set in stone

By Thomas V. Bona and Isaac Guerrero

BusinessRockford.com

As billions of dollars in federal stimulus money start flowing from Washington, local leaders are trying to get their hands on as much as possible.

Government agencies throughout Winnebago and Boone counties are poring over the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act looking for ways to bring millions of those dollars here.

Some groups already know what they’re getting and are planning to expand existing programs or start much-needed capital projects. But most of the stimulus funding won’t be sent for months. And it’s not yet clear how that money will get doled out.

“There is some that is directed to states and local municipalities, and some are nationally competitive grants” for which local agencies are competing, said Ashley Cross, spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. “We’re obviously still reading through everything. ... The first step is really education.”

Transportation and other infrastructure
About $10 million from the stimulus will pay for state road resurfacing projects in Winnebago and Boone counties this year, the Illinois Department of Transportation announced earlier this month.

The Rockford Metropolitan Agency for Planning gets an additional $6.1 million for the two counties and may decide this week how to spend that — likely on a group of maintenance projects around the region.

“Our members may decide it’s in everybody’s best interest and the quickest so we’re not in jeopardy of losing the money,” RMAP Executive Director Steve Ernst said.

The Rockford Mass Transit District will spend its $3.7 million on its eastern bus transfer station, which could open sometime in 2010.

It’s unclear whether passenger rail could get a jolt, though. The Amtrak project might be in line for some money, but has to compete with other proposals around the state and country. Commuter rail looks even less likely because money seems to be geared toward ready-to-go projects.

Chicago Rockford International Airport could be a big beneficiary of stimulus money. The airport has several capital projects eligible for increased Federal Aviation Administration funding, including rebuilding a taxiway and revamping the passenger area of the international terminal. That could free up money for other projects later on, Executive Director Bob O’Brien said.

In the meantime, Rockford city officials are seeking funds for flood-control projects, particularly for the south branch of Keith Creek.

Local water and sewer systems could get money to expand or fix up their facilities and lines. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency will get an additional $240 million to give out in grants and no-interest loans this year.

“It’s pretty clear it’s not going to go very far,” Director Doug Scott said. “We’re actually looking to blend the two pots of money, use some of the stimulus money along with our loans. It’s still a great deal for communities, but that way we can spread the good deal out.”

Building a green economy
The stimulus also could help the region in its efforts to become a center for renewable energy development and manufacturing. But because they’re new initiatives, guidelines could take a while to set up.

“It’s not clear to us who gets that green money or even who decides who gets it,” said Janyce Fadden, president of the Rockford Area Economic Development Council. “We’re watching this closely to see what the rules will be and how the money will be distributed.”

Federal, state and local government buildings around the area could get money for renovations to make them more energy-efficient. School districts could get money for reducing diesel emissions from buses, and new EPA dollars could fund brownfield redevelopment projects.

But one of the biggest potential effects is money for research projects for local businesses and Northern Illinois University.

“I would like to see this region become much more in the middle of the alternative-energy business, be that wind turbines, cellulosic conversion into ethanol of biodiesel — a whole host of innovative projects,” said Dick Johnson, director of engineering, research and development outreach for NIU’s College of Engineering.

That means teaming up with businesses that have experience with federal grants. It also means finding money to train workers.

It’s all about the jobs
Federal officials expect the stimulus package to create or save 148,000 jobs in Illinois.

And the Rockford metro area has plenty of need. With a 12.5 percent unemployment rate in December, it leads the state and is 12th in the nation, according to Labor Department data released this month. Local leaders hope the high numbers help us get any discretionary funding out there.

About $3 million may come to the Rockford area in the form of job training assistance, said John Strandin, spokesman for the Workforce Connection, a job training and employment assistance program serving Winnebago and Boone counties.

The biggest slice — $1.5 million – would pay for job training and summer job programs for youths ages 14 to 24. Aid for dislocated workers would get a $1.2 million boost, and an additional $630,000 would be set aside for adult job training programs for income-eligible individuals. 

“What we’re doing now is talking to employers in the region to determine what their needs are and what jobs will be available down the road,” Strandin said. “It doesn’t make sense for us to spend this money on programs for jobs that won’t be available in the near future.”

That’s why Johnson, from NIU, believes there has to be training for the “green” jobs of the future, including transferring traditional manufacturing skills to green manufacturing jobs and recruiting and training an engineering work force to attract higher-paying jobs.

But that last part takes education funding, too.

Money for schools
It’s not clear how much federal stimulus cash would trickle to local school districts — some of the stimulus money would be funneled to districts through established special-education programs and Title I funding for low-income students.

