Case 3:20-cv-00530-DWD Document 175 Filed 04/22/24 Page 1 of 13 Page ID #3669

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS

CORNELIUS BENNETT
EARLIE FUSE,

Plaintiffs,

vs. Case No.: 3:20-cv-00530-DWD

CITY OF CENTREVILLE ET AL.,

Defendants.

DEFENDANTS’ APRIL 22, 2024 STATUS REPORT

Defendants Curtis McCall, Commonfields of Cahokia Public Water District

(“Commonfields”), Dennis Traiteur, Marius (“Mark”) Jackson, Centreville Township, LaMar

Gentry and the City of Centreville (collectively, “Defendants”) hereby file this status report,

pursuant to the Court’s April 1, 2024 Order (Doc. 173).

The Order required Defendants to provide the Court with an update detailing the

Defendants’ and the City of Cahokia Heights’ (“Cahokia Heights” or “the City”) efforts to obtain

funding for wastewater and stormwater, including without limitation identifying any funds

allocated from state or federal resources, any applications submitted by any Defendants to obtain

such funds, the status of said applications, and any additional steps Defendants plan to take to

obtain funding for wastewater and stormwater.

Cahokia Heights has obtained and continues to seek funding from a variety of federal, state,

and local sources to invest in its infrastructure, including for wastewater and stormwater. The

City’s ongoing efforts include submitting multiple requests for funding through the federal and

state budgeting processes, submitting the necessary applications to obtain funds that have been
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appropriated to Cahokia Heights, and submitting grant applications to state and federal agencies.

A more detailed update on the City’s progress to obtain these funds is provided below.

I. Congressionally-Directed Spending.

Congressionally-directed spending, commonly known as “earmarks,” allows Members of

Congress to direct federal funds to local organizations and governments for specific projects

through the federal appropriations process.1 Local governments submit funding requests to their

Members of Congress that may then be included in the annual federal spending bills, depending

on the individual Members’ understanding of state or district needs and, ultimately, the final

appropriations process. Cahokia Heights has worked with its Congressional delegation, which

includes Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth and Representative Nikki Budzinski, and

other local, state, and federal partners, to make requests for Congressionally-Directed Spending to

benefit Cahokia Heights.

a. Current Allocations

In fiscal year 2023, the City received $2,000,000 in Congressionally-Directed Spending,

earmarked by Senator Duckworth, for costs associated with the design and/or construction of a

proposed interceptor project to redirect wastewater from Cahokia Heights that currently flows into

the sewer system owned and operated by the City of East St. Louis.2 A true and accurate copy of

the City’s 2023 Congressionally-Directed Spending Request Submission Form submitted to

Senator Duckworth is attached hereto as Exhibit A. Once earmarked funds are included in the final

budget approved by Congress and signed by the President, the funds will be allocated to a federal

agency for final distribution to the requesting organization or local government. The funds

1
Popvox Foundation, Congressionally-Directed Spending (Earmarks) (last visited Apr. 19, 2024, 9:00 a.m.),
https://www.popvox.org/earmarks
2
The current cost estimate for design and construction of the proposed interceptor project is $13,500,000.

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previously appropriated for Cahokia Heights have been distributed to EPA Region V, and a project

manager at the region must approve the use of the funds for the interceptor project. Cahokia

Heights is engaged in ongoing discussions with the project manager to identify and submit the

necessary documentation to receive any funds.

b. Pending Funding Requests

For fiscal year 2024, the City requested $3,161,760 through Senator Duckworth’s office

for additional costs associated with the proposed interceptor project described above. A true and

accurate copy of the City’s 2024 Congressionally-Directed Spending Request Submission Form

submitted to Senator Duckworth is attached hereto as Exhibit B. The City has been informed that

approximately $500,000 of the requested funds are included in the fiscal year 2024 budget, but

they have not yet been distributed to EPA Region V. As discussed below, the City also made

several funding requests through Senator Durbin’s office in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps

of Engineers (“Army Corps”) for fiscal year 2024, but these requests were not included in the

federal budget.

