GOVERNOR ANNOUNCES $300,000 GRANT TO FLORA

SPRINGFIELD -- Governor George H. Ryan today announced that the City of Flora has been awarded a $300,000 grant to help McDaniel Transit Co. Inc. build a 56,000-square-foot addition to its warehouse and expand its storage and distribution operations. The expansion is expected to create 30 new jobs.

"Job creation is crucial to the economic health of smaller communities such as Flora," Ryan said. "Helping businesses expand and grow is an important function of state government. This grant is an excellent example of the state's efforts to help local communities create jobs."

The Department of Commerce and Community Affairs (DCCA) awarded the grant through its Community Development Assistance Program (CDAP). The CDAP funds will be used to close an open drainage ditch, allowing McDaniel Transit to proceed with expanding the north side of its warehouse.

"The cost of infrastructure improvements can be an overwhelming obstacle to economic development efforts in smaller Illinois communities," DCCA Director Pam McDonough said. "CDAP grants allow towns like Flora to help provide the local business community with the help they need to move forward and grow."

McDaniel Transit Co. Inc. an Illinois corporation, is a truck freight shipping and warehousing firm. It serves a number of industries that operate within Flora's city-owned industrial park.

"We are delighted to receive this grant," said Flora Mayor Lewis L. Wolfe. "This project will be a big help to our industrial park, and we couldn't make these improvements on our own. This is just one more element of progress in Flora's economic development efforts."

"This grant will allow my company to expand," said McDaniel Transit President Joseph L. McDaniel. "This grant is also going to alleviate the traffic flow problems we have with the semi-tractors and docking areas. I am pleased to be able to continue to participate in our local community's industrial growth."