Federal spending cuts have put some Metro East infrastructure projects in a state of uncertainty, including plans to address sewage spilling out of city pipes in Cahokia Heights.
The Republican-controlled Congress eliminated all local project funding from a temporary spending bill passed in March to prevent a government shutdown and fund federal agencies through the end of the fiscal year in September.
U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield, traveled to Granite City on Tuesday for a private conversation with constituents and public news conference to criticize Republican leaders, who she blamed for the cuts while drawing attention to the impact on local communities.
Budzinski represents Illinois’ 13th District, which includes Cahokia Heights and Granite City as well as other metro-east communities like Belleville and East St. Louis.
“These are projects that had already gone through the appropriations process, had been approved, but we just failed to reach, under Republican leadership, a complete federal budget,” Budzinski told reporters during the news conference.
She was among the mostly Democratic members of Congress who voted against the continuing resolution.
One cut Budzinski highlighted Tuesday was $1,105,800 for Cahokia Heights. City Engineer Sheldon Butler said it would have gone toward separating Cahokia Heights’ sanitary sewer system from East St. Louis’ system to help prevent backups.
“If they have problems, it comes to our side and vice versa,” Butler said during the news conference.
Budzinski originally sought a larger amount for the project, $5.2 million. The House Appropriations Committee knocked it down to $1.1 million before it was ultimately eliminated from spending bills entirely. Budzinski said she plans to resubmit it and other projects for her district during budget negotiations for fiscal year 2026.
In the meantime, the sewer project is at a standstill. Butler said officials now can’t complete the design by the end of 2025 like they planned or start construction in 2026.
When asked if local officials would look for alternate sources of funding, Francella Jackson, chief of staff to Mayor Curtis McCall Sr., said the city’s only alternative is taxpayer money in the general fund, which is also needed to maintain streets and other services.
The city is relying on federal funding for large infrastructure fixes, and without it, those projects might not happen, Jackson said.
“It could actually disappear and then we have to go back and tell these residents ‘You’re gonna continue to have raw sewage coming up in their homes. You’re gonna continue to suffer from water and things like that because they’re playing games in Washington with people’s lives,’” Jackson said during the news conference. “It’s very, very devastating.”
Cahokia Heights residents, particularly those who reside in the former Centreville area, have been plagued by sewage backups and flooding with sewage-contaminated waters for decades because of the city’s deteriorating infrastructure. Exposure to sewage in the streets and inside homes is causing health concerns.
Universities, including Washington University in St. Louis, began conducting an independent health study in the community in 2022 looking at bacterial and parasitic infections and intestinal inflammation.
Cahokia Heights resident Walter Byrd said he and other residents have stomach problems and issues with breathing from the sewage, flooding and mold in their homes.
Byrd is a member and past president of the resident group Centreville Citizens for Change, which has been advocating for action to address the problems for years.
“How long we gotta go through this? They sit up there and fight, but we still gotta go through it,” Byrd said by phone Tuesday.
His message to Congress is simple: “Please, we need help down here.”
In a statement, Mayor McCall also urged faster action at the federal level.
“These issues are not just inconveniences; they are public health and safety emergencies that demand immediate and sustained attention,” McCall stated. “The people of Cahokia Heights should not be left to suffer due to political or administrative decisions beyond their control.”
Cahokia Heights also lost out on federal money that the two Democratic U.S. senators for Illinois were seeking for the city in fiscal year 2025.
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin had requested $3.2 million in federal funding to continue repairs to Cahokia Heights’ main sewer, called a trunkline, and $500,000 for a flood risk study that included Cahokia Heights and nine nearby communities.
And U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth had requested $1 million for new sewers and pump stations in Cahokia Heights, particularly in the Ping Pong neighborhood in the former Centreville area.
Two Metro East representatives in Congress voted in favor of the continuing resolution: Republican U.S. Reps. Mike Bost and Mary Miller.
Bost explained his position in a statement on social media after the vote.
“I voted tonight to freeze spending at current levels while giving President (Donald) Trump the time and resources to advance the America First agenda,” Bost wrote. “This locks in funding to secure the border and process deportations of illegal immigrants as the administration continues to slice through wasteful spending.”
Miller also issued a statement on social media calling on Congress to give Trump the budget “to eliminate the waste, fraud, and abuse in our government, secure our borders, and deport illegals.”
Other Metro East projects in Budzinski’s district that lost funding include:
- $1.2 million to develop a community center in the village of Brooklyn. This funding would have been used to revitalize a historic building located on Route 66, “The Skating Rink,” into a multifunctional space for community activities.
- $1.1 million for the construction of a new drinking water treatment plant in the village of Glen Carbon.
- $1 million for the expansion of the America’s Central Port Wastewater Treatment Plant in Granite City.
Editor's note: This story was originally published by the Belleville News-Democrat. Lexi Cortes is a reporter for the BND, a news partner of St. Louis Public Radio.
