Mount Prospect in line for federal funding for new fire station

U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi said he is working to secure $1.735 million in federal funding for Mount Prospect’s new fire station on the south end of town.

Mount Prospect Fire Chief John Dolan said the funding will help offset the costs of renovating Fire Station 11, the former Elk Grove Rural Fire Protection District headquarters at 1415 E. Algonquin Road.

Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat from Schaumburg, toured the facility Friday with Mount Prospect and other officials. He said a Community Project Funding request for the project passed the House Appropriations Committee in December, but still needs approval from the full House and the Senate. That could happen as soon as March.

He said he is committed to making sure the funding is delivered in full despite recent uncertainty over a proposed freeze on federal assistance.

“With the Mount Prospect Fire Department’s recently expanded jurisdiction, additional resources are essential to ensuring the safety of Mount Prospect and surrounding communities,” Krishnamoorthi said.

Dolan said he is excited the fire station is on the short list for the Community Project Funding dollars and thanked Trisha Chokshi, who is running for Mount Prospect mayor and is president of the Mount Prospect Chamber of Commerce board.

Krishnamoorthi’s office said Chokshi was the intermediary who helped put together letters of support for the fire department’s funding application.

Chokshi’s opponent in the April election, Mayor Paul Hoefert, said the mention of her involvement caught him by surprise.

“If she had something to do with it, great,” Hoefert said.