Rep. Newman Announces Midway and Lewis Airports to Receive More Than $20 Million from Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

Statement

Today, U.S. Representative Marie Newman (D-IL-03) announced that more than $20.9 million in new federal funding under the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is headed to Illinois' 3rd Congressional District to make much-needed improvements to the Chicago Midway International Airport and the Lewis University Airport.

"Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this new $20.9 million in grant funding will not only deliver new good-paying jobs for Illinois residents but also bring sorely needed renovations to the Midway and Lewis University airports," said Congresswoman Newman. "As a member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, I am proud to have secured this once-in-a-lifetime investment in our two outstanding airports that serve millions of travelers every single year."

Under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Midway Airport will receive $20,694,725 and Lewis University Airport will receive $296,000 in FAA Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funds. Both airports will receive this tranche of funding from the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law each year for the next five years, as part of a program for airport development. The tranche could vary from year to year, as the funding reflects annual enplanement totals. In addition to these guaranteed funds, the two airports can compete with other airports across the country for grants from an additional $5 billion nationally for terminal and landside improvements.

"Chicago is grateful for Congress's recognition of the importance of infrastructure and looks forward to working to implement important projects that expand and modernize transportation facilities made possible by this legislation," said Jamie L. Rhee, Chicago Commissioner of Aviation. "We are evaluating how best to utilize the IIJA funds over the next five years to augment our existing airport capital programs, address aging infrastructure, enhance accessibility, and improve overall connectivity between airport facilities and surface transportation facilities."

"Thank you to Representative Newman for the continued support of the Lewis Airport. This additional investment will provide high quality service to the region," said Romeoville Mayor John Noak.

"Thanks to this new funding, we can truly build on the latest improvements we are making to our Lewis University Airport, including the addition of our new FAA-operated control tower, which is opening in May of 2022," said Chris Lawson, Director of Aviation at the Joliet Regional Port District. "The tower will not only make day-to-day operations safer and more efficient it will connect our airport to the NAS, National Airspace control system. It's projects like these that we'll be able to continue pursuing thanks to this brand-new funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act."

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