Additional Help Announced for Small Businesses

Vermilion Advantage is alerting owners of bars, restaurants and other small businesses that the State of Illinois is offering them additional assistance during the coronavirus crisis.

On March 25, Gov. Pritzker announced a new package of emergency assistance programs for small businesses in need of additional capital, totaling more than $90 million.

Illinois businesses will be able to apply to these programs on the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) website: https://www2.illinois.gov/dceo/SmallBizAssistance/Pages/EmergencySBAIntiatives.aspx

Illinois Small Business Emergency Loan Fund

This $60 million fund will support low-interest loans of up to $50,000 for small businesses in every industry outside of Chicago.

DCEO and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) are partnering with Accion, the Illinois Bankers Association and the Community Bankers Association of Illinois to create this fund. Loans will be supported by a $30 million loan loss reserve, consisting of $20 million of DCEO funds and $10 million in funds secured with the partnership with the Illinois banking community.

Businesses with fewer than 50 employees and less than $3 million in revenue in 2019 will be eligible to apply. Successful applicants will owe nothing for six months and will then begin making fixed payments at 3% interest for the remainder of a five-year loan term.

Applications will be available on DCEO’s website by Friday, March 27.

Downstate Small Business Stabilization Program

This new $20 million program supports small businesses in suburban and rural counties across Illinois, providing grants of up to $25,000 to small businesses in communities served by DCEO’s Office of Community Development.

These grants will offer businesses of up to 50 employees the opportunity to partner with their local governments to obtain grants of up to $25,000 in working capital. The program redeploys Community Development Block Grant funds to support local small businesses.

Applications will be available on DCEO’s website by Friday, March 27. The grants will be offered on a rolling basis.

Hospitality Emergency Grant Program

This new $14 million grant program aims to help small hospitality businesses make ends meet, providing up to $25,000 to eligible bars and restaurants and up to $50,000 for eligible hotels.

These grants are available to support working capital – like payroll and rent – job training and technology to support shifts in operations, like increased pick-up and delivery.

Bars and restaurants that generated between $500,000 and $1 million in revenue in 2019 are eligible for up to $25,000, and bars and restaurants that generated less than $500,000 in revenue in 2019 are eligible for up to $10,000. Hotels that generated less than $8 million in revenue in 2019 are eligible for up to $50,000. The program repurposes job training and tourism promotion funds to provide this emergency grant assistance.

DCEO has partnered with Accion Serving Illinois and Indiana to administer the grant program and distribute grant awards on behalf of DCEO.

Applications are available today on DCEO’s website and are due by April 1 at 5 p.m. All valid, eligible applications received within the five-day window will be entered into a lottery, and grant winners will be notified on April 4.

Additional Measures

Gov. Pritzker has announced that the state is deferring sales tax payments for more than 24,000 small- and medium-sized bars and restaurants, and the administration has ensured small businesses from every county are eligible to apply for low-interest coronavirus disaster assistance loans of up to $2 million from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Resources for Childcare Facilities and Providers

Beginning Saturday, March 21^st at 5pm CST, licensed childcare centers and all childcare homes serving more than six children will be closed. The administration is working to expand the availability of childcare in small group sizes for essential workers through a newly available Emergency Child Care Center license. Interested providers can apply for an emergency license by completing the forms referenced below. All applications can be submitted to the Illinois Department of Childhood and Family Services (DCFS) at Emergency.Daycare@illinois.govInterested parties can submit the application immediately and will have up to five business days to develop and submit the required materials.