This Illinois State Association of Counties (ISACo) weekly News and Views e-newsletter provides information on the designation of seven new enterprise zones, announces a new $5 million business grant program for agriculture businesses, shares information on COVID-19 resurgence mitigations, provides an update on the Local Coronavirus Urgent Remediation Emergency Support Program (Local CURE), reports on General Assembly Committee meetings during the week ahead, references upcoming NACo webinar opportunities, spotlights ISACo corporate partner Nationwide and invites counties to join ISACo.
ISACo welcomes Grundy County as our newest member!
COUNTIES COUNT!
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State of Illinois Announces Renewal of Seven Enterprise Zones in 2020
The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) has announced the designation of seven Enterprise Zones to take effect on January 1, 2021. As part of its annual review process, the Enterprise Zone Board evaluated applications submitted by municipalities and counties and gave its final approval at a meeting held earlier this month. The applications approved reflect new terms for several existing Enterprise Zones.
An estimated 4,570 jobs were created and nearly 38,000 jobs were retained as a result of more than $657 million in investments attributable to the Enterprise Zone program in 2019 alone.
Additional resources on the Illinois Enterprise Zone Program is available on the DCEO website via this link.
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Pritzker Administration Announces $5 Million Business Grant Program for Agriculture Businesses
The Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) has announced the availability of $5 million in business recovery funds for livestock producers and small meat and poultry plants suffering interruptions as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Over the past six months meat and poultry plants across the country have been impacted by the pandemic, as reduced sales resulted in a slowdown of processing livestock and forced many Illinois farmers to incur additional costs.
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State Public Health Officials Announce COVID-19 Resurgence Mitigations for Region 1
Governor Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) have announced COVID-19 resurgence mitigations will be implemented in Region 1, the northwestern most counties in Illinois, beginning Saturday, October 3, 2020.
The region is seeing a 7-day rolling average test positivity rate of 8% or above for three consecutive days, which exceeds the threshold set for establishing mitigation measures in the region under the state's Restore Illinois Resurgence Plan.
This announcement follows last week's warnings to local leaders that additional mitigation measures would be implemented if the region continued to see an increase in cases. Region 1 includes Boone, Carroll, DeKalb, Jo Daviess, Lee, Ogle, Stephenson, Whiteside and Winnebago counties.
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Local CURE Program Update
Public Health and Public Safety Payrolls
The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) announced an update from the U.S. Department of the Treasury with regard to claiming public health and public safety payrolls as a cost that is substantially dedicated to mitigating or responding to COVID-19. This will decrease the reporting burden placed on local governments participating in the Local CURE program.
On September 21, 2020, the Department of the Treasury issued an updated Frequently Asked Question (FAQ). Treasury provided new, revised guidance on the claiming of payroll as an acceptable use of the Coronavirus Relief Fund—the funding source for the Local CURE program. Therefore, DCEO and the State of Illinois are committed to adopting such guidance. To that end, the relevant guidance in FAQs 70, 71 and 72 regarding presumed “substantially dedicated” public health and public safety employees is adopted under the Local CURE program.
The Local CURE program will consider public health and public safety employees to be substantially dedicated to mitigating the emergency, unless otherwise indicated by the chief executive for the local government, and will consider their services a “substantially different use” from any expected use of previously budgeted funds.
Schools, Correctional and Detention Facilities
DCEO released guidance following the August 21 release of updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for Operating Schools During COVID-19 and the July 22 release of Interim Guidance on Management of COVID-19 in Correctional and Detention Facilities.
The purpose of this guidance is to make clear the full range of costs a Local Government Unit (LGU) may incur in the pursuit of making courthouses, city halls, police stations, administrative buildings, public facilities and even public spaces a safer environment during the COVID-19 public health emergency. With proper documentation, specific items can be reimbursed through the Department’s Local CURE Support Program.
The July 22, 2020, release of Interim Guidance on Management of COVID-19 in Correctional and Detention Facilities is available via this link.
Local CURE Economic Support Payments Grant Program (Notice of Funding Opportunity 2433-1681)
The Local CURE Program Economic Support Payments Grant Program Notice of Funding Opportunity is now live for any county that wants to apply. The Local CURE's Economic Support Payments Grant Program webpage is available via this link.
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General Assembly Committee Meetings This Week
The Senate Special Committee on Public Safety will hold a joint virtual hearing with the Senate Criminal Law Committee on Tuesday, October 6 at 1 pm to discuss violence reduction and victim services. The hearing information is available via this link.
The Senate Human Services Committee will hold a joint virtual hearing with the Senate Public Health Committee on Friday, October 9 at 2 pm to discuss social determinants and influencers of health and health disparities. The hearing information is available via this link.
Interested parties may submit electronic testimony or electronic witness slips via the General Assembly website (www.ilga.gov) in advance of the hearings. All hearings will be broadcast on the General Assembly website.
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Upcoming NACo Webinars
The National Association of Counties (NACo) has announced the following upcoming webinars:
COVID-19: Beyond Quick Wins - Safeguarding Your Financial Future
(Tuesday, October 6, 2020, from 1pm – 2:00pm CST)
COVID-19 has negatively affected the financials of many communities. These same communities have already implemented many quick wins such as eliminating travel and discretionary spending, cutting personnel costs and pausing capital expenditures. Looking to the future, how can these same communities maximize CARES Act funding while continuing to address potential declining revenues and ongoing increased expenses? Join NACo to learn from your peers and Crowe’s local government consulting practice leaders to discuss strategies and tools that can help you continue to navigate your path forward.
Fast Forward to Digital: Government Billing and Payment Trends by Generations
(Wednesday, October 7, 2020, from 1pm – 2:00pm CST)
Billing and payment preferences for citizens are evolving, a trend that was true before COVID and that has been accelerated by the pandemic. Now, with the push to move services online, local officials must understand how preferences and security concerns differ across generations, what new payment methods are emerging and how to serve all citizens within the county. This webinar, developed in partnership with ACI Worldwide and the National Association of County Collectors, Treasurers, and Finance Officers, will address these issues and share consumer research findings on each topic.
Quarterly DDJ Criminal Justice Peer Engagement Group Call: Spotlight on Johnson County, Iowa
(Thursday, October 8, 2020, from 1pm – 2:00pm CST)
The DDJ Criminal Justice Peer Engagement Group is composed of individuals whose primary responsibilities involve managing, coordinating or executing various aspects of justice administration and law enforcement, including police, courts, corrections, diversion and reentry. Engagement topics may include law enforcement and crisis response, implementing and evaluating interventions for frequent utilizers, cross-sector collaboration, data collection and sharing and diversion strategies, among other topics.
The DDJ Virtual Panel Discussion: Lessons Learned from Pilot Projects for Serving Frequent Utilizers recording is available via this link.
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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! |
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 jmccoy@isacoil.org. 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 jmccoy@isacoil.org or (217) 679-3368 if we can be of service. Thank you for your support of ISACo.
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