OAK PARK - Senator Don Harmon (D-Oak Park), Representative Camille Lilly (D-Chicago) and Alderman Deborah Graham announced today that the Illinois Department of Transportation is awarding a $225,000 planning grant for improvements to North Avenue, Illinois Route 64. These funds will be used to plan roadway enhancements on the segment of North Avenue between Oak Park and Central Avenues, in partnership with the City of Chicago and the Village of Oak Park.  
 
“I am thrilled we have secured these funds for North Avenue,” Senator Harmon said.  “This roadway is the heart of an important business district and is vital to many of the neighborhoods that I represent from Chicago to the western suburbs.  This grant will enhance safety, improve livability and promote economic development.”

Senator Harmon and Representative Lilly worked with Alderman Deborah Graham of Chicago’s 29th Ward, as well as neighborhood community groups, in support of the application, which was submitted by the City of Chicago.  

"We're delighted that this funding came through. We've long believed that North Avenue needs a revitalization plan, and now that will be possible. This will mean a great deal to Chicago and Oak Park residents living near North Avenue," said Judith Alexander, chair of the North Avenue Zoning and Development Advisory Committee (NAZDAC) and co-founder of the North Avenue Neighbors Association of Oak Park (NANA-OP). "We thank IDOT and everyone who worked to obtain the grant, including Senator Harmon and his staff, Rep. Lilly, Ald. Graham and CDOT, and Oak Park Trustee Salzman and Village staff."  

In the past, Senator Harmon and then-State Representative Deborah Graham secured state funding for streetscape improvements from Harlem to Oak Park Avenues. The two, in cooperation with the community, have long advocated and hoped the same types of improvements would be extended further.  
 
The impacts on Chicago Avenue and Madison Street along the same segment will also be considered in the North Avenue planning study to ensure a comprehensive look at the transportation system in the region. The majority of the grant will come from state planning and research funds, supplemented by local matching dollars.  The planning process funded by this grant to determine and provide guidance on transportation improvements will begin in 2015.  In other locations, these types of projects have eventually led to safety improvements, enhanced lighting, expanded medians and crosswalks and beautification elements.