February 25, 2020

Duckworth, Durbin Announce Over $22 Million for Illinois Airport Improvements

 

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced two major grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to support and improve Illinois airports. Under the FAA’s Airport Improvement Program (AIP), the City of Chicago will receive $6,912,524 to rehabilitate approximately 7,000 square yards of existing apron pavement at Midway International Airport, and the state of Illinois will receive $15,710,989 for several airport projects around the state.

“These investments in airports across Illinois will go a long way toward enhancing safety and operations,” Duckworth said. “This funding will also help ensure our state’s airports have additional resources to make improvements, support local job growth and improve travelers’ experiences. Along with Senator Durbin, I will continue to advocate for funding that results in safer, more reliable airports.”

“Investing in our airports is key to Illinois’ economic success,” Durbin said. “This funding will help modernize our aviation infrastructure, provide key safety equipment, and improve the experience for travelers. I will continue working with Senator Duckworth to ensure Illinois communities have access to the federal funding they need to make air travel more efficient and safe."

The federal investment to the state of Illinois is through the State Block Grant Program, which is a subcomponent of the FAA’s Airport Improvement Program (AIP) that supports projects at non-primary airports within the state. Non-primary airports include commercial service airports that have at least 2,500 and no more than 10,000 passenger boardings each year, reliever airports and general aviation airports.

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