The groundbreaking ceremony for the new federal courthouse will be held at 2 p.m. today at South Church and Green streets, part of the two-square-block construction site.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo, R-Egan, will host the ceremony.

Also speaking are Mayor Larry Morrissey, Winnebago County Board Chairman Scott Christiansen, U.S. District Judge Philip Reinhard and U.S. General Services Administration Regional Administrator James Handley.

The six-story, 193,000-square-foot courthouse is expected to take 30 months to build. It will house a dozen federal offices, including the U.S. District Court, U.S. Marshals Service and the Department of Homeland Security.

Manzullo and Durbin secured more than $100 million in federal funds over eight years to cover the cost of the courthouse.