Gov. Pritzker announces financial help for businesses impacted by COVID-19

ILLINOIS (WFIE) - The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 1,466 new cases of COVID-19 in the state on Tuesday, including 20 additional deaths.

IDPH is reporting a total of 264,210 cases, including 8,332 deaths.

As of Monday night, 1,584 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 373 patients were in the ICU and 144 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.

Currently, a total of 4,810,827 tests for COVID-19 have been performed in the state.

[Find more statistics on the Illinois Coronavirus Website]

Here are the current cases in our Illinois area:

White County - 151 cases
Wabash County - 139 cases, one death
Edwards County - 55 cases
Wayne County - 224 cases, four deaths

Tuesday, Governor JB Pritzker joined the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) to announce the latest in a series of grants made available for small businesses in Illinois suffering losses as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as well as communities impacted by the recent civil unrest.

Applications for the second round of the Business Interruption Grants (BIG) program will be made available this Thursday afternoon and will offer $220 million in funds for small businesses hit hardest by the ongoing pandemic.

The Governor also announced applications for the new Rebuild Distressed Communities (RDC) program will become available in the coming weeks. This program will provide $25 million in funding to cover the cost of civil-unrest related repairs while also supporting new investments in economically distressed communities across Illinois.

Application information can be found on DCEO’s website at Illinois.gov/dceo and the application form will open for submissions later this week.

The second wave of funds from BIG aims to provide relief for all types of small businesses, with a focus on businesses located downstate or in disproportionately impacted areas (DIAs).

Heavily Impacted Industries - $60 million for heavily distressed industries, such as movie theatres, performing arts venues, concert venues, indoor recreation, amusement parks, event spaces located at banquet halls and hotels, and more.
Disproportionately Impacted Areas - $70 million set aside for DIAs, defined by zip codes identified by the General Assembly for communities that are most economically distressed and vulnerable to COVID-19. A map of DIAs can be accessed here.
Downstate Communities – DCEO has committed to ensuring that at least half of all remaining funds, totaling more than $100 million, are reserved for businesses in downstate and rural communities of Illinois.
Priority Businesses – Apart from the $60 million for heavily impacted industries, applications from the following types of businesses will be prioritized for review for remaining funds: businesses directly affected by regional mitigations implemented by the state or local governments, independently owned retail, tourism- and hospitality-related industries including accommodations, and more.
Agriculture - $5 million of the remainder of funds will be set aside for livestock production disruptions.
Grants and Loan Forgiveness for Illinois Small Business Emergency Loan recipients - As authorized by the General Assembly, DCEO will offer grants for businesses that have incurred eligible costs to offset loans received under the Illinois Small Business Emergency Loan program. This round of loan forgiveness and grants will go to businesses that have received loans or remain on the wait list and the program will sunset going forward as DCEO and its partners focus on making BIG awards.