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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The School Construction Grant Program was
3established in 1997, when House Bill 452 of the 90th General
4Assembly of the State of Illinois was signed into law by
5then-Governor Jim Edgar; and
 
6    WHEREAS, When the School Construction Grant Program was
7being considered, the 90th General Assembly recognized that
8many school buildings across Illinois needed repair and others
9needed to be replaced entirely; and
 
10    WHEREAS, During that time, some areas in Illinois were
11experiencing rapid population growth, forcing school districts
12to build new school buildings to accommodate increased
13enrollment; and
 
14    WHEREAS, The School Construction Grant Program was
15established to provide the capital funds needed for these
16school districts to construct and renovate new and existing
17buildings; and
 
18    WHEREAS, The School Construction Grant Task Force was
19created in 2019 to review the program and make recommendations
20to modernize the process; and
 

 

 

SR0819- 2 -LRB103 39762 ECR 70273 r

1    WHEREAS, The School Construction Grant Task Force's
2recommendations culminated in House Bill 3637 of the 102nd
3General Assembly, and this bill not only revised criteria for
4the program but also recognized that the 2004, 2005, and 2006
5School Construction Grant lists had reasonable expectations of
6funding; and
 
7    WHEREAS, There have been many instances where crumbling
8buildings are still being used by school districts, such as at
9Lockport Township High School, where a ceiling collapsed in on
10itself, or in the McHenry Elementary School District, where a
11large piece of cement crashed through the ceiling of a
12classroom; and
 
13    WHEREAS, While no one was hurt in either of these
14unfortunate incidents, Illinois cannot wait for such an event
15to become a reality; therefore, be it
 
16    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL
17ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we acknowledge the
18need to fund the School Construction Grant Program to bolster
19the school infrastructure of Illinois while also providing for
20schools most in need and ensuring our State's students and
21school personnel are able to learn and work in safe, stable
22structures.