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2 Rivers Regional Council outlines loans, grant writing and weatherization support for Adams County
Summary
At the March 10 Adams County board meeting, Chad Frederick of 2 Rivers Regional Council described revolving loan, grant-writing and public-infrastructure assistance while Drew Van Hek summarized weatherization, home-repair and LIHEAP services; board members asked about housing project readiness and coroner viewing-area funding.
Chad Frederick, community and economic development director at 2 Rivers Regional Council, told the Adams County board on March 10 that the regional council can help local governments and nonprofits with revolving loans, grant writing and public-infrastructure projects.
"My name is Chad Frederick, and I am the community and economic development director at 2 Rivers Regional Council," Frederick said, describing a now-directly managed revolving loan fund and an updated Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (SEDS) the council is using to prioritize projects for Economic Development Administration (EDA) funding. He offered to draft grant applications, administer awards if requested and to vet proposals for fundability before investing county staff time.
The council’s community-action director, Drew Van Hek, briefed the board on human-services programs supported by federal and state funds. "For our weatherization department... we're able to go into those homes and upgrade their HVAC mechanicals, insulation measures, and ventilation," Van Hek said, and he noted the Illinois homeowner assistance-funded home-repair program will end in September. He described two food pantries, a thrift store and LIHEAP energy-assistance efforts that he said reduce eligible clients’ utility bills by about 40% on average.
Why it matters: County officials said they want 2 Rivers to help translate prior one-time housing investments into recurring programs. Board members asked whether 2 Rivers can help structure annual funding (one example discussed was about $200,000 a year) and emphasized the council’s role in improving project readiness so applications are competitive for EDA and other funds.
Board members also discussed the county’s land bank and a previous two-round housing program, asking Frederick to prioritize projects that are most fundable. On a separate request about the coroner’s viewing area, Frederick said he and county staff inspected the site and will compile required equipment lists and explore law-enforcement grant sources for potential matching funds.
The presentation closed with Frederick encouraging board members and staff to submit project ideas and contact the council for pre-application readiness work, engineering guidance and prioritization for the 2026 SEDS update.
