Chicago veterans home construction to finish in December

(Joshua Lott/Getty Images)

A new veterans' home in Chicago is expected to welcome its first residents next spring, more than four years after ground was broken on the project.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin attended a Friday ceremony marking the placement of the building's final structural piece. The Chicago Tribune reports officials say the home should be completed in December.

Then-Gov. Pat Quinn proposed the 200-bed facility and the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs broke ground in September 2014. However the project stalled when Quinn lost his re-election bid and then-Gov. Bruce Rauner halted construction during budget negotiations. Construction resumed when a budget agreement was reached in June 2016.

The Chicago home will be Illinois' fifth state-run, long-term care facility for veterans. The federal government is paying for about two-thirds of the more than $70 million project.

___

Information from: Chicago Tribune, http://www.chicagotribune.com