JEFFERSON COUNTY, IL — Several southern Illinois housing authorities are among 93 in the state that will be seeing a portion of $134 million to make capital investments in their public housing units. According to a statement released Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the money is part of more than $2.7 billion in funding released to nearly 3,000 public housing authorities in all 50 states along with the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Interim Executive Director of the Jefferson County Housing Authority Mark Laur says, “it’s undetermined what exactly the funds will be used for at this time. However, typically those types of capital funds are used for non-routine maintenance. For example, new roofing, parking lot repairs, or replacement of water/sewer lines, just to name a few examples of past projects”.

The grants announced Monday are provided through HUD’s Capital Fund Program, which offers annual funding to all public housing authorities to build, renovate, and/or modernize the public housing in their communities. Housing authorities can use the funding to complete large-scale improvements such as replacing roofs or making energy-efficient upgrades to heating system and installing water conservation measures.