Obama's Earmarks Released

Currently, Benedictine offers secondary education degree programs to firefighters, who pay only for their textbooks; the University has absorbed all other costs. This project would expand the program to include Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and first responders throughout Illinois, allowing police, firemen, and Iraq and Afghanistan veterans throughout Illinois to receive a free education from Benedictine University.

Carpentersville, IL, for the Carpentersville Community Response Team: $500,000.

To address the growing influence of gang activity in the Village of Carpentersville, the police department created the Community Response Team. This team is a unique, multi-faceted approach to address the public's concerns through intervention, education and strict enforcement.

Carthage, IL, to develop the Illinois 336 Corridor Carthage Exchange: $1,350,000.

This utilities expansion project would enable Memorial Hospital to expand its healthcare campus and would also attract economic development in the area. The hospital is currently developing land acquisition, architectural, and financing plans to for the construction of a new hospital and medical office building, which will help Memorial Hospital better serve the community. In addition to enabling this hospital's expansion, the utilities expansion project would also enable and attract further development in the area.

Center for Advanced Design, Research, and Exploration (CADRE) at the University of Illinois at Chicago, for development of rapid wound healing therapies: $4,800,000.

Funding will assist CADRE in the research and development of therapies to promote rapid wound healing, lessen infection, reduce bleeding and scarring, and reduce operational medical costs using Light Emitting Diodes and directed energy/radio-frequency therapies. CADRE's developments will be extremely critical in managing patients both in theater and those affected by homeland disasters and will potentially allow immediate response to wound healing, lessen infection and scaring, and reduce operation and medical costs.

Center for Advanced Design, Research, and Exploration (CADRE) at the University of Illinois at Chicago, to develop a hand-held device used in combat: $2,000,000.

This device will be able to detect and identify selected energy emissions, biomarkers, chemical and biological signatures; LEP goggles to block high intensity laser radiation while allowing low intensity light transmission for day and night vision. The device will be connected via a global positioning data link for immediate assessment, medical evaluation, and treatment decision-making, allowing the device to access and communicate with various operational, medical, and Defense databases.