Last week, Commissioner Goslin attended a meeting in Washington, D.C. focused on jobs and
economic recovery. The National Association of Counties (NACo)
organized the meeting of county officials from around the country, bringing
in an unprecedented number of White House officials and senior staff
to share details about pending legislation and learn about urgent issues from local officials. "The focus of this event is to bring
county officials face-to-face with federal representatives to discuss
key priorities and legislation that affects essential services in our
home communities," said Commissioner Goslin, a member
of the NACo Board of Directors.
Officials were
briefed on the
Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE)
Act, passed by Congress last week, which includes $15 billion for infrastructure
investment in local communities, available energy efficiency grants and
other issues critical to urban counties. Also on the agenda were discussions
regarding the re-authorization of the Federal Surface Transportation
Program, which expired last September. NACo is calling for a new federal
program to address metro congestion and increase the investment in the
federal bridge program to address the backlog of deficient bridges.
Goslin highlighted
the more active components of the meeting, specifically NACo's efforts
to work with Congress to support funding for the Community Development
Block Grant program, which funds local housing initiatives, economic
infrastructure, affordable housing and low-income needs. "These are
the ways we fund key community priorities," reports Commissioner
Goslin who has been active with advocating for the program's full
funding.
Last year,
more than a dozen nonprofits and community organizations in the 14th
District received funding for their programs from the Community Development
Block Grant Program, including staff salary support for WINGS and a
roof replacement at the Little City Foundation. "This underscores
just why it is so important for our community that Cook County is visible
and relentless in ensuring federal support that helps here in the most
basic and essential of ways," he said.
For more information, call
Commissioner Goslin at 847-729-9300 or email commissionergoslin@cookcountygov.com
