Representative Cheri Bustos visited Augustana College Friday to meet with the director of a program working to tackle the lead paint problem in Scott County.
Last week, Augustana's Upper Mississippi Center for Sustainable Communities and the Scott County Health Department announced the partnership, which involves Augustana students identifying areas in the county with the highest risk of lead paint exposure and introducing solutions to prevent poisoning.
When Bustos heard about the project, she wanted to see how similar programs could work in Illinois communities. She says within the 14 counties in her congressional district, eight locations have some amount of children testing positive for lead in their blood.
She plans to reach out to other colleges to tell them about Augustana's program and how it can be adapted to the communities.
Earlier this week, the City of Galesburg received a federally funded 4 million dollar forgivable loan to replace nearly 2-thousand lead water service lines.