For fiscal year 2025, the City is again seeking additional funds for the proposed interceptor

project, and has requested $4,014,560 through Senator Duckworth’s office. A true and accurate

copy of the City’s 2025 Congressionally-Directed Spending Request Submission Form submitted

to Senator Duckworth is attached hereto as Exhibit C. The City is also working in consultation

with the Army Corps to request additional funds through Senator Durbin’s office, and these

requests will be submitted in the coming weeks. These funding requests are currently pending and

the City’s receipt of any of these funds is dependent on the federal budget process completed by

Congress and signed by the President.

c. Past Funding Requests

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As noted above, additional funds were requested through Senator Durbin’s office for fiscal

year 2024 under the City’s January 2023 project partnership agreement with the Army Corps, but

these funds were not included in the final fiscal year 2024 budget. The requested funds included:

 $2,300,000 to complete cured-in-place pipe lining in portions of the City’s

main trunkline.

 $6,600,00 for costs to design and construct the proposed interceptor project.

 $1,100,00 for costs associated with pump station telemetry and flow
monitoring.

Unfortunately, while the above requests were approved by the Senate, they were not included in

the final federal budget following the reconciliation process with the House of Representatives.

d. Funds Allocated to Third Parties

The following additional funds were included in the federal budget for fiscal year 2022,

and allocated to third parties for projects benefitting Cahokia Heights:

 $25,000 by Senator Durbin to the Army Corps for a flood risk analysis
report.

 $1,500,000 by Senator Durbin to Heartlands Conservancy for costs

associated with a watershed/flood plain survey/demonstration project.3

Neither Cahokia Heights nor Defendants are responsible for applying for these funds or

implementing these projects, but Defendants nonetheless include details on these funds in order to

provide a complete depiction of the federal and state funds being directed to Cahokia Heights.

II. Illinois Appropriated Funds.

The Illinois General Assembly can also allocate funds to local governments for specific

projects. In fiscal year 2023, the State of Illinois budget plan included $25,950,000 in funding

3
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency’s Bureau of Water also committed approximately $919,868.74 to
Heartlands Conservancy for costs associated with a watershed/flood plain survey/demonstration project. The City
worked with Heartlands Conservancy and reviewed the scope of the watershed/flood plain survey/demonstration
project.

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allocations for Cahokia Heights, as set forth in HB 900 (Appropriations), HB 4700 (the budget

implementation bill), and SB 157 (the revenue omnibus bill). While much of this funding is related

to or can be used for wastewater and stormwater, the General Assembly also appropriated these

funds to Cahokia Heights for other purposes. In order to provide a complete picture of the

appropriations by the General Assembly, all of these funds are discussed below.

Distribution of these funds is controlled by the Illinois Department of Commerce &

Economic Opportunity (“DCEO”). Before Cahokia Heights can apply to receive these funds,

DCEO must assign a project number. Once the DCEO project number is assigned, Cahokia

Heights must identify a project or set of projects to correspond to the funding amount and scope

and then submit individual applications to DCEO for each line item in the budget for approval.

Because the appropriated funds do not correspond to any particular project, but project costs need

to align with the amount of the appropriated funds, the City must coordinate existing project needs

with available funding line items. Additionally, funds can be requested as an up-front working

capital advance, but typically the funds are distributed as reimbursements for construction and

design costs incurred by the City. Thus, even after DCEO approves the application, additional

steps must be taken to draw down funds in the form of up-front advances or reimbursements. This

means that unless the City receives an up-front advance, the City must locate funds for a project

and then be reimbursed for those funds. A more detailed discussion of the status of these funds is

included in the sections that follow, but the below table sets forth all of the funds allocated by the

General Assembly in fiscal year 2023 and their current status.

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Amount Purpose Status

$8,500,000 Sewer system improvements. DCEO project # assigned;
application in process.
$300,000 Infrastructure improvements. Awaiting DCEO project #.

