Red Bud, IL Receives $2.5M in Grants to Promote Development
Date Posted: April 28, 2025
Posted In: News, Projects,
The City of Red Bud, IL announced it has been selected to receive a $932,041 Research in Illinois to Spur Economic Recovery (RISE) Implementation grant. As part of the state-funded program, Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) will award a total of $10 million for community revitalization projects, which will enable grantees to implement projects aligned with economic recovery plans developed through a RISE Planning grant.
“As Governor, one of my top priorities is to reverse decades of neglect and broken promises and bring jobs, opportunity, and hope back to communities across Illinois, while breathing new life into our downtown corridors and beyond,” Pritzker said. “This program will directly support communities across the state by funding critical community development projects, housing and infrastructure all while revitalizing commercial corridors.”
But the good news for Red Bud doesn’t stop there. In January, the city received word they had been awarded $929,046 from the Regional Site Readiness Grant, another DCEO initiative.
Additional funds of $86,776 and $68,466 came from Energy Transition Community Grants, and $473,575 from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) rounds out the nearly $2.5 million awarded to Red Bud to fund infrastructure development in their new
business park.
Red Bud Mayor, Susan L. Harbaugh stated, “These awards underscore the State of Illinois’ recognition that Red Bud is a community where businesses can grow and thrive.
This achievement is also a testament to the dedication and effectiveness of our city’s leadership team, whose hard work has resulted in successful back-to-back grant applications.
These resources will be instrumental in advancing infrastructure improvements at the Red Bud Business Park — a major step forward in our commitment to economic development and opportunity for our community.
Creating Shovel-Ready Land
In 2017 the City of Red Bud purchased 50.58 acres of farmland with the intent to develop light industrial/commercial property due to the lack of shovel-ready lots within city limits. After the initial land purchase, the city spent the next two and a half years working to establish initial infrastructure plans. Unfortunately, all progress halted to a stop with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite this setback, the city continued to work to bring the vision of a new business park into fruition, officials said. However, recent closures and layoffs have negatively impacted Red Bud’s economic landscape. In 2022, the Ruma Convent was removed from service, eliminating approximately 50 jobs it provided to the community.
In 2023 the local nursing home closed its doors due to a new acquisition and change in ownership. And 2024 brought layoffs from one of the leading industries in town, Roeslein Modular Fabrication, a world-wide leader of prefabricated and preassembled
systems.
This, in addition to the retirement of a coal-fed power plant in neighboring Baldwin, IL, has left the region void of nearly 300 jobs, forcing Red Bud citizens to commute out of the area for new employment opportunities.
Today, city leaders said, the City of Red Bud is reclaiming its workforce through grant funds made possible by local partnerships with leading economic development organizations such as SI Now, the Leadership Council of Southwestern Illinois, and the Monroe County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC).
The MCEDC is a RISE Planning grantee who, thanks to RISE funds, developed the Regional Economic Recovery Plan published in March 2024. This plan identifies and includes the Red Bud Business Park as a priority project, allowing Red Bud’s eligibility
to apply for RISE Implementation funding.
Red Bud Administrative Officer, Jill Landgraf said, “This is a major leap forward for Red Bud’s future — and none of it would be possible without the vision, persistence, and collaborative spirit that has driven this project forward since 2017. Seeing the new business park move closer to becoming a reality is exciting not only for the city, but for the entire region as we lay the groundwork for long-term economic growth. We look forward to continuing the momentum and working together to make the Red Bud Business Park a vibrant hub for business and innovation.”
Through the RISE Implementation Program, the State is allocating funding toward economic development projects or initiatives identified in plans produced with support from RISE Local and Regional Planning grants to accelerate economic recovery. This includes acquiring land for affordable housing development, street scaping, historic building renovation and other critical infrastructure projects identified in localities’ RISE plans.