Details of Illinois' $45 Billion Infrastructure Investment Plan

The Chicago Tribune combed a pile of legislation to produce an authoritative database of projects funded in an historic spending spree by Illinois.

1 minute read

October 20, 2019, 11:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Illinois Highway 90

NBA2030 / Wikimedia Commons

Jonathon Berlin, Kori Rumore, and Meghan Kelly share a new database created by the Chicago Tribune that allows residents to search and discover where projects are happening as part of the state's $45 billion capital investment plan.

The capital investment plan has been credited as the state’s first major public works program in a decade. Given that historical significance, this article breaks down several different ways of understanding the plan, form its sources of funding, to the kinds of projects that will be funded, to how decisions about funding are made.

The star of the show, however, is the list produce by the Tribune analysis of the two bills that enabled the plan, HB62 [pdf] and SB262 [pdf]: 3,000 projects in all. There's also one big caveat:

Adding up all the projects below only gets to about $8.7 billion which is a lot less than the plan's total $45 billion in spending. That's because of a few reasons. 1. The list below only includes allocations where a specific project or town was listed. There are huge piles of funds that have not yet been decided or detailed by the state. And, 2. Some funds will be allocated in the years to come, after all, it's a 6-year plan.

Friday, October 18, 2019 in Chicago Tribune

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Wastewater pouring out from a pipe.

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage

Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

April 13, 2025 - Inside Climate News

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

April 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Black and white photos of camp made up of small 'earthquake shacks' in Dolores Park in 1906 after the San Francisco earthquake.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees

More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

April 15, 2025 - Charles F. Bloszies

Entrance to subterranean Hollywood/Vine Metro station in Los Angeles, California surrounded by tall apartment buildings.

Opinion: California’s SB 79 Would Improve Housing Affordability and Transit Access

A proposed bill would legalize transit-oriented development statewide.

April 21 - San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Yellow roadside sign with extreme heat warning: "Danger - Extreme Conditions! - STOP - Do not hike Jun-Sep - HEAT KILLS"

Record Temperatures Prompt Push for Environmental Justice Bills

Nevada legislators are proposing laws that would mandate heat mitigation measures to protect residents from the impacts of extreme heat.

April 21 - Nevada Current

View of downtown Pittsburgh, PA with river and bridge in foreground at dusk.

Downtown Pittsburgh Set to Gain 1,300 New Housing Units

Pittsburgh’s office buildings, many of which date back to the early 20th century, are prime candidates for conversion to housing.

April 21 - Axios