Elgin homeless shelter finally receives promised state grant

Elgin's new Public Action to Deliver Shelter opened more than three months ago.

But shelter officials are only now receiving the state grant that was supposed to pay for much of the construction.

State Sen. Mike Noland, an Elgin Democrat, announced Thursday that the state is finally releasing $325,000 in grants first awarded in 2002.

"Our hard work has finally paid off," said Noland, who used to volunteer for PADS after it was started in 1989. "We wanted to be able to get this behind us. We have an ongoing need to service the homeless community."

The grant money will likely be used to pay back $300,000 the city of Elgin lent PADS for construction while the group waited on the state.

Noland said securing the grant money was a top priority in his first year in office.

When the grant was first issued in 2002, it was supposed to be used for construction of an entirely new building.

So when PADS officials decided to renovate an old warehouse on Berkley Street, the state didn't release the money.

"Therein (was) the kind of rub of the problem," Noland said. "We were able to get this reclassified. It's a matter of us as a community … needing to step up to the plate to provide assistance to a worthy cause."