[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 113 (Friday, July 24, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1958-E1959]
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

                        Thursday, July 23, 2009

  Mr. MANZULLO. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership 
standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information 
regarding the two earmarks I secured as part of H.R. 3288, 
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies 
Appropriations Act, 2010
  My first request, totaling $750,000, will come from the 
Transportation & Community & System Preservation account of the Federal

[[Page E1959]]

Highway Administration to widen Rakow Road in McHenry County, Illinois. 
This road project will help relieve traffic congestion by adding 
capacity to Rakow Road between Ackman Road to Illinois Route 31 within 
the City of Crystal Lake and the Village of Lake-in-the-Hills by adding 
two or three through lanes in each direction and adequate turn lanes at 
the intersections. Rakow Road is designated by the Illinois Department 
of Transportation as a Strategic Regional Arterial (SRA) and is also 
part of the National Highway System. McHenry County is still one of the 
fastest growing counties in Illinois and continues to experience severe 
traffic congestion. Federal funding is continued to be needed in order 
to help address the regional transportation congestion in the northwest 
suburbs of Chicago. The McHenry County government has also passed a 
bond program that raises $50 million to be dedicated to local road 
improvements such as the Rakow Road widening project to match state and 
federal investments. Previously, this project received $570,000 in 
Fiscal Year 2009. The entity to receive funding for the Rakow Road 
widening project is the County of McHenry, Illinois located at 2200 
Seminary Avenue in Woodstock, Illinois 60098.
  My second request, totaling $500,000, will come from the Economic 
Development Initiative account at the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development Date (HUD) for the City of Rockford, Illinois, for various 
public infrastructure improvements in the West Side neighborhood. 
Rockford, Illinois is experiencing one of the highest unemployment 
rates in the nation, which reached 14.5 percent in May. To address this 
problem, the local government of the City of Rockford plans to make 
improvements to public infrastructure (roads, sewer, storm-water, and 
water) to the west side of the city to support improvements to an area 
designated for commercial development. There is a great need for 
federal funding assistance to help develop the infrastructure in this 
area of the city of Rockford in order to attract and support new 
commercial and industrial employers. The City is also committing 
funding to this project as well as attracting significant private 
investment. This project will not only benefit the west side of the 
City of Rockford but the entire northern Illinois area by attracting 
more employers to Rockford. The entity to receive funding for the 
Rockford West Side Economic Development Initiative is the City of 
Rockford, Illinois, located at 425 East State Street in Rockford, 
Illinois 61104.
  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 
Chairman of the Transportation & Housing and Urban Development 
Appropriations Subcommittee, Representative John Olver, and the Ranking 
Minority Member, Representative Tom Latham, for working with me in a 
bipartisan manner to include these two critical requests in this 
spending bill.

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