STATE

Rebuild Distressed Communities Program:  

• Applications open through February 5, 2021.
• Will reimburse the cost of repairs for structural damages, electrical systems and restoring exterior work as a result of damage due to civil unrest on or after May 25, 2020.
• Specific eligibility requirements apply. Priority will be granted to small, underinsured or uninsured businesses that have high community impact. Prioritizes the use of BEP-certified contractors including minority and women-owned businesses.

Downstate Small Business Stabilization Program

• Multi-part application detailed here.
• Small businesses in some communities (some, included Champaign and Urbana, are excluded due to program guidelines may be eligible for a sixty-day grant of working capital up to $25,000. A business must have 50 employees or less.

Illinois Small Business COVID-19 Relief Program

• Applications open now for financial institutions.
• The Illinois Treasurer’s office is partnering with approved financial institutions to provide loans to businesses that would otherwise not qualify. State funds are deposited to financial institutions for a one-year term. These funds provide loans to small businesses to provide working capital to bridge this season.

FEDERAL
 

Economic Injury Disaster Loans

• Applications open now.
• This SBA programs provides small businesses with working capital up to $2 million.

Employee Retention Credit

• The Employee Retention Credit is a fully refundable tax credit for some employers that is equal to 50 percent of qualified wages up to $10,000. The credit is available to businesses who have not received a Paycheck Protection Loan, have had operations partially or fully suspended and experienced a decline in gross receipts by more than 50 percent.
• Other criteria and regulations apply.
• Credit is taken against the employer's share of social security tax, but excess is refundable under normal procedures.

Paycheck Protection Program

• Loans with 1 percent interest rate to help fund payroll costs, including benefits, and may also be used to pay for mortgage interest, rent, utilities, worker protection costs, uninsured property damage costs by civil unrest in 2020, certain supplier costs and expenses for operations.
• First draw and second draw loans available. Application deadline: March 31, 2021.
• Loans may be forgiven if certain criteria are met.​

Rural Relief Small Business Grant

• Offered by LISC
• Eligible businesses in communities with a population of 50,000 or less may be able to receive a grant to help offset the impacts of COVID-19
• Non-profit organizations are ineligible to apply
• Priority will be given especially to entrepreneurs of color, women- and veteran-owned businesses and other enterprises in historically under-served places who don’t have access to flexible, affordable capital
• Applications are due February 2, 2021 at 11:59pm EST