Joliet on list of Underwood projects

U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Naperville, announced two Joliet projects that were included in community project funding for 2023 in the 14th Congressional District that she represents.

The $20.1 million in funding also includes money to plan for Metra service in Kendall County, which includes sections of the far west side of Joliet.

Fifteen projects are being funded in the 14th District.

They include:

• $353,404 for the Joliet Junior College Entrepreneurial Development Center

• $500,000 for a new VNA Health Center clinic in Joliet

• $4.8 million for a Kendall County Extension Environmental Impact Statement

The environmental impact statement is the next step needed to eventually extend Metra commuter rail service to Kendall County. A news release from Underwood’s office said Kendall County does not have Metra service, “despite being the fastest-growing county in Illinois.”

The VNA Health Center clinic is being built at 1501 W. Jefferson St. and is expected to open in the summer.

VNA, which provides medical care to uninsured and underinsured patients, has been in Joliet since 2015, operating at leased space on Glenwood Avenue. The Aurora-based network of suburban community health centers has said it will be able to expand services in Joliet at the larger 14,000-square-foot facility under construction.

The funding for the JJC Entrepreneurial Development Center will expand the center’s capacity to provide services at no cost to new and existing entrepreneurs, according to the news release from Underwood’s office.

Services at the center include education, training and access to resources needed to build new companies, according to the release.

Other projects in the funding range from $121,000 to be spent for in-car cameras for the Sandwich Police Department to $1.5 million for a microchip development hub at Northern Illinois University.