With the recent announcement that Region 7 will be entering new resurgence mitigations heading into the weekend, State Senator Sue Rezin (R-Morris) is reminding local businesses to apply for financial assistance grants through the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO).
Millions of dollars are still available through the Business Interruption Grant (BIG) Program for businesses who have been financially impacted by closures. Representatives at DCEO say the agency is prioritizing counties, such as Will, under mitigations for the current round of BIG grants.
“As small businesses, especially our local restaurants and eateries, continue to be unfairly impacted by the Governor’s mitigation rules, these grants will hopefully provide them a way to keep their doors open,” said Sen. Rezin.
The BIG program is open to businesses (for-profit and nonprofit) with $20 million or less in annual revenue in 2019 and experienced losses due to COVID-19.
Applications are now being taken and can be downloaded here. Additionally, DCEO will be hosting a webinar on Wednesday, October 21, at 9:30 a.m. to help individuals apply and answer questions. You can register for that event here.