[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 33 (Wednesday, February 25, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E410-E411]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          EARMARK DECLARATION

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. DONALD A. MANZULLO

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 25, 2009

  Mr. MANZULLO. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership 
standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information 
regarding the nine earmarks I secured as part of H.R. 1105, Omnibus 
Appropriations Act, 2009. H.R. 1105 is a compilation of nine regular 
non-security related Fiscal Year 2009 appropriations bills that are 
each separated into their own divisions.
  In Division B, covering the Department of Justice, the Office of the 
Sheriff in Stephenson County, Illinois will receive $225,000 under the 
Community Oriented Policing Services Law Enforcement Technology account 
to place forward-looking infrared (FLIR) equipment on their Bell OH58 
police helicopter for use throughout northern Illinois. The Office of 
the Sheriff of Stephenson County is located at 15 North Galena Avenue 
in Freeport, Illinois, 61032. Mr. David Snyders is the Sheriff of 
Stephenson County. The purpose of this funding is to assist Stephenson 
County with their search capabilities. The FLIR mounts under the 
helicopter and combines a highly sensitive digital thermal imaging 
camera with a color video camera inside a single housing. With this 
unit, the Sheriff's Office of Stephenson County will be able to locate 
missing persons or felons attempting to hide by their heat signature, 
regardless of time of day or weather conditions. The helicopter is 
available at no cost to any local, state, or federal law enforcement 
agency in northern Illinois, in addition to local fire departments. The 
Stephenson County Sheriff's Office is a member of the Illinois Law 
Enforcement Alarm System (ILEAS) in Region 2, which is comprised of 18 
counties making it the largest ILEAS region in the state covering a 
widely dispersed population in rural Illinois.
  In Division C, covering the Army Corps of Engineers, the City of 
Rockford, Illinois will receive $526,000 under the Corps' 
Investigations account, to continue to conduct the Keith Creek Flood 
Control feasibility study for the Alpine Dam in the City of Rockford, 
Illinois in partnership with the Army Corps of Engineers. The Office of 
the City of Rockford, Illinois is located at 425 East State Street in 
Rockford, Illinois, 61104. Mr. James Ryan is the City Administrator of 
Rockford, Illinois. Currently, the Alpine Dam does not provide reliable 
flood protection and is at risk of failure, threatening 11,000 
residents and businesses along Keith Creek in Rockford, Illinois. The 
study is necessary for the Army Corps of Engineers of Rock Island 
District to determine the cost and environmental impact of remedying 
the threat posed by the Alpine Dam. This was a joint request with 
Senator Richard Durbin.
  In Division D, covering the Small Business Administration (SBA), the 
Chicago/Rockford International Airport will receive $300,000 from the 
SBA account to support the operations of a Manufacturing Research and 
Development/Education Center in partnership with Embry-Riddle 
Aeronautical University, Northern Illinois University (NIU), Rock 
Valley College (RVC), and other small business incubator programs in 
the community. The Greater Rockford Airport Authority is located at 60 
Airport Drive in Rockford, Illinois, 61109. Mr. Bob O'Brien is the 
Executive Director of the Rockford Airport. The center will house 
classrooms as well as R&D facilities for local small businesses. The 
new center will support the development of new aerospace small business 
in the region and host a number of new aerospace related manufacturing 
companies at a small business incubator. The center will also

[[Page E411]]

