PEMBROKE – State Senator Patrick Joyce (D-Essex) is working to improve quality of life for Pembroke residents.

For decades, residents of Pembroke Township have been using stoves and electric space heaters in order to warm up their homes. Winters are often brutally cold in Kankakee and Grundy counties, which causes many residents to live in dangerously cold temperatures.

“Most communities have had access to natural gas for heating and cooking since the 1920s,” Joyce said. “It’s shameful that Pembroke doesn’t already have access to this basic service.”

In an effort to give the community of Pembroke a helping hand, Sen. Joyce introduced the Pembroke Township Natural Gas Investment Pilot Program.

The program would allocate public and private grants to the Pembroke Township for the construction of new natural gas pipelines and to fix crumbling infrastructure.

Sen. Joyce has been working alongside Rev. Jesse Jackson and Hopkins Park Mayor Mark Hodge in order to better the living conditions of the people of Pembroke.

“The people of Pembroke want to thrive,” Joyce said. “Access to natural gas will improve public safety and help with economic development. It makes it harder for them to get ahead when they don’t have access to the same basic resources as every other community around them.”

Senate Bill 3985 is also an effort to bring new jobs and businesses to Pembroke.