Joyce: Investing in our workfroce, our infrastructure and our success

One of my top goals as State Senator is to create opportunities throughout our region. Families need good jobs, communities need strong infrastructure, and our future generations need the skills and pathways to call this area their home for many years to come.

Earlier this month, I was proud to join the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity in announcing millions of dollars for helping connect people to good careers. In Kankakee County, more than $410,000 for the Job Training and Economic Development program will help people locally who are struggling to find consistent work.

The program will help train them and give them support to find and keep stable employment. Too many people find themselves unemployed or in positions of underemployment where they are collecting a check, but could be doing more to take advantage of their skillsets. JTED will work with local organizations to look at what’s really driving these challenges, and take important steps to help people overcome them and get on a better track.

Our state has made good progress in recent years to identify pathways for youth and adults that might not require a four-year college degree to be successful, but they do require proven workplace skills and on-the-job experience. I was impressed when I met at the state Capitol in the spring with students in the SkillsUSA Illinois program who are taking advantage of these pathways. I am hopeful our state’s continued investments in workforce development will give people more opportunities locally to succeed here, today and tomorrow.

Our local parks and natural spaces are hotbeds of activity this summer, and they need our help to stay in top condition. That’s why I have asked local agencies to seek $54 million in available funding through the Open Space Land Acquisition and Development program in the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

We have seen the toll taken on some of our state parks and other recreational areas after years of decay and a lack of investment. My hope is this funding, and an earlier round of OSLAD grants from the beginning of the year, will help support what it takes to keep these spaces green, clean, and popular year-round across Illinois.

When emergency strikes, how quickly and effectively our first responders can provide help makes a critical difference. The Small Equipment Grant program helps fire departments and ambulance services purchase small tools and equipment. About $4 million in state funding is available through this program and I am encouraging all local departments to apply by Oct. 1.

Finally, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has announced more than $9 million is headed into the 40th Senate District to replace the lead service lines feeding our homes and businesses that need to be replaced for our long-term health. Clean drinking water has been a major issue for some of our communities, and lead in our water is dangerous. We have more work to do to prioritize clean drinking water and I hope these funds for Richton Park, Crete, and Steger will be a positive first step.

I urge you to contact me anytime I can help: 708-756-0882, or at http://www.senatorpatrickjoyce.com/. I will continue to share the latest news on my website and on my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/senPatrickjoyce40/.

State Sen. Patrick Joyce represents Illinois’ 40th Senate District, which covers portions of Cook, Kankakee, Will and Grundy counties.