County Of Stephenson

County Of Stephenson Emergency Management Agency, a local government entity headquartered in Freeport, Illinois, acts as a federal grant recipient focused on regional transportation infrastructure planning and safety improvement projects. The agency operates exclusively as a prime recipient on federal transportation grants; it does not hold federal contracts and does not compete for procurements.

The agency's federal footprint centers on the Department of Transportation, which funds all six of its recent awards across three sub-agencies: the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration, and the Immediate Office of the Secretary of Transportation. The three named federal grant programs are the Rural and Tribal Assistance Pilot Program (CFDA 20.943), the Railroad Crossing Elimination Program (CFDA 20.327), and the Safe Streets and Roads for All program (CFDA 20.939).

Recent capability work includes a $523,915 cooperative agreement from DOT's Immediate Office of the Secretary of Transportation awarded in August 2026 under the Rural and Tribal Assistance Pilot Program to fund legal, technical, and financial advisors supporting a roundabout project at the intersection of Cedarville Road and Galena Road in Stephenson County, with deliverables including a work plan, quarterly reports, and project documentation running through August 2029. A $300,000 project grant from the Federal Railroad Administration awarded in May 2025 supports development of a comprehensive At-Grade Rail Crossing Mitigation Plan assessing public railroad crossings in Stephenson County and recommending grade separation, closure, or safety enhancement strategies, with completion targeted for January 2027. A $320,000 project grant from the Federal Highway Administration awarded in July 2023 funded a regional safety action plan addressing traffic fatalities and injuries across six counties in northwest Illinois, completed in June 2025. The agency also acts as a sub-recipient on two Illinois Department of Transportation sub-grants for bridge replacement and cold-in-place recycling infrastructure work, both awarded between 2021 and 2023.

Activity has remained sparse and episodic, with one award in 2020, one in 2021, two in 2023, one in 2025, and one in 2026. Combined dollars obligated across all awards total $2.2 million. One award (the Safe Streets and Roads for All grant) completed in the past twelve months; the Railroad Crossing Elimination Program award faces completion in January 2027 and represents the only recompete exposure within the next twenty-four months.