Will County Discusses Plans for Distribution of CARES ACT Funding

County to distribute more than $120 million with local municipalities, small business, farmers, non-profits, and social service agencies

Last week, the Will County Board held a special ad-hoc committee meeting to decide additional allocations of more than $120.5 million in funding from the federal CARES Act. The economic stimulus bill has been distributed to state and larger local governments for expenses directly related to the COVID-19 crisis.

“We are being extremely careful in our decisions to distribute this relief funding,” said County Executive Denise Winfrey. “So many have been impacted by COVID-19 and the reductions in funding caused by this major health issue, while the requests for assistance continue to mount. We must follow the federal guidelines to ensure that proper assistance is given to those who need it most.”

Will County has created a robust page on its website that fully explains the CARES Act funding and outlines the application process. Applications can be download and submitted online at this website page. In addition, visitors can sign up for regular electronic notices at www.willcountyillinois.com.

Applications for local governments to apply will be available beginning Monday, August 10 via the County’s main website – www.willcountyillinois.com. Applications for local government assistance will be accepted through Sept. 4 and will be evaluated individually as they are received and processed quickly.

Will County plans to initially allocate $33 million to support cities, villages and other units of local government. The County has also allocated another $33 million to support countywide services including the courts, public health, and voting services. These funds can be used to cover prior qualified expenses but cannot be used to make up for lost revenue.
“It is important we get this funding into the hands of our local governments as quickly as possible,” said County Board Speaker Mimi Cowan. “Our local governmental entities provide critical services directly to our resident and have been hard hit by the COVID crisis.”

Additional funding will be distributed to local small business owners and farms, non-profit organizations, and agencies that provide assistance to households, including people who are homeless. Updates on the availability of these funds will be posted on the CARES Act page.

“The County Board has been working to finalize the funding application for local businesses and the other categories of funding that we will be making available to the Will County community,” said County Board member Mike Fricilone. “We have worked together to do what is best for everyone while still being very fiscally responsible. There is more to come in the next few weeks so stay tuned.”

Interested local government entities should visit the county website at www.willcountyillinois.com/CARES-Act for more information and to complete an application.

Information about the CARES Act funding, including guidelines and FAQs, is available on the county website at www.willcountyillinois.com click on the CARES Act tab at the top of the page.