Communities benefit

The American Rescue Plan is so much more than another round of checks to individuals and families. While those checks are important, we can't overlook the financial resources flowing to our communities as well. These much-needed funds will be used to help recover from the pandemic's negative economic impacts - including revenue lost, delayed, or decreased because of the pandemic.

Thanks to effective leadership by our congresswoman Lauren Underwood nearly $1 billion (that's billion with a "b") of funding will be available for schools, local governments, and public health agencies in Congressional District 14.

I was thrilled to see nearly $1 million of those funds are allocated to the village of Island Lake to aid our businesses and support our front-line responders and essential workers. During the pandemic, Wauconda School District 118 (which serves Island Lake as well as Wauconda) stepped up to provide technology-assisted learning to students from kindergarten through high school. The nearly $3 million in funding provided by the American Rescue Plan will help District 118 continue to meet every challenge the pandemic throws at us.

I am grateful that we have Lauren Underwood in Congress to champion our local communities. Her effort on our behalf provides us with the resources we need to get back on our feet and continue to make this a great place to live and raise our families.

Marcia Richards Suelzer

Island Lake