East St. Louis gets grant |
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Gov. George Ryan announced a $25 million grant that would open a "one stop" service center on the site of the former East St. Louis Community College. The grant is added to a $400,000 grant in 1998 and approximately $1.2 million in 1999. The center will be used by SIU, the East St. Louis Community College and the Illinois Department of Employment Security to provide job development and placement, job search skills workshops, testing and career counseling, continuing case management, supportive services and on-site recruitment of prospective employees. The one-stop center is part of the Illinois Workforce Advantage Program, which works to bring education and workforce training to communities. "As we strengthen the presence of additional agencies that help people learn, earn and prosper in these community facilities, we can achieve a true Illinois workforce advantage," Ryan said during the March 8 announcement. The grant will pay for renovation of a 129,000-square-foot building and the construction of another 51,000-square-foot building. The project is still being designed and will go to bids in the summer of 2001, with completion of the project expected in the fall of 2003.
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