Title
Joint resolution authorizing grant applications to the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) for an Illinois Transportation Enhancements Program (ITEP) grant for a segment of the Patriot Path, along Illinois Route 137 from United States Route 41 to the Robert McClory Bike Path, and for the non-motorized improvements constructed as part of the Cedar Lake Road realignment project, from Hart Road to Nippersink Road.
Staff Summary
• The Illinois Transportation Enhancements Program (ITEP) grant Cycle 17 is underway.
• The Patriot Path is a new multi-use path to provide a non-motorized travel connection along Illinois Route 137 from the Des Plaines River Trail to the Robert McClory Bike Path.
• Cedar Lake Road realignment will create a new intersection at Illinois Route 134. The project will improve safety and mobility between Nippersink Road and Hart Road, enhance the Metra train station site, and add non-motorized connectivity throughout the project limits.
• This resolution authorizes the Lake County Division of Transportation to submit two applications which, if approved, will be brought back to the Lake County Board for acceptance of the grant agreements and appropriation of the necessary matching funds.
• These improvements are included in the Transportation Improvement Program.
Body
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Illinois Transportation Enhancements Program (ITEP) grant Cycle 17 is underway through IDOT; and
WHEREAS, IDOT is authorized to award $157,000,000 in ITEP grants pursuant to the Transportation Alternatives Set Aside of the Surface Transportation Block Grant under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Civil Administrative Code of Illinois (20 ILCS 2705-615); and
WHEREAS, funds for the ITEP grant Cycle 17 are to be awarded for up to $5,000,000 maximum per project in ITEP funds, on a competitive basis for well planned projects that provide and support alternate modes of transportation; and
WHEREAS, both the Patriot Path and Cedar Lake Road realignment are identified as high priority projects in the Lake County 2040 Transportation Plan; and
WHEREAS, the Patriot Path and multi-use path along Cedar Lake Road are identified in the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning’s Northeastern Illinois Regional Greenways and Trails Plan, which is a long-range plan which envisions a network of continuous greenway and trail corridors, linked across jurisdictions, providing scenic beauty, natural habitat, and recreational and transportation opportunities; and
WHEREAS, the County is desirous to submit separate applications for ITEP funding for a segment of the Patriot Path, along Illinois Route 137 from United States Route 41 to the Robert McClory Bike Path, and for non-motorized improvements constructed as part of the Cedar Lake Road realignment, from Hart Road to Nippersink Road; and
WHEREAS, the County will appropriate the required 20 percent local match, plus any additional amounts as may be required for the County’s share, if said grants are awarded.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by this County Board of Lake County, Illinois, that the County Board Chair, the County Clerk and the Lake County Engineer are authorized and hereby directed to apply for separate grants from the Illinois Department of Transportation, under its Illinois Transportation Enhancements Program grant Cycle 17, for the above-referenced Patriot Path and Cedar Lake Road realignment projects; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that if the said grants are approved by the Illinois Department of Transportation, they will be brought back to the Lake County Board for the appropriation of the required 20 percent local match, plus any additional amounts as may be required, and for any agreements necessary between Lake County and the Illinois Department of Transportation.
DATED at Waukegan, Illinois, on October 13, 2026.