Hi,

The State of Illinois has received its statewide Economic Injury Declaration which means small businesses in all 102 Illinois counties may be eligible for low-interest, economic injury disaster loans up to $2M per business.

Businesses can access additional information and apply for the loan online here. Eligibility requirements are determined by SBA and can be found here.

DCEO is working with federal and local partners, like yourselves, to ensure assistance is available for small businesses seeking loans, counseling and preparedness planning. If you are not yet working with our Regional Economic Development Team, please feel free to reach out to them for any questions you may have. Their contact information can be found below. If you have questions about your region, please refer to the map provided following the contact list. 
In addition, business advisors at our Illinois Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) are available to assist small businesses with the loan application process and are currently operating remotely. Businesses can locate their nearest Small Business Development Center here. Should they have any issues finding their direct contact information, below is a list for their reference. 
For businesses owned by minorities, women, veterans, or persons with disabilities, t he Office of Minority Economic Empowerment (OMEE) Business Development Managers are also available to assist and provide them with information. Their contact information can be found below.
Please note: This site is being continuously updated with COVID-19 information for small businesses which you can refer to at any time. 

Should any businesses reach out to you regarding questions about DCEO programs, resources or incentives you can feel free to refer them to our First Stop Business Information Center. They can email [email protected] or call our toll-free helpline at 1.800.252.2923.

If any businesses in your community are interested in sharing information about the impact of COVID-19, we encourage them to do so here. Filling out this form also adds them to our distribution list so they can be the first to know of any new resources available to them. It also allows us to better understand the needs of companies throughout the state at this time.

Please feel free to share any and all of this information with your community.
 
Thank you all for your hard work through these tough times and please know DCEO is working diligently to secure any and all resources we can for small businesses throughout the State of Illinois.

Sincerely,

DCEO Team