Money, if allocated, would fund wastewater lagoon rehab
By JEFF LAMPE
For The Weekly Post
ELMWOOD – City officials are cautiously optimistic that the second time will be a charm for a $1 million federal grant to upgrade Elmwood’s wastewater lagoons.
U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen announced this week he has secured more than $33 million in federal Community Project Funding for Illinois’ 17th Congressional District, including $1 million for Elmwood.
Similar funding was secured for Elmwood in March 2024 by Sorensen, a Democrat, but was removed from the bill signed by President Donald Trump in March 2025.
The project required by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency involves replacing the existing rock filter used to treat wastewater in the city. Funding would also allow the city to remove sludge from the bottom of its four wastewater lagoons to increase their capacity.
The Elmwood waste lagoons discharge into the West Fork of Kickapoo Creek and, eventually, into the Illinois River.
“We’re hopeful but it’s not a guarantee yet,” Elmwood Mayor Andrew Almasi said. “(Sorensen) has put it forward, but it still needs to pass the U.S. Senate and get signed” by Trump.
Almasi said that was the stumbling block last time around.
“We had assurances, but it got held up,” he said.
“Communities across our district are dealing with aging infrastructure that need urgent repairs, but too often they lack the ability to fund these critical projects without help from the state or federal government,” Sorensen said in a press release. “I’m proud to work with local leaders in Elmwood and Bloomington to secure federal funding that will help them improve wastewater infrastructure and construct new stormwater basins to better mitigate flooding. I urge the Senate to act quickly to take up this legislation and pass it into law so these critical projects can move forward.”
The federal funding is part of a broader bipartisan government funding bill that passed the U.S. House of Representatives last week.
Next, it goes to the Senate, where it will be debated and voted on. If approved, it will await a signature from Trump to be allocated.
Still to be seen is what impact, if any, the ongoing feud between Trump and Gov. JB Pritzker might have on passage and signing of such legislation.
The City of Bloomington will also receive $1.092 million for a project to provide flooding relief in the city.