The Rockford School District would get a $15.5 million shot in the arm for its special-education and Title I programs, according to estimates from the Congressional Research Service that Richard Fairgrieves, regional superintendent of education for Boone and Winnebago counties, is watching closely.

“Clearly, the money that comes here will be very helpful,” Fairgrieves said. “But it’s not clear what strings will be attached. That will be key.”

Stimulus money for colleges and universities may come largely from cash flowing directly to state governments, said Sam Overton, Rock Valley College finance director. How lawmakers and state officials divvy up that cash is anyone’s guess, he said. Administrators at Rockford College share Overton’s sentiment.

“We have facility needs, things like new roads or a new roof for a building on campus, but it’s all speculation right now as to what money will be available for private colleges like us,” Rockford College Development Director John McNamara said.

Health-care spending
All of Rockford’s health systems are upgrading or researching electronic health records, and they are carefully watching how the $19 billion for health information technology will be made available.

Dennis L’Heureux, senior vice president and chief information officer for Rockford Health System, said the IT dollars are “very important locally.” He and David Stenerson, vice president and chief financial officer for OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center, are encouraged by the inclusion of IT money in the stimulus package.

“We’re trying to make sense of what this bill means, what the timing is,” L’Heureux said. “Everybody is excited about the possibilities.”

SwedishAmerican Health System is interested in the $2.9 billion in Medicaid funding the state is set to receive, as well as funding for training primary-care providers, CEO Bill Gorski said. The outpatient training site for the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Rockford’s Family Medicine Residency Program is located on SwedishAmerican’s campus.

About half of the college’s 50 graduates each year enter a primary-care specialty, which includes general internal medicine, family medicine, pediatrics and obstetrics/gynecology, College Dean Martin Lipsky said.

Lipsky also said the college is interested in the $1.3 billion set aside for university biomedical research grants.

The stimulus package also reserves $2 billion for community health centers. Gordon Eggers, president and CEO of Crusader Community Health, is traveling to Springfield next week to learn more about what funding is available for centers like Crusader.

Helping the needy
The federal government will throw about $2 billion at Head Start programs, some of which could find its way to Rockford, said George Davis, the city’s human services director.

The city’s Head Start program serves 591 children at three Rockford sites. The stimulus money would allow the city to add early Head Start services for low-income families with children ages birth to 3.

“If you look at the families in our area who are most in need, we estimate we’re serving about 85 percent of those children ages 3 to 5 years old,” Davis said. “But we’re serving only 10 percent of the kids most in need between birth and 3 years old. We see tremendous need in our community to reach those children.”

Davis has a better sense of how much stimulus money could weatherize Rockford’s homes: $5 million.

The city’s Human Services Department typically receives a federal block grant of about $900,000 a year for that purpose. The money is disbursed via grants to income-eligible families and individuals who can use the cash to replace windows, siding or make other energy-efficient home upgrades.

“I think we’re going to end up with $5 million,” Davis said. “Our program weatherizes 140 to 200 homes a year. I’d estimate that we’re now looking at 600 to 800 homes with the next funding cycle.”

The Rockford Housing Authority will get $4 million — basically two years’ worth of extra money — to replace windows, fix roofs and improve building exteriors around the city. The Winnebago County Housing Authority will get almost $800,000, and both agencies are applying for more money to handle bigger projects.

Agency leaders believe their track records of matching public funds with private investment and getting projects done on time will help.

“We can demonstrate this history that we can spend money right now, please give us some,” said Alan Zais, executive director of the Winnebago County Housing Authority. “We’ll not just throw it away, we’ll use it for something very important.

Contact staff writer Thomas V. Bona at 815-987-1343 or tbona@rrstar.com. Contact Assistant Business Editor Isaac Guerrero at 815-987-1353 or iguerrero@rrstar.com.

Stimulus cash on tap for schools
The Congressional Research Service estimates 13 school districts in Boone and Winnebago counties would receive more than $22 million from the federal stimulus package President Obama signed into law Tuesday.

The following allocation estimates were issued Feb. 13 and were calculated using fiscal 2008 school data. It is unclear how the money will be disbursed and how soon and what regulations, if any, will be established regarding how the money is to be spent.

Money for school districts will come in at least two forms: money for special-education programs and cash for “Title I” programs to aid low-income students.

 

For more information
There are stimulus package Web sites set up by the federal government (recovery.gov) and state government (recovery.illinois.gov) to list funding opportunities and other information.
Local agencies also should get in touch with the state and federal bodies they normally work with to see what’s available.

 

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