From the U.S. Small Business administration:
Illinois businesses and residents affected by civil unrest on May 26 through June 8, 2020 can apply for low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Administrator Carranza made the loans available in response to a letter from Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on June 22, requesting a disaster declaration by the SBA. The declaration covers Cook County and the adjacent counties of DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will in Illinois and Lake in Indiana.
In accordance with health precautions for the Coronavirus (COVID-19), the SBA will not establish a field presence to assist survivors. However, SBA will continue to provide first class customer service and conduct outreach virtually with webinars, skype calls, phone assistance and step-by-step application assistance. To this end SBA has opened a Virtual Disaster Loan Outreach Center (VDLOC) to help survivors apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via the SBA’s secure website at https://disasterloanassistance.sba.gov/ and there are virtual customer support representatives available to assist applicants with completing the online application. The VDLOC information:
Virtual Disaster Loan Outreach Center (VDLOC)
Open: Monday – Friday
Hours: 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Closed: Saturdays and Sundays
Closed: Friday, July 3 in observance of Independence Day
FOCE-Help@sba.gov
Phone: (571) 422-6016, (470) 363-6079
These services are only available for the Illinois disaster declaration as a result of the civil unrest on May 26 through June 8, 2020 and not for COVID-19 related assistance.
Business owners and residents should contact the SBA Customer Service Representatives at (571) 422-6016 and (470) 363-6079 to schedule an appointment for immediate one-on-one assistance in completing their applications. The Center will be closed Friday, July 3 in observance of Independence Day. Requests for SBA disaster loan program information may be obtained by emailing FOCE-Help@sba.gov. The SBA will conduct extensive outreach to ensure that all impacted by the disaster are afforded the opportunity to seek assistance.
For small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private nonprofit organizations, the SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster. Economic Injury Disaster Loan assistance is available regardless of whether the business suffered any physical property damage.
Applicants may be eligible for a loan amount increase up to 20 percent of their physical damages, as verified by the SBA for mitigation purposes. Eligible mitigation improvements may include a safe room, signage, facility hardening such as fencing and non-combustible materials, and electronic security measures to help protect property and occupants from future damage caused by a similar disaster.
Interest rates are as low as 3 percent for businesses, 2.75 percent for nonprofit organizations, and 1.25 percent for homeowners and renters with terms up to 30 years. Loan amount and terms are set by the SBA and are based on each applicant’s financial condition.
Businesses and individuals may also obtain information and loan applications by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 (1-800-877-8339 for the deaf and hard-of-hearing), or by emailing disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Loan applications can also be downloaded at www.sba.gov. Completed applications should be mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.
The filing deadline to return applications for physical property damage is Aug. 24, 2020. The deadline to return economic injury applications is March 23, 2021.
