In visit to Cahokia Heights, Duckworth says future funding will have oversight

U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth said during a visit to the Metro East community on Monday that $37 million coming to Cahokia Heights to address the local stormwater system will come with more oversight.

The Illinois Democrat toured homes in the area to see the damage from chronic flooding during heavy rains that often contains raw sewage. She was joined by representatives of other federal agencies, including the Army Corps of Engineers, Environmental Protection Agency and Housing and Urban Development.

“This problem requires all of government — federal, state, county, municipality — to fix it,” Duckworth said. “We’re on the road to progress, but there’s a lot that needs to be done.”

She explained the funding coming to Cahokia Heights is a combination of federal and state dollars, including a $10 million grant that was recently awarded by the Illinois EPA. Duckworth acknowledged the $37 million that has been committed to Cahokia Heights may not cover all the fixes the community needs.

“It’s a small amount of money compared to what all needs to be done in total, and it will start with fixing the sewer system,” she said. “It’s going to take a lot of investments in these communities, from multiple sources, to rebuild and then to protect them.”