MARYVILLE – To help local governments cover unexpected costs due to COVID-19, State Senator Rachelle Crowe (D-Glen Carbon) and State Representative Katie Stuart (D-Edwardsville) have secured critical federal funding for Madison County, East Alton, the Caseyville Public Library District and many others through the Local Coronavirus Urgent Remediation Emergency (Local CURE) program.

“The pandemic continues to inflict unexpected financial devastation on many industries,” Crowe said. “By successfully applying and utilizing Local CURE funding, we can ensure COVID-19 expenses don’t fall on the backs of taxpayers.”

Local CURE funds can be used to reimburse a variety of costs associated with COVID-19, including purchasing personal protective equipment, the cost of sanitizing and arranging workspaces and public spaces to follow public safety guidelines, COVID-19-related overtime expenses, and more.

“It is vital that our local governmental entities are able to recoup what they can from this federal funding. Everyone, from our county government to our libraries have been impacted by this virus,” Stuart said. “These funds will help them deal with the costs associated with protecting our public health during this crisis.” 

The Local CURE program is federally funded from the Coronavirus Relief Fund using dollars allocated to Illinois through the CARES Act. These dollars are allocated by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to downstate local governments to help cover necessary expenditures incurred due to the COVID-19 crisis.