ILLINOIS — The Illinois Housing Development Authority Board of Directors recently awarded funds totaling $2,184,000 to 62 municipalities, counties and land banks across Illinois to help spur community redevelopment through the elimination of blighted and abandoned properties.

Awarded under the APP program, eligible uses for the funds include maintaining weeds and grass, trimming trees and bushes, installing fences to protect the public and repairing or demolishing abandoned properties.

Locally, Sesser will be getting $30,000, Anna will receive $32,000, Vienna, Bluford and Carrier Mills will see $20,000 and Centralia will get $33,400.

Established by the Illinois General Assembly through the Save Our Neighborhoods Act, the APP program provides financial assistance to address the lasting impact of the foreclosure crisis by assisting communities with neighborhood improvement, greening and redevelopment. The APP program is funded through a filing fee paid by banks and other lending institutions on a sliding scale based on how many foreclosures they file each year.

Through the APP program, the IHDA has provided over $25 million to local units of government for the maintenance and/or demolition of over 4,000 properties within their jurisdictions.