Five cities in St. Clair County will get a share of a $30 million in federal grants to help in disaster recovery efforts from flooding in July 2022, U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield, announced Thursday.
This aid is separate from the $89.5 million St. Clair County received in January for disaster recovery from flooding in July 2024.
The new funding will be split like this:
- Cahokia Heights: $10 million
- Caseyville: $9.1 million
- East St. Louis: $6.4 million
- Dupo: $1.6 million
- East Carondelet: $1.3 million
The grants are part of the Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery program, according to a news release from Budzinski.
“The funding will be allocated to projects aimed at enhancing the resilience of local infrastructure, not only to facilitate rebuilding efforts but also to provide long-term protection against recurring flooding issues,” according to the release.
Flooding caused damages to homes and businesses across St. Clair County on July 26, 2022, and July 16, 2024, following heavy rainfalls. After each storm, President Joe Biden declared a major disaster in the county. Residents and business owners received assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Small Business Administration after the flooding.
Cahokia Heights Mayor Curtis McCall Sr. said the $10 million disaster recovery grant allocated to his city will be used for stormwater drainage improvements in the Piat Place neighborhood south of State Street, according to a news release from Budzinski.
“This funding marks a significant milestone in the city’s ongoing efforts to enhance infrastructure resilience and improve the quality of life for residents,” McCall said in a statement.
Details of how the other cities will spend the grant money were not available.
This story was originally published by the Belleville News-Democrat. Mike Koziatek is a reporter and editor for the BND, a news partner of St. Louis Public Radio.
