$4.7 Million for Dolton 149 to Fix Schools; Sen. Elgie Sims Praised

(Calumet City, IL) ­– In the new, $46.4 billion Illinois state budget signed by Governor JB Pritzker in April was $4.7 million for south suburban Dolton School District 149 to provide structural upgrades to the district’s schools, funding that was appropriated thanks to the efforts of State Senator Elgie Sims (D-Chicago) who earned “praise” from Dolton 149’s top school board official.

“On behalf of the entire Dolton 149 Board of Education, I want to express our deepest gratitude to State Senator Elgie Sims for his leadership to ensure that Dolton 149 students can learn in modern school facilities equal to their peers in other regions of Illinois,” said Dolton 149 Board President Rayya Ghani. “The $4.7 million that Senator Sims secured for Dolton 149 will enable the district to make critical health and life safety upgrades throughout our schools.”

Ghani also extended “appreciation” to the district’s government affairs consultant, former State Senator Donne Trotter (D-Chicago), for his role in securing the state funding.

“The Board also appreciates the hard work of former Senator Trotter, who represents Dolton 149 in Springfield, for successfully explaining the needs of our district and our 2,270 students to lawmakers,” said Ghani. “His efforts were essential to winning the funding.”

“Critical investments.”

According to Ghani, $3.5 million will be used to replace windows in the district’s school buildings that are more than 50-years old and $1.2 million will be used to upgrade the electrical systems at the schools.

“Replacing the 50-year old windows in the buildings will ensure that each classroom has circulation of fresh air and modernized electrical systems will guard against unexpected loss of power to schools or the risk of fire,” said Ghani. “These are critical investments.”

The district is moving its planning forward to implement the building improvements.

davidormsby@davidormsby.com