McLean County health department adds multiple IDPH grants, updates fee ordinances
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Summary
The McLean County Health Department told the county Health Committee it has received several Illinois Department of Public Health grants and approved emergency amendments to the 2025 budget to add the programs; the committee also approved updates to food‑service and sewage/well permit fees included in the 2026 budget.
Jessica McKnight, director of the McLean County Health Department, told the Health Committee during its December meeting that the department has received multiple new grants from the Illinois Department of Public Health and must amend its 2025 budget to add the revenues and program lines.
"We have received several new grants from Illinois Department of Public Health for their fiscal year 2026, which started in July 2025," McKnight said, explaining the county will ask the auditor to add the appropriate lines so the revenues and programs can be recorded.
The committee approved an emergency resolution to amend the CY2025 combined appropriation and budget to add a preventive health program grant, and separate emergency resolutions for a tick surveillance/West Nile grant, a behavioral health grant aimed at opioid overdose prevention, and additional funding for tuberculosis prevention services. All items passed on voice votes with no on‑record opposition.
McKnight said the proposed fee changes for food‑service permits and for permits covering sewage disposal systems, water wells and geothermal exchange systems are codified in the county code and were included in the Health Department's approved 2026 budget. "We are seeking to update our fees for food service permits," she said, adding that the fee updates have been reviewed by the board of health.
Why it matters: the budget amendments will let the health department accept and spend state grant funds for preventive programs, vector surveillance and behavioral‑health interventions; the fee ordinance updates will change permit rates countywide for regulated food and water‑related services.
What happens next: the committee approved the measures and directed staff to coordinate with the auditor to incorporate the new grant lines into the 2025 appropriations. The items will be reflected in county financial records and the department's program reports going forward.
