This Illinois State Association of Counties (ISACo) weekly News and Views e-newsletter reports on the latest guidance by the U.S. Treasury Department on Coronavirus relief fund reporting requirements, provides information about a new COVID-19 stimulus package announced by Congress, offers an update on COVID-19 vaccine distribution within Illinois, shares information about a new report released by the Worker Protection Task Force, references an upcoming NACo webinar opportunity, spotlights ISACo corporate partner Nationwide and invites counties to join ISACo.
ISACo has moved office locations! Our new address is 427 E. Monroe Street, Suite 200, Springfield, IL 62701.
COUNTIES COUNT!
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Treasury Issues New Guidance on Coronavirus Relief Fund Reporting Requirements
The U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) released updated guidance on reporting and record retention requirements for Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) recipients. Many of the questions in the guidance were sent by NACo to U.S. Treasury officials.
The updated document provides new information on the appeals process for CRF recipients that have been notified that OIG will recoup CRF dollars. The guidance also provides clarification on the CRF auditing process and reporting requirements for certain eligible expenditures.
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COVID-19 Stimulus Package Announced
A $908 billion COVID-19 funding package was announced last week by a bipartisan group United States Senators.
Speaker Pelosi (D-CA), Senate Minority Leader Schumer (D-NY), President-elect Biden and President Trump have all expressed support for completing a deal, with most now saying they will use the new Senate “Gang of 8” plan as a starting point for final negotiations.
The Senate GOP leadership remains focused on their $500 billion plan, which has NO new money for state and local governments. However, Senate GOP leaders are increasingly hinting that they are open to a compromise – but local governments must advocate for their support.
For state and local governments, the plan includes $160 billion. No other details or legislative text are available at this time. According to the National Association of Counties (NACo), it appears the group is using the SMART Act introduced earlier in the year by Senators Menendez (D-NJ) and Cassidy (R-LA) as the baseline text.
In essence, the SMART Act would allocate money to states, tribes, cities and counties based on a three-tiered formula: baseline funding by population, lost revenue certification and infection rates. NACo is expecting modifications to this approach, especially related to infection rates (due mostly to data collection challenges). It is important to note that county aid would flow through the states, although states would have a time limit, in theory, to sub-allocate to counties. But it is all very fluid and subject to negotiations.
Take Action!!!
Please call, e-mail and text your member(s) of Congress and urge them to:
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Provide direct, flexible federal aid for all counties with states only serving as a pass-through for this revenue.
- Support the county allocation formula and city-county funding split outlined in the HEROES Act. This is the most favorable split according to NACo, but a compromise may be necessary.
- Amend the current deadline for Treasury CRF dollars, preferably December 31, 2021.
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COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution
Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike provided an overview of the state’s plans for distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine during a conference call on Thursday, December 3, 2020. What follows is a summary of what was discussed.
It is anticipated the Pfizer vaccine may receive federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval on December 10, 2020. During the week of December 14, 2020, 86,000 doses will be sent from the strategic national stockpiles to the 50 Illinois counties with the most significant COVID-19 death rates as calculated on a per capita basis to adjust for population size. The vaccination doses will be sent to regional hospitals where eligible county local health department staff can obtain the doses for their counties. The vaccine will be conveyed to local health department staff within vacuum coolers for transport. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) will also be provided. The local health departments will be tasked with delivering available doses to the initial hospitals designated to receive the doses within their counties.
The City of Chicago will receive its own batch of vaccine doses separate from the initial 86,000 doses that will be delivered to the 50 counties with the highest COVID-19 death rates (per capita). Doses referenced in this e-mail are for non-Chicago distributions.
Upon being delivered to the designated hospitals within the 50 counties, the vaccine will be administered to hospital staff and other eligible recipients. As it is rolled out, the vaccine will be distributed throughout the general population by way of priority groups. The first group of recipients are designated as 1A. These are first responders, hospital staff, residents of long-term care facilities, those with underlying health conditions, etc. Fully-administering the vaccine to those in group 1A who desire to receive it is anticipated to occur over a period of 4-6 weeks once distribution begins.
