Small Illinois municipalities can now apply for American Rescue Plan Act money to offset COVID-19 expenses

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker announced today that more than 1,250 small, local governments in the state can apply for federal funding to help cover expenses incurred responding to COVID-19. 

More than $742 million is available for non-entitlement communities in Illinois. These are cities, towns and villages with populations fewer than 50,000 that have not already received aid from the federal American Rescue Plan Act. The State of Illinois requested these funds on behalf of the non-entitlement communities.

The State of Illinois opened the website portal where communities can apply for their allocated funding. Authorized community representatives can access the portal now to certify and request their allotment within minutes. Municipalities completing the portal submission, including all of the documentation required by the U.S. Treasury, can expect to receive half of their funding in about 30 days with the remaining half roughly a year later. The deadline for municipalities to apply for funding is Sept. 30, and there will be no other opportunity for municipalities to apply for later distributions.

All eligible communities will receive a letter detailing their preliminary allotments and instructions about how to access the portal. The Ilinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity also will conduct additional outreach to communities. For more information about the program, please visit the website. Local governments can obtain technical assistance at the site and can register for a webinar scheduled for 10 a.m. July 26.

Fehr Graham can help communities with this process.

For more information, contact