From State Rep. Allen Skillicorn:
Together We Win
Thank you to everyone who is helping curb the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) by following your common sense, washing your hands and frequently touched surfaces, and doing your part with social distancing.
Recently, a number of people have called or emailed me about filing for unemployment benefits due to the coronavirus emergency and I wanted to offer the latest guidance below.
Just a reminder to businesses that a number of grants, forgivable loans, and low-interest loans are being made available through the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to assist and keep your employees on the books and paid for the next several weeks.
Also, the President just signed a $2.2 Trillion CARES Act relief package with direct financial assistance and expanded unemployment benefits to many people who wouldn’t have qualified otherwise like one-person shops and gig workers.
My prayers are with you and your loved ones. Together, we can and will win this battle against our invisible enemy.
Latest Guidance for Unemployment Claims
There have been issues with the electronic system not handling the increased volume of activity. IDES (the Illinois Department of Employment Security) has upgraded the system to handle more applications and implemented an alternating online schedule based on the first letter of your last name:
Online Filing Schedule:
- Those with last names beginning with letters A-M can file their claims on Sundays, Tuesdays, or Thursdays.
- Those with last names beginning with letters N-Z are asked to file their claims on Mondays, Wednesday, or Fridays.
- Saturdays will be available for anyone to accommodate those who could not file during their allotted window.
If you do not have access to the internet, the call center filing schedule is:
Call Center Filing Schedule:
- Those with last names beginning with letters A-M are asked to call on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 7:30am – 6pm.
- Those with last names beginning with letters N-Z are asked to call on Mondays and Wednesdays between 7:30am – 6pm.
- Fridays (7:30am – 6pm) will be available for anyone to accommodate those who could not file during their allotted window.
The day or time of day in which a claim is filed will not impact whether you receive benefits or your benefit amount. Additionally, claims will be back-dated to reflect the date in which a claimant was laid-off or let go from their job due to COVID-19.
Note: The days in which you can file a claim may be different from the days in which you are asked to certify.
Online filing and claims applications will be unavailable every night from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. for daily claims processing.
US Chamber of Commerce Provides Information on Small Business Loans
State of Illinois Ramps up Emergency Aid Relief
State Level Business Resources for COVID-19 Relief
Hospitality Emergency Grant Program
The grant is administered by Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) to provide relief for bars, restaurants, and lodging establishments like hotels and motels.
Funds Available: $14 million to provide grants to eligible bars and restaurants for rent, payroll, job training, and technology enabling new operation and eligible lodging establishments for the retention of employees.
Eligibility and grant limits:
Bars and restaurants that generated between $500,000 and $1 million in revenue in 2019 are eligible for up to $25,000
Bars and restaurants that generated less than $500,000 in revenue in 2019 are eligible for up to $10,000
Lodging establishments that generated less than $8 million in revenue in 2019 are eligible for up to $50,000
Applications for the Grant Program will be accepted on dceocovid19resources.com until April 1, 2020 at 5:00pm. Qualifying businesses will be notified by April 4, 2020 and funds will be made available within two days of receiving the necessary bank information.
Illinois Small Business Emergency Loan Fund
The loan program is administered by DCEO and IDFPR to offer small business loans of up to $50,000 at 3% interest (current prime rate is 4.25% based on SBA projections) with a five-year repayment period and no payments due for the first six months. Loan funds must be used for working capital (rent, payroll, job training, etc) with at least 50% of the loan applied to payroll or other compensation.
Eligibility and loan limits:
Business located outside of the City of Chicago with fewer than 50 workers and less than $3 million in revenue in 2019 and that have experienced at least a 25% decrease in revenue as a result of COVID-19 may receive up to $50,000. Businesses should complete and submit an expression of interest on:
https://www2.illinois.gov/dceo/SmallBizAssistance/Pages/IllinoisSmallBusinessEmergencyLoanFund.aspx.
Lending partners will begin accepting official applications and will contact eligible business that have expressed interest on April 1, 2020.
Federal Level
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) offers a number of loan programs designed to help assist small businesses succeed pre and post COVID-19 pandemic.
Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program
The loan program provides small businesses (typically businesses with fewer than 500 employees) with working capital loans of up to $2 million with a loan advance of up to $10,000.
Express Bridge Loan Pilot Program
The loan program allows small businesses that currently have a relationship with a SBA Express Lender to access up to $25,000 in loans to bridge the gap while waiting for Economic Injury Disaster Loan dollars.
Paycheck Protection Program Loans
This program prioritizes millions of Americans employed by small businesses by authorizing up to $349 billion toward job retention and certain other expenses. Small businesses and eligible nonprofit organizations, Veterans organizations, and Tribal businesses described in the Small Business Act, as well as individuals who are self-employed or are independent contractors, are eligible if they also meet program size standards. Under this program:
Eligible recipients may qualify for a loan up to $10 million determined by 8 weeks of prior average payroll plus an additional 25% of that amount.
Loan payments will be deferred for six months.
If you maintain your workforce, SBA will forgive the portion of the loan proceeds that are used to cover the first 8 weeks of payroll and certain other expenses following loan origination
Applications for these loans and other SBA loans are available on their website: https://www.sba.gov/page/coronavirus-covid-19-small-business-guidance-loan-resources
Nonprofit Grants
The United Way of Illinois and the Alliance of Illinois Community Foundations announced the launch of the Illinois COVID-19 Response Fund (ICRF), a new statewide fundraising effort to support nonprofit organizations serving those whose lives have been upended by this pandemic.
The ICRF is launching with nearly $23 million in initial donations. In the upcoming weeks, the steering committee will evaluate and disburse funds to the initial wave of charitable organizations serving at-need communities across the entire state. All donations and distributions will be available to the public. Donations and applications for assistance can be made by visiting UnitedWay.org/covid19.
I’m happy to see my compassionate conservative, family-values republikkklans elected officials being consistent in the ideological principle that throwing money on a problem is never a solution. Ooooooooooops! I guess when it comes to a crisis, socialism is always the first responder. We know these republikkklan charlatans too well…tic, tock, tic, tock, tic, tock, hug your neighbor, tic, tock, tic, tock, meeeeeeoooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwww…
I bypass Angel’s severe retardation. He must be getting paid by the Jackal.
Seems like he’s getting paid by the word, not post.
What is it a word Angel?
And is it cents or centavos?
The IDES is still telling self-employed and gig workers to stop bothering them because they are too busy with the people who “really” qualify for assistance.
In Wisconsin and the rest of the states that have real governments they are explaining that they still are waiting for guidelines from the feds and are allowing people to register for notification when the procedures are put in place.
These imbeciles in their infinite wisdom have taken a robust economy and “for your own good” turned it into a command and control fiasco of people not free to work.
And just a reminder to all these “Together We Win” Pols, you cannot pursue economic decline and fight disease.
When your forever on the dole, your clueless to fact that the miracle of Capitalism is it’s ability to produce abundance, which in turn produces the abundance to find cures.
So sure all these imposed limits will slow down the spread.
But imposing those limits are going to have a cost in dollars and human lives.
How much?
I have no idea, but your about to find out in the coming month’s.
Angel always hit the nail on the head.
Also, he irritates the hell out of the dummies!