$200,000 Infrastructure improvements. DCEO project # assigned;

application in process.
$200,000 Infrastructure improvements. Awaiting DCEO project #.

$150,000 Infrastructure improvements. DCEO project # assigned;

application in process.
$1,200,000 Commonfields of Cahokia capital Awaiting DCEO project #.
improvements.
$6,000,000 Drinking water improvements. DCEO project # assigned;
application submitted February
2024.
$6,000,000 Water, sewer, or broadband DCEO project # assigned;
infrastructure. application in process.
$200,000 Infrastructure. DCEO project # assigned;
application submitted December
2023.
$125,000 General infrastructure. DCEO project # assigned;
application submitted June 2023.
$75,000 Infrastructure. Awaiting DCEO project #.

$3,000,000 Community development, violence DCEO project # assigned;

prevention, administrative costs. application in process.
Total Funding Allocated: $25,950,000

a. Applications Submitted by the City

To date, Cahokia Heights has submitted the following applications to DCEO requesting

funds appropriated to the City:

 In June 2023, Cahokia Heights submitted Application No. DG220010,

requesting $125,000 for the development of Cahokia Heights’
comprehensive plan, a city-wide urban planning tool, and the cost of
construction equipment. A true and accurate copy of Application Number
DG220010 is attached hereto as Exhibit D. This application remains
pending.

 In December 2023, Cahokia Heights submitted Application No. SD200028,

requesting $200,000 for design and construction of upgrades to the lift
station located at 253 N. 82nd Street. A true and accurate copy of Application

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Number SD200028 is attached hereto as Exhibit E. This application remains

pending.

 In February 2024, Cahokia Heights submitted Application No. BC220040,

requesting $6,000,000 for upgrades to City drinking water infrastructure. A
true and accurate copy of the City’s Application No. BC220040 to Illinois
DCEO is attached hereto as Exhibit F.4 The City intends to use the funds on
projects including the rehabilitation of two existing water tanks, and the
purchase and installation of a new booster pump and two new disinfection
stations. The City is currently working to respond to comments from the
DCEO project manager.

b. Applications in Process

Cahokia Heights continues good faith efforts to apply for funds appropriated by the General

Assembly. Cahokia Heights is currently in the process of completing applications for the following

funds that have been assigned DCEO project numbers:

 $8,500,00 for costs associated with the City’s sewer system improvements,
to be submitted under Project No. HD230134

 $200,000 for costs associated with City infrastructure improvements, to be

submitted under Project No. SD240055

 $150,000 for costs associated with City infrastructure improvements, to be

submitted under Project No. SD240050

 $6,000,000 through Illinois’ Local Coronavirus Urgent Remediation

Emergency (“CURE”) program, and American Rescue Plan Act of 2021
(“ARPA”), for water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure improvements,
to be submitted under Project No. AO230003.

 $3,000,000 for costs associated with community development, violence

prevention, and administrative costs, to be submitted under Project No.
DG230053.

The City has been in regular communication with the DCEO project manager for these funds, and

is in the process of preparing applications to be submitted in the near future. In particular, because

4
While the City is in the process of making approximately $11,000,000 in capital improvements to its drinking water
system, the drinking water system is not the subject of this litigation. Even so, Defendants provide this information in
order to ensure a complete picture of the funding allocated by the Illinois General Assembly.

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these funds do not correspond to any particular project or set of projects, the City has been

communicating with DCEO to identify appropriate projects to correspond to the allocated funding,

and the City is working to complete these applications in coordination with DCEO.

The following funds are awaiting assignment of DCEO project numbers before the City

can submit an application:

 $1,200,000 through the Build Illinois Bond Act for capital improvements
associated with the former Commonfields of Cahokia Water District.

 $75,000 for costs associated with infrastructure improvements.

 $200,000 for costs associated with infrastructure improvements.

 $300,000 for costs associated with infrastructure improvements.

The City will continue working with DCEO to complete the necessary applications and provide

all required information to ensure that the City receives all funds appropriated by the General

Assembly.

