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Waukegan adds $400,000 to housing rehab, expands CDBG-eligible repairs; locals praise Rebuild Waukegan
Summary
City officials marked National Community Development Week by announcing a $400,000 city contribution to the CDBG housing-rehab program that will allow new repairs—single driveways, fences and detached garages—and heard business and resident testimonials about Rebuild Waukegan benefits.
Waukegan officials announced an additional $400,000 in city funding for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) housing-rehab program and highlighted new eligible repairs meant to expand help for homeowners and small businesses.
Larisa Garland, director of CDBG, said the injection of city funds will let the housing-rehab program cover items the program had not previously paid for, including single (non-shared) driveways, fences and detached garages. "For the first time ever the city has provided an additional $400,000 to go toward the program specifically for our housing rehab program," Garland said, adding that the work ties into the city’s Rebuild Waukegan initiative.
That funding is intended to supplement the CDBG program’s usual portfolio of public services, public facilities and infrastructure, economic development and housing rehabilitation. "What we're doing, we are literally rebuilding Waukegan one house at a time, one agency at a time, one building at a time," Garland said.
Local business owners and residents at the event described how CDBG and affiliated programs have affected them. "My name is Justin. I am part owner of Taste of Belize here in Waukegan at 2207 Grand Avenue," Justin said, describing 11 years serving the city’s Caribbean and Belizean communities. He credited the Microenterprise Small Business Program with helping the restaurant cover bills, make minor upgrades and better welcome customers.
A resident who said their family has lived in Waukegan since 1953 recounted home repairs funded through a grant that began in April 2021. The resident credited the program and its contractors with improving the kitchen, replacing gutters and windows and fixing plumbing. "I'm very pleased with all of the work. I feel like I got a new house," the resident said, noting neighbors asked who had done the fence and stairs and that a yard sign prompted others to request program information.
Speakers described immediate next steps at an individual-project level: the resident said interior work had resumed where the roof leaked, that roof work was scheduled to begin the following week and that new windows had been ordered.
Organizers encouraged eligible residents to apply and provided a contact number for the program: 847-599-2530. The presentation framed the added city contribution and local outreach as part of an ongoing Rebuild Waukegan effort to address housing and neighborhood needs incrementally.
No formal votes, motions or changes to program rules were recorded at the event. Officials and participants primarily offered updates, testimonials and an invitation for residents and small businesses to inquire about and seek assistance through CDBG and related programs.
