Governor J.B. Pritzker visits QC Airport to announce $5.6M Rebuild Illinois grants
December 2, 2021
Governor J.B. Pritzker visited Quad Cities International Airport to announce $94 million designated for 88 eligible Illinois airports as part of the Rebuild Illinois capital plan. QC Airport will receive $5.6 million which will support two construction projects near the general aviation hangar and on Indian Bluff Road. Representatives from IDOT and Quad Cities International Airport were in attendance for the announcement.
“Today is a monumental day for Illinois airports,” said Benjamin Leischner, A.A.E., executive director of Quad Cities International Airport. “The pandemic made it abundantly clear the important role airports have in moving goods and people safely and efficiently. I want to thank Governor Pritzker and our elected officials who have heard the call from aviation leaders that investment in our industry is necessary and overdue.”
The Quad Cities International Airport has an economic impact of more than $700 million. The airport owns more than 2,300 acres of land and more than 1,400 people come to work on airport property every day, excluding temporary job sites like the construction projects that will be funded through Rebuild Illinois.
QC Airport is also home to a thriving general aviation community which helps support the health and longevity of the commercial aviation industry. This community in particular will benefit from one of the projects receiving funding through the capital plan. $2.3 million will go toward expanding and rehabilitating portions of the general aviation ramp areas. It will increase capacity and promote future development.
The second project will benefit Quad Citizens who travel around the airport each day. Indian Bluff road will be realigned to improve safety, removing the poor sight lines and blind spots that currently exist. Safety is the airport’s number one priority and it extends beyond the airfield to the roadways accessed by neighbors and travelers.
“In my other duty as chairman of the Illinois Airports Council, I’ve spent the last two years working with other Illinois airport leaders to seek support from our respective elected officials,” said Leischner. “Their support has resulted in amending the Channeling Act, which impacts how federal money flows into local communities, and there is a renewed energy around investing in aviation as evidenced by the announcement today.”
According to Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) Rebuild Illinois is the largest capital program in the state’s history and will impact every mode of transportation in the state. The governor’s press release can be found here.