Wilmington School District 209-U officials recently traveled to Washington, D.C., to personally thank U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, for his longtime support of a federal program that provides nearly $2 million annually to the district.
Superintendent Kevin Feeney and Board of Education Secretary Peggy Dore-Kunz met with Durbin as part of the district’s continued involvement with the National Association of Federally Impacted Schools, an organization that advocates for school districts affected financially by the presence of federally owned property.
For Wilmington, the stakes are significant.
The federal government owns approximately 28.5 percent of the land within District 209-U, which is therefore removed from local property tax rolls. Much of that land was once part of the former Joliet Arsenal and is now occupied by the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie and Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery.
Together, the two federal properties encompass nearly 16,000 acres within the School District, all of which are exempt from local taxes.
Therefore, District 209-U depends on federal Impact Aid to replace a portion of the revenue it otherwise could collect if the land were privately owned and taxable.
“It’s been a significant amount each year for the district and we are grateful for Senator Durbin’s support over the years,” Feeney said. “That funding has become a vital part of our annual budget and we appreciate the fact that Senator Durbin, a Democrat, always reached across the aisle to work with Republicans, and had the respect of his colleagues to see that the program stayed funded.”
The federal Impact Aid program has existed since 1950 and assists school districts that lose local tax revenue because of tax-exempt federal property or face additional costs associated with federally connected students.
Wilmington receives funding through Section 7002, Payments for Federal Property, which specifically assists districts that have lost a significant portion of their local tax base because of federal land ownership.
District 209-U has relied on the funding for roughly three decades. The district receives nearly $2 million annually, although that represents only a portion of the property tax revenue officials say could otherwise be generated from the federally owned acreage.
That makes continued congressional funding of Impact Aid an important issue for Wilmington officials, who regularly travel to Washington and work through NAFIS to advocate for the program.
During the recent Washington visit, NAFIS recognized Durbin with its Friend of NAFIS Award for his support of Impact Aid and federally impacted school districts.
“We are grateful for Senator Durbin’s ongoing commitment to Impact Aid and for his leadership in ensuring that our schools receive the federal support they need and deserve,” Feeney said.
The meeting also carried added significance because Durbin is nearing the end of a congressional career spanning more than four decades.
Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, was first elected to the U.S. House in 1982 and served seven terms representing the Springfield-based 20th Congressional District. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1996 and has since been re-elected four times.
He is the longest-serving U.S. senator in Illinois history.
While Durbin’s tenure is coming to an end, Wilmington officials know their advocacy for Impact Aid will not.
Nationwide, about 200 school districts annually receive Section 7002 payments because of federally owned property within their boundaries.
For District 209-U, maintaining relationships with Illinois’ congressional delegation will remain an important part of protecting the funding.
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October 5, 2026 at 10:05AM
