Coronavirus Emergency Loans Offered To Illinois Small Businesses

Emergency assistance is available for businesses and workers in Illinois suffering economically from the spread of the new coronavirus, according to state and local officials.

Small businesses can apply for up to $2 million low-interest federal emergency loans through the U.S. Small Business Administration, and workers can sign up for expanded unemployment insurance benefits without waiting a week after losing their jobs.

Meanwhile, businesses across the state are determining how to adjust operations in light of rapidly evolving restrictions and guidance from public health and government authorities on how to minimize new cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus strain identified last year in China.

Patti Corn, the emergency response coordinator of the Lake County Health Department, urged business owners to adopt liberal teleworking and sick leave for employees.

"Consider seven-day leave policies for people with COVID-19 symptoms. Just because they are symptomatic will not mean that they have the ability to get tested due to the restrictions right now on testing," Corn told representatives of local businesses.

"Consider alternative team approaches for work schedules — so, if you can stagger them, please do so. Provide non-punitive sick leave options to allow staff to stay home when ill. Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces daily. Ensure hand hygiene supplies are ready and available in the building where you work."

Due to medical privacy rules, health departments will not notify employers of patients who test positive for COVID-19, or alert the municipalities where they live, Corn said. Instead, staff from state and local health departments are tasked with tracing any recent contacts who may have been exposed to coronavirus patients.

As the number of cases around the state increases exponentially, Corn said the contact tracing process has slowed. Her department has brought in school nurses and students in medical and nursing programs to help track down the source of new COVID-19 infections in an attempt to limit further spread.

Best practices for business include what public health officials have dubbed the "Three C's" — "Clean" your hands often and disinfect any regularly used surfaces, "Cover" your cough or sneeze with a tissue or elbow and "Contain" the transmission of the coronavirus by staying home if you are sick or have symptoms.

Business owners were asked to avoid in-person meetings, especially those with 10 or more people. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that businesses also cross-train personnel and assess essential functions if necessary to maintain critical operations.

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Gov. JB Pritzker announced Tuesday he plans to apply for a statewide waiver to allow Illinois businesses to apply for federal disaster relief loans.

"My Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity has secured the necessary documentation to declare a statewide Economic Injury Declaration with the U.S. Small Business Association," Pritzker said. "The SBA is offering coronavirus disaster assistance loans to help impacted companies get through this period of instability, and this will ensure that all of our counties qualify for assistance."

As of Thursday evening, the SBA's website did not yet reflect the agency's approval of statewide eligibility for disaster assistance loans for Illinois small businesses. Small business owners located outside of the 12 Illinois counties included in Indiana's disaster declaration from a day earlier reported they were unable to apply.

The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity has asked representatives of all businesses in the state to fill out a survey about how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected their bottom line. Many local chambers of commerce have also circulated the survey, which aims evaluate areas of need for affected business owners.

Eligible small businesses may borrow up to $2 million in assistance from the SBA's Emergency Injury Disaster Loan program. The money can be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that cannot be paid as a result of the disaster. The maximum interest rates for businesses unable to get credit elsewhere is 3.75 percent. Nonprofits can borrow with a rate of 2.75 percent. Repayment plans can be spread over a period of up to 30 years.

Emergency rules have also expanded eligibility for unemployment insurance for employees unable to work as a result of COVID-19. An executive order from Pritzker waived the seven-day waiting period before laid-off workers can file for benefits.

"This means that anyone who qualifies can file and become immediately eligible instead of experiencing that weeklong lag during this challenging time," Corn said.

Workers temporarily laid off, or those unable to leave their home due to a coronavirus-related quarantine, are eligible for unemployment benefits as long as they remain able to work and actively seeking employment, according to the Illinois Department of Employment Security, or IDES.

However, people who have already received a full six months of unemployment benefits for the current benefit year are not eligible. According to the governor's office, Pritzker is working with the state's congressional delegation to encourage the federal government to expand the maximum length of benefits beyond 26 weeks.

On Tuesday and Wednesday alone, IDES received more than 41,000 unemployment benefits, an increase of nearly 100 times over employment rates a year earlier, Capital Fax reported.

"We worked to expand unemployment benefits to those who have been impacted by COVID-19 to help workers deal with the unprecedented situation we're facing," Jordan Abudayyeh, the governor's press secretary, told Crain's Chicago Business. "The governor's top priority is keeping the people of Illinois healthy and safe. We're working with our federal and local partners to ensure we bring as many resources as possible to Illinois to help us in our efforts."

More information about the novel coronavirus in Illinois is available from the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Residents with questions or concerns may also call the Illinois COVID-19 hotline at 800-889-3931, or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.