III. Additional Requests to Federal, State and Local Sources.

Alongside the above earmarks and appropriated funds, Cahokia Heights has received funds

from other state and local sources and submitted grant applications to state and federal agencies.

The process for obtaining each of these grants, and the status of the funds, is discussed further

below.

a. Wastewater Grants

Cahokia Heights has applied to federal and state agencies for the following grant funds for

wastewater infrastructure:

 In January 2021, Cahokia Heights applied under the Federal Emergency

Management Agency (“FEMA”) Building Resilient Infrastructure and
Communities (“BRIC”) program requesting $20,620,673.28 in funds for
costs associated with repairing the City’s sewer system. A true and accurate
copy of the City’s FEMA BRIC Application is attached hereto as Exhibit

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G. The City was not awarded any funds in response to its 2021 FEMA BRIC
application.

 In July 2022, the City applied for a grant under the Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency’s (“IEPA”) Wastewater Collection and Transport
Infrastructure Rehabilitation and Restoration Project, and was awarded
$9,980,750.67 for the rehabilitation and restoration of Cahokia Heights’
sewer system, the purchase of necessary equipment for current and future
operation and maintenance of the sewer system, and related public outreach
activities. A true and accurate copy of the Grant Agreement between IEPA
and the City is attached hereto as Exhibit H. To date, the City has received
a working capital advance of approximately $2.5 million of these grant
funds. Half of the funds were provided to the Army Corps to complete
repairs to the main trunkline sewer serving the City. The remainder of the
$2.5 million is being used by the City for outreach, engineering, and project
planning. The City will continue to draw down funds from the IEPA grant
as reimbursement for design and construction costs as projects are
completed.

In addition to the grant funds awarded directly to the City, the Army Corps obtained

approximately $3,500,000 under Section 219 of the 1992 Water Resources Development Act to

repair 3.5 miles of the main trunkline sewer serving Cahokia Heights using cured in place pipe

lining. This funding required the City to provide a local match of 25% of the project funds, which

were covered by the above-described portion of the IEPA grant provided to the Army Corps.5 The

City completed project design and prepared the bid package for the project in 2023. The Army

Corps is responsible for managing the bidding and construction phase of the project, with

construction expected to begin this spring and to be completed in 2025.

b. Stormwater Grants

The City has applied for the following grants to address flooding, stormwater, and other

infrastructure needs in Cahokia Heights:

 In December 2023, Cahokia Heights partnered with the Illinois Department

of Natural Resources, St. Clair County, Illinois, and the Illinois Emergency
Management Agency, and applied under the FEMA Hazard Mitigation
Grant Program (“HMGP”) 4676 for $3,155,000 in funds to cover repair and

5
The winning bid for the project exceeded the grant funding by $500,000. The City supplied this shortfall.

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restoration of culverts, ditches, and storm sewers in the Ping Pong area of
Cahokia Heights. A true and accurate copy of the City’s FEMA HMGP
4676 application is attached hereto as Exhibit I. This application remains
pending.

 In April 2022, Cahokia Heights submitted a Rebuilding American

Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (“RAISE”) grant application
to the U.S. Department of Transportation requesting $14,758,128 in funds
to reconstruct roadway surfaces and associated local drainage ditches and
culverts in portions of the City. A true and accurate copy of the City’s 2022
RAISE application is attached hereto as Exhibit J. The City’s 2022
application was not selected for funding..

 In February 2024, Cahokia Heights submitted a RAISE grant application to

the U.S. Department of Transportation requesting $5,236,578.02 in funds
to reconstruct roadway surfaces and associated local drainage ditches and
culverts in portions of the City. A true and accurate copy of the City’s 2024
RAISE applications is attached hereto as Exhibit K. This application
remains pending.

c. Drinking Water Grants

The following ARPA funds have been committed to the City by St. Clair County, Illinois,

and are expected to be used for upgrades to the City’s drinking water system:

 $1,300,000 of state and local ARPA funds, pledged by St. Clair County to
the City, for costs associated with drinking water system projects including
without limitation the construction of the Church Road water tower.

