Chicago Tribune Review,
Feb 10, 2005

$122 million in budget for Great Lakes upgrade

NORTH CHICAGO -- President Bush's proposed 2006 budget includes $122 million for Great Lakes Naval Training Center, part of a 10-year, $700 million renovation project intended to modernize the North Chicago facility, U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill) announced this week.

The funding will bankroll several projects at the center, including two new recruit training command barracks, a new drill hall and other infrastructure improvements, according to Kirk's office.

"While it is an austere budget, I am very pleased the Navy will invest heavily in Great Lakes, bringing hundreds of high-paying jobs to our communities," he said in a statement.

The money will not fund the renovation of dilapidated military housing at Ft. Sheridan and in Glenview, and separate appropriations for that project will have to be made, officials said.

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