Press Release
Monday, September 12, 2022
DUPAGE COUNTY CLERK JEAN KACZMAREK ANNOUNCES $585,000 GRANT APPROVED TO EXPAND PAVING OF PARKING LOT AT FAIRGROUNDS Funding for Paving Made Possible by Grant from Illinois State Board of Elections
WHEATON, IL – DuPage County
Clerk Jean Kaczmarek announces that the DuPage County Fairgrounds’ main parking
lot will be completely repaved in 2023 thanks to a $585,000 polling place
accessibility grant from the Illinois State Board of Elections. A portion of
the parking lot was already repaved in 2022 thanks to an initial state grant of
$149,000. The Fairgrounds serves as DuPage County’s most popular polling
place during Early Voting and Election Day.
“Nearly 34,000 people voted
at the Fairgrounds during the 2020 General Election. Voters returning in 2022
will already notice a night-and-day difference in the condition of the main
parking lot from funding from the first grant,” Kaczmarek says. “Many of the
bumps, potholes, gravel and puddles near the polling place are already gone.
We’re pleased that this latest grant was approved so the lot can be completed.”
Total grant money the DuPage
County Clerk’s office has obtained for improvements to the Fairgrounds’ parking
lot is $734,000.
The County Clerk’s Office
began to partner with the Fairgrounds as their main Early Voting site and
Central Vote Center in 2020 out of necessity during COVID as a location to keep
voters and election judges safe. Many things came together to make the 2020
election successful – the availability of the Fairgrounds was among them.
Because the Fairgrounds worked so well for elections, the partnership will
continue.
“When the polling place grant
opportunity was presented last year, Deputy Clerk Scott MacKay suggested a
much-needed fresh parking lot for our most popular polling site – the
Fairgrounds,” Kaczmarek adds. “After the first portion of the main lot was
completed, we sought funds to complete the project.”
DuPage County Fairgrounds Association Manager
and CEO Jim McGuire says, “I cannot thank Clerk Kaczmarek and her team enough
for their support. Receiving the first polling place accessibility grant lifted
the grounds incredibly. The comfort of our guests was huge, but the overall
look and functionality has created many opportunities. To receive a second big
grant is something we have only dreamed about.”