 $2,811,054.86 from state and local ARPA funds, distributed by St. Clair
County. The City is in possession of these funds, which are expected to be
used for improvements to the City’s drinking water system.

No application is required for these funds. Instead, Cahokia Heights requested these funds from

the County through an informal process. A true and accurate copy of correspondence from St.

Clair County, Illinois, reflecting its commitment to provide the ARPA funds to the City, is attached

hereto as Exhibit L.

d. Transportation Funding

The Illinois Department of Transportation’s (“IDOT”) Rebuild Program committed

$1,149,000 to the City for local roadway projects, including paving roads and repairing drains.

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These funds are provided by IDOT to all communities in the State of Illinois based on population

size. The City has only received approximately $80,000 of these committed funds, and has

dedicated the funds to a preliminary design for a roadway project on Jerome Lane. The project

includes resurfacing and sidewalk/curb reconstruction, and construction on the project is

underway. The City has been in communication with IDOT regarding the remaining committed

funds and intends to use the remainder of the funds for additional local road improvement

initiatives.

IV. Conclusion

As outlined herein, Cahokia Heights has worked diligently to obtain funds to address

wastewater and stormwater in the City and the City continues to do so. There is a significant

amount of funding committed to the City, and the City is proceeding in good faith to submit the

necessary applications to receive these funds. Cahokia Heights also continues to work to identify

additional funds for which it may qualify, both through federal and state appropriations and grant

opportunities. Defendants will continue to apprise the Court of the City’s progress in obtaining

funding in their September 30, 2024 status report.

Respectfully submitted,

/s/ Erica M. Spitzig

TAFT STETTINIUS & HOLLISTER LLP
Erica M. Spitzig, admitted pro hac vice
TAFT STETTINIUS & HOLLISTER LLP
425 Walnut Street, Suite 1800
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
Telephone: (513) 381-2838
Facsimile: (513) 381-0205
espitzig@taftlaw.com
/s/ Heather M. Hawkins (with consent)
TAFT STETTINIUS & HOLLISTER LLP
Heather M. Hawkins, admitted pro hac vice

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TAFT STETTINIUS & HOLLISTER LLP

425 Walnut Street, Suite 1800
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
Telephone: (513) 381-2838
Facsimile: (513) 381-0205
hhawkins@taftlaw.com

/s/ Philip L. Comella (with consent)

TAFT STETTINIUS & HOLLISTER LLP
TAFT STETTINIUS & HOLLISTER LLP
111 East Wacker Drive, Suite 2800
Chicago, Illinois 60601
Telephone: (312) 527-4000
Facsimile: (312) 527-4011
pcomella@taftlaw.com

/s/ Mark C. Scoggins (with consent)

CROWDER & SCOGGINS, LTD.
CROWDER & SCOGGINS, LTD.
121 West Legion Avenue (physical address)
P.O. Box 167 (mailing address)
Columbia, IL 62236
Telephone: (618) 281-7111
Facsimile: (618) 281-7115
mscoggins@crowderscoggins.com
/s/ Michael L. Wagner (with consent)
CLAYBORNE & WAGNER

CLAYBORNE & WAGNER

525 W Main St #105
Belleville, IL 62220
Telephone: (618) 239-0187
Facsimile: (618) 416-7556
mwagner@cswlawllp.com

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that on April 22, 2024, I electronically filed the foregoing with the Clerk
of the Court using the CM/ECF system which will send notification of such filing to the following:

Nicole D. Nelson Kalila J. Jackson

Equity Legal Services, Inc. Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing &
nnelson@equitylegalservices.org Opportunity Council
kjackson@ehoc-stl.or

Martina Tiku Kennedy Moehrs Gardner

NAACP Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing &
mtiku@naacpnet.org Opportunity Council
kmgardner@ehoc-stl.org

Joseph Schottenfeld Blake G. Meinders

NAACP Sprague & Urban
jschottenfeld@naacpnet.org bmeinders@spragueurban.com

/s/ Erica M. Spitzig

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