Date: January 11, 2005
Contact: Chuck Connolly
Phone: (708) 534-4059
Fax: (708) 534-8399
Email: c-connolly@govst.edu
For Immediate Release
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Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. presents checks to Governors State University and University Park representing $500,000 in federal grants
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University Park, Illinois, January 11, 2005 – The president of Governors State University, Stuart Fagan, and the mayor of University Park, Al McCowan, announced today that Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr., visited the campus Tuesday, January 11, 2005, to dedicate the playground of the university’s Family Development Center and present village officials a check of $200,000, representing a Federal grant the congressman secured for a beautification project along Cicero Avenue.Congressman Jackson has also secured grants totaling $300,000 for equipment and training for the Family Development Center. President Fagan said, "The Family Development Center has successfully developed an integrated program to provide education for children, beginning at birth, and for training parents and educators on the best ways to maximize a child’s potential. These programs are critical because research on how humans learn indicates that an individual is essentially formed by the age of three. In addition to this training, we also provide affordable childcare for some 275 families who otherwise would have no choice but to leave their children with someone who may not be competent or qualified."
Fagan added, "The partnership we have with University Park is a textbook example of how a university and a community should work together to serve the needs of the people. We’ve consulted with University Park every step of the way."
Mayor McCowan said, "We have a vision for what University Park and the South Suburbs can be one day: a center of vitality, with good jobs, good schools, safe neighborhoods, and potential for growth. The Federal grant Congressman Jackson secured to improve a stretch of Cicero Avenue will help us attract new businesses to the area. And the grants for the Family Development Center he secured don’t only benefit the university—they benefit our citizens as well. With our plans, with a partner like Governors State, and with the support and encouragement of people like Congressman Jackson, there’s no limit to what we can achieve together."
