Illinois Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program Due to Covid-19

Grants of up to $15,000 per homeowner will be provided to support mortgage payments. The Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (EMA) is expected to assist approximately 10,000 eligible homeowners who are unable to pay their mortgages. The program is expected to launch in August 2020 and provide assistance through the end of the year. Homeowners who have been disproportionately impacted will be prioritized in the grant process. Homeowners' income prior to the pandemic cannot exceed 120% of the area median income (AMI). Therefore only homeowners with mortgages in arrearages on or after March 2020 through the present day may be eligible to apply. Eligible homeowners must be able to certify that the reason they could not pay their mortgage in full was due to a COVID-19-related loss of income on or after March 1, 2020. The assistance will be paid directly to the mortgagor's loan servicer on behalf of the homeowner. Assistance will be available on a first come, first approved basis until funds are exhausted. Applications for Emergency Mortgage Assistance are expected to be available on August 24. If you are interested in receiving updates directly from the State, you can sign up for them at https://www2.illinois.gov/Pages/CommunicationsOptin.aspx. The above information is provided in cooperation with Will County Center for Economic Development.

Tom Weigel

County Board Member

District #12 (New Lenox & Mokena)