County to subaward $4 million congressional appropriation to North Chicago for Sheridan Crossing cleanup

The committee approved a subrecipient agreement on Aug. 7 to pass a $4 million congressional community‑project appropriation to the City of North Chicago for environmental remediation at Sheridan Crossing, a former industrial parcel at Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Sheridan Road. The county applied for the appropriation in coordination with the city; the appropriation was awarded to Lake County and will be reimbursed to the city under a subrecipient arrangement.

Deputy County Administrator Matt Myers said the county placed conditions in the subrecipient agreement to protect the county’s interests because Lake County’s name remains on the congressional record and the county would be responsible should the federal funds be misused. The county will retain $100,000 of the $4 million to cover administrative costs and to hire an outside consultant to review submissions from the city for compliance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) rules.

City of North Chicago action: Myers reported that the city approved the subrecipient agreement on Monday and that North Chicago already has additional funds available to start remediation work; the city will be reimbursed under the terms of the agreement. Committee members thanked staff for negotiating protections and working with the city.

Why it matters: the Sheridan Crossing remediation aims to return a polluted property to productive use; HUD rules and federal compliance considerations require detailed financial and procedural controls. The county’s administrative portion is intended to ensure federal compliance and to fund county oversight.

Motion and vote: the committee approved the subrecipient agreement (resolution 8.17) and directed staff to proceed with the agreement implementation and consultant procurement to support HUD compliance review.