West Chicago …State Representative Mike Fortner (R-West Chicago) announced that funding has been released for the state’s “Safe Route to School” grant program.According to Rep. Fortner, two municipalities in the 95th district received grants for the construction, replacement or repair of sidewalks and bicycling paths. The City of Batavia received $165,000 grant money and the Wheaton/Warrenville area received $250,000.

“As our kids go back to school this month, this program is one additional safeguard our towns can put into place to ensure the safety of our kids going to and from school. In addition to safety, the construction of these sidewalks and bike paths will hopefully motivate our children to be more active,” Rep. Fortner said.

The Illinois Safe Routes to School program received close to $23 million in funds from the National Safe Routes to School Program through the Federal Highway Administration. This program is designed to provide schools and community groups with funding to build safer routes to schools and to provide programs to enable students to become safer walkers and cyclists. These improvements include engineering solutions, safety education, encouragement, enforcement and evaluation programs that work together to encourage children to get the exercise they need to lead happy, healthy lives.

Additional questions can be directed to Rep. Fortner’s office at (630) 293-9344.