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Illinois Land Improvement Contractors Association, Inc.
News
AISWCD: Second Year of Budget Cuts Threatens Future of Conservation Districts
The Association of Illinois Soil & Water Conservation Districts (AISWCD) is sounding the alarm as the FY26 Illinois state budget continues to underfund the state’s 97 Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs). For the second consecutive year, SWCDs will receive only $4.5 million — nearly a 50 percent reduction from FY24 levels and below what was budgeted more than 25 years ago — leaving many districts facing layoffs, service reductions, or even closure.
New Funding Opportunity Announced for Nonpoint Source Edge-of-Field Control Projects
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) Acting Director James Jennings today announced a new grant program, the Gulf Hypoxia Program (GHP) Priority Watershed Implementation, offering up to $788,000 in funding for nonpoint source (NPS) pollution edge-of-field control projects to prevent, eliminate, or reduce nitrate loads to Illinois' surface waters that serve as public water supply sources.
US DOT Agrees DBE Program Implementation Unconstitutional
The US Department of Transportation (US DOT) said in a court filing this week it has agreed to end consideration of race or gender in DOT’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program (DBE) program when awarding billions of dollars in federal highway and transit projects. USDOT agreed with plaintiffs in the suit that the DBE “program’s use of race- and sex-based presumptions in awarding contracts is unconstitutional."
Reconciliation Package Faces Strong Push Back in Senate
The House reconciliation bill, now officially called “One Big Beautiful Bill,” passed by a vote of 215-214 prior to the Memorial Day recess. It is intended to implement President Trump’s domestic agenda by extending expiring tax cuts; removing taxes on tips and overtime pay; increasing funding for border security, including continued construction of a border wall, and enhanced military funding, including a golden dome satellite defense system. In addition, the bill cuts spending on Medicaid, food aid, higher education and clean energy investments to pay for these new initiatives and to reduce overall federal expenditures.
Court Finds Swampbuster Rules Constitutional
Agri Pulse reports that a federal judge on Thursday upheld the constitutionality of the farm bill’s Swampbuster provision, which puts producers at risk of losing access to farm program benefits if caught destroying protected wetlands.
DOGE Spending Cuts to be Formalized in Future Legislation
This week President Trump indicted that the administration will send legislation to the Hill to formalize spending cuts made by the Elon Musk headed Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE. Those cuts would have to be done in subsequent rescissions and appropriations legislation, because of rules excluding changes to discretionary spending in the current budget reconciliation package.
Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Acquisition of River Valley Pipe
Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc., a leading provider of innovative water management solutions in the stormwater and onsite septic wastewater industries announced today the acquisition of River Valley Pipe LLC, a privately-owned pipe manufacturing company located in the Midwest region of the United States.
Illinois State Police Announces Results of Commercial Motor Vehicle Detail
Illinois State Police (ISP) conducted a Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance detail on May 13-16, 2025. This commercial motor vehicle enforcement campaign occurred at fixed and portable scale locations in Cook, Will, Madison, Montgomery, and St. Clair Counties. Officers successfully enforced state and federal motor carrier safety regulations by conducting North American Standard Inspections and educated drivers on the importance of safe driving, seat belt use, and safe equipment.
Mentorship in Construction: Building Skills & Relationships on the Job Site
Contractors should strongly consider implementing a mentorship program within their companies, to not only build valuable skills but also to foster strong relationships that can benefit the entire organization.
Buffers & Bioreactors: What's the ROI?
A team at Iowa State University has been hard at work researching ways to make practices like saturated buffers and bioreactors cheaper and easier for landowners to install.
Researchers Study Conservation Practices
Research continues to increase the effectiveness of best management practices for improving water quality, while seeking to make practices cheaper and easier for landowners to install, say researchers at Iowa State University.
Mapping Tile Lines Can Help with Future Maintenance
A ag educator says farmers can benefit from knowing more about drain tile, and the location of older systems installed on their farms.
Kevin Erb with the University of Wisconsin Extension tells Brownfield well-drained soil helps improve crop yields, but there are a lot of old drainage tile systems that might not be working well anymore, and finding them can be challenging.
A Thanks & Farewell from Outgoing LICA President Tony Cain
Serving as president has been an honor. I have learned a lot these past few years about leadership and have met many good people. I could not have done it without good, active members, associates and staff – and my beautiful wife Michelle. Thanks to everyone for helping me grow into a better person.
Rare Chicago Dust Storm Reignites Debates Over the Role of Agriculture, Experts Say
A tall, imposing plume of agricultural sediment blew from central Illinois and over dry farmland to envelop Chicago, dropping visibility to near zero last week during a type of dust storm mostly seen in arid climates in the Middle East, North Africa and the southwestern U.S. “It’s pretty rare to have dust storms in Illinois,” said Trent Ford, the Illinois state climatologist. “It’s not unprecedented, but it’s uncommon. And for a dust storm to affect Chicago is even more uncommon.”
ADMC Corner with Keegan Kult
Another check-in with Keegan Kult, Executive Director for ADMC, yielded some exciting updates for the drainage water management industry.
Rigging Safety For Trench & Shoring Operations
Rigging safety in trenching and shoring operations is essential to prevent incidents involving heavy equipment, loads, or structural collapse. Below are some key safety practices and guidelines to ensure safe rigging during trenching and shoring work.
Characterizing the Fine Scale Spatial Distribution of Soil P for Efficient P Management in an Illinois Tile Drained Field
Closed depressions in post-glacial landscapes can accumulate phosphorus (P) due to repeated flooding and become hotspots for P loss when underlain by subsurface (tile) drainage. Soil P mapping is routinely based on the interpolation of samples from a 1-ha grid, which may miss closed depressions and underestimate soil P levels leading to overfertilization and nutrient loss.
Control, Automated
Controlled drainage offers multiple benefits to farmers including the ability to control the flow of water and trap nutrients in their fields, yet adoption rates in North America continue to lag. A new pilot project being conducted by researchers at The Ohio State University is looking to change that.
Water Funding Comes Into Focus
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a hearing April 30 for water and wastewater experts to report on the impacts of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in addressing major infrastructure repairs and upgrades much needed by state and local agencies. The experts called repeatedly for Congress to fully appropriate funding at authorized levels for fiscal 2026.