At this time vaccine recipients must be 18 year of age or older.
During the week of December 21, 2020, an additional 200,000 doses will arrive for distribution in Illinois. An additional 300,000 doses will arrive for distribution during the week of December 28, 2020. IDPH cautions that these numbers are estimates.
It remains unknown at this time what persons will be included in Group 1B, IC, etc. We are awaiting more information from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) about the subsequent groups.
As IDPH puts out additional information ISACo will share it with county leaders throughout the state. IDPH indicated that an FAQ document is forthcoming.
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Worker Protection Task Force Releases Report
The Worker Protection Unit Task Force, chaired by Attorney General Kwame Raoul, issued its report on November 24, 2020.
The report identifies issues confronting workers in Illinois and recommendations to ensure protection of workforce members.
Created in January 2020, the Task Force drew its membership from the Illinois departments of Human Rights, Labor and Employment Security; state’s attorneys; the Workers’ Compensation Commission; and the office of the Attorney General.
According to Attorney General Raoul’s office, the Task Force heard testimony that identified challenges facing Illinois workers such as “dangerous working conditions for low-wage workers, wage theft, misclassification, erosion of employee protections and benefits, employers circumventing Illinois’ prevailing wage law, harassment and discrimination toward women and people of color.”
The Worker Protection Unit Task Force report includes the following recommendations for change: sharing data and information among agencies; creating enforcement working groups on specific subject matters; and ensuring regular communications among stakeholders to exchange information and insights.
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Upcoming NACo Webinar
The National Association of Counties (NACo) has announced the following upcoming webinar opportunity:
NACo Cyberattack Simulation
(Begins Friday, December 11, 2020, from 1pm – 2pm CST)
The NACo Cyberattack Simulation is designed for cybersecurity managers, their teams, and others in the county responsible for risk defense, protection, and recovery (including managers in HR, policy management, finance, public safety and emergency services).
Delivered through the High Performance Leadership Academy, the cyber simulation will be held the week of December 7, 2020, with December 7,8 and 9 focused on about an hour of homework (readings)
December 10, 2020, from 1-2:30pm CST: Peer-Team Meeting to share ideas, insights, issues, responses and any planned updates to incident response plans and playbooks
December 11 from 1-2pm CST: Cohort-wide simulation webinar wrap-up
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Corporate Partner Spotlight
This week's corporate partner spotlight highlights ISACo's partnership with Nationwide.
Over the past 85 years, focusing on customers and valuing people have helped Nationwide become one of the largest insurance and financial services companies in the world.
Even though Nationwide has dozens of affiliated companies, people are its biggest resource – and its greatest asset in providing excellent customer service to its customers. That’s why its Supply Management Services group makes sure agents and associates get the best quality products and services, at the best possible cost. It’s also why Nationwide has an Office of Customer Advocacy.
Click on this link to learn more about the benefits and opportunities available through ISACo's Corporate Partner Program
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The Key to ISACo's Success is YOU!
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Is your county a member of ISACo? If not, why not?
ISACo is a statewide association whose mission is to empower county officials to provide excellent service to their residents.
ISACo member counties are comprised of forward-thinking public servants who recognize that the challenges confronting county governments require new and innovative ideas, collaborative solutions and collective advocacy at the state and federal levels of government.
Members of the association will benefit from education and training opportunities, peer-to-peer networking, shared resources and robust representation before policymakers at various levels of government. ISACo creates and connects county officials to these opportunities and successfully equips them to make counties ideal places to live, work and play.
If your county is interested in discussing membership in ISACo, please contact Executive Director Joe McCoy at (217) 679-3368 or [email protected]. Thank you for your consideration.
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News and Views is a service provided by ISACo for county officials and staff. Please feel welcome to share with interested parties. You can contact ISACo Executive Director Joe McCoy at [email protected] or (217) 679-3368 if we can be of service. Thank you for your support of ISACo.
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