provide training for the workforce required in these new endeavors.
  In Division E, covering the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 
the Village of Mt. Morris will receive $500,000 from the State and 
Tribal Assistance Grants (STAG) Water and Wastewater Infrastructure 
Project account. The Village of Mt. Morris is located at 105 West 
Lincoln Street in Mt. Morris, Illinois, 60154. The Honorable Gregory 
Unger is the Village President of Mt. Morris. The Village of Mt. Morris 
is planning to design and build a new wastewater treatment plant that 
will replace the current facility, which is approximately 125 years 
old. The Illinois EPA has also imposed new operating requirements that 
will not be met by the current physical condition of the present 
system. The total estimated cost of the new system to meet 50 year 
growth projections is approximately $7.5 million. Federal funding is a 
critical component of the funding package needed to help get this 
project designed, and moving forward to construction.
  In Division F, covering the Departments of Education and Health and 
Human Services (HHS), I secured three separate earmarks. First, under 
the Higher Education account, Rockford College will receive $238,000 to 
equip classrooms and science laboratories with technology to 
significantly enhance student learning. Rockford College is located at 
5050 East State Street in Rockford, Illinois, 61108. Mr. John McNamara 
is the Vice President of College Development. Federal funding is 
critical to help upgrade nine antiquated classrooms and two 
laboratories at Rockford College and convert them to modern smart 
learning centers. This is a joint request with Senator Richard Durbin.
  Second, under the Health Resources and Services Administration 
account, the Crusader Clinic in Rockford, Illinois, will receive 
$238,000 to help fund a new electronic health records (EHR) system. The 
Crusader Clinic is located at 1200 West State Street in Rockford, 
Illinois 61102. Mr. Gordon Eggers, Jr., is the President and CEO. The 
Crusader Clinic is a community health center that serves multiple 
counties in northern Illinois and provides care to over 40,000 low-
income, uninsured, and underinsured patients annually in the region. 
Because of the growing patient caseload and new federal requirements, 
this community health clinic now has a great need to implement an EHR 
system throughout their clinics at an estimated cost of $1 million. 
This funding will help improve the delivery of medical care to those 
who would otherwise use the emergency room at local hospitals. This is 
also a joint request with Senator Richard Durbin.
  Third, also under the Health Resources and Services Administration 
account, the University of Illinois' College of Medicine in Rockford, 
Illinois will receive $238,000 to help build the National Center for 
Rural Health Professions. The Rockford campus is located at 1601 
Parkview Avenue in Rockford, Illinois, 61107. Dr. Martin Lipsky is the 
Dean of the Rockford campus of the U of I College of Medicine. The 
Center will conduct research, develop curricula, implement and evaluate 
rural medical and health care education models, provide consultation to 
other medical colleges, and study trends in rural health related to 
health professional training needs. Medical colleges throughout the 
U.S. can use the research findings and curriculum models to implement 
training for rural health professionals to practice in medically under-
served rural areas in their respective states. The College of Medicine 
has raised $4 million in private funds toward this $32 million 
expansion project. Another $14 million has been committed by the 
University of Illinois, and the university is also seeking state 
funding to complete the project.
  In Division I, covering the Departments of Housing and Urban 
Development (HUD) and Transportation, I secured two separate earmarks. 
First, under the Economic Development Initiatives account at HUD, the 
City of Freeport, Illinois will receive $237,500 for various public 
infrastructure improvements. The City of Freeport is located at 230 
West Stephenson Street in Freeport, Illinois, 61032. The Honorable 
George Gaulrapp is the Mayor of Freeport. Freeport wants to make 
improvements to public infrastructure in the downtown area to promote 
and support expansion of manufacturing facilities. The funds would be 
used for a variety of infrastructure improvements, including replacing 
a water main, upgrading and ``undergrounding'' above-ground power 
lines, and various roadway and streetscape upgrades in downtown 
Freeport to make it a more attractive place to live and work.
  Second, McHenry County, Illinois will receive $570,000 under the 
Transportation, Community, and System Preservation account to widen 
Rakow Road. The County of McHenry is located at 2200 Seminary Avenue in 
Woodstock, Illinois. Mr. Peter Austin is the County Administrator of 
McHenry County. This road project will help relieve traffic congestion 
and improve safety by increasing capacity to Rakow Road from Ackman 
Road to Illinois Route 31 by adding two or three through lanes in each 
direction and adequate turn lanes at the intersections. In 2004 and 
2005, there were 566 accidents (71 percent were rear-end collisions) 
and 171 injuries at this three mile stretch of highway that desperately 
needs improvement. This request also begins to implement the $5.72 
million authorization for this project that I secured as part of the 
2005 Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act (Public Law 109-59).
  Madam Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to thank the Chairman 
of the House Appropriations Committee, Representative David Obey, and 
the Ranking Minority Member, Representative Jerry Lewis, and the 
respective leadership of the six Appropriations subcommittees for 
working with me in a bipartisan manner to include these nine requests 
in this spending bill. I also want to thank Senator Richard Durbin, the 
senior Senator from Illinois, for joining with me on three of these 
requests.

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