AURORA – In an effort to provide support to small business owners facing economic hardship as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, State Senator Linda Holmes (D-Aurora) announced 33 local businesses will receive a combined $540,000 through the Business Interruption Grant (BIG) program.

“So many local businesses have faced unprecedented challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, and I’m proud to see them receive these grants to help them get back on their feet,” said Holmes. “Our small businesses were resourceful and flexible in adapting to new safety guidelines, and I hope this will give them the assistance they need to bounce back.”

The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity awarded a total of $46 million to 2,655 small businesses in the first round of BIG funding. The BIG program offers grants to Illinois restaurants and bars, barbershops and salons, and fitness centers that have suffered pandemic-related losses, with a focus on businesses in the hardest-hit areas of the state.

First round grants range from $10,000 to $20,000 and may be used to help businesses with working capital expenses, including payroll costs, rent and utilities. The funds may also be used to cover pandemic-related expenses, such as personal protective equipment, training and new technology.

To ensure ongoing support for Illinois small businesses, the State of Illinois has planned future rounds of funding.

“There is so much more to do to help our business community recover from this crisis,” said Holmes. “These funds will let them focus their efforts on reopening in a way that keeps staff and customers safe.”

The BIG program is the largest state-run economic support program formed in response to the COVID-19 economic downturn. The full list of grant recipients is available here.

AURORA – Nationwide, scammers are targeting those receiving unemployment benefits at this difficult economic time exacerbated by to the coronavirus pandemic. Senate Assistant Majority Leader Linda Holmes (D-Aurora) warns area residents who haven't applied for unemployment benefits but receive a debit card claiming to provide benefits that they could be the target of a scam.

“It’s shocking in the midst of these crises to learn scammers are targeting vulnerable residents and their unemployment benefits,” Holmes said. “To bring scammers to justice, IDES is aggressively pursuing fraudsters filing false claims.”

Recently, individuals began receiving KeyBank debit cards and unemployment letters in the mail, without having applied for benefits. IDES warns that people who received these erroneous mailings may be targets of fraud.  

IDES launched an investigation into what appears to be a nationwide fraud scheme targeting applicants to the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program. IDES said ambiguous federal guidelines—developed hastily to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic—leave PUA claimants open to attack. IDES maintains this scheme is not connected to the PUA program access issue experienced in May.

An IDES team is working directly with individuals whose identities are being used or have possibly been stolen. The department is also working with local and federal law enforcement authorities to pursue and prosecute those committing fraud.

“If you have received a debit card in the mail without applying for benefits, you should not activate them,” Holmes said. “IDES urges you to call them immediately at 1-800-814-0513 to report identity theft. 

Online, you can use the IDES Contact Form. On the drop down, select the option, “UI Fraud/Identity Theft". Complete the required fields and DO NOT include social security numbers or other personal identifiable information in the comment section. Be sure to include an email address so that you will receive an autoreply providing important information and steps you can take while you wait to hear back from them. 

Victims of fraud should also check their credit reports for possible suspicious activity, post a fraud alert and visit the Federal Trade Commission’s website for helpful tips on recognizing and reporting identity theft.

AURORA – Assistant Senate Majority Leader Linda Holmes (D-Aurora) is pleased to see nearly $1.6 million in Aurora-area road construction projects slated for this year as part of the state’s ongoing multi-year construction plan.

“This is the right time to see improvements to area infrastructure,” Holmes said. “These Rebuild Illinois projects will create new, well-paying jobs when we need them most; they will also facilitate commerce and transportation, while making needed updates to roads that will improve public safety.”

The Illinois Department of Transportation’s multi-year plan includes projects to improve the state’s infrastructure over the next six years. These projects were selected based on such criteria as pavement and bridge conditions, traffic volumes and history of accidents. They will create thousands of jobs statewide at a time when many Illinoisans are still struggling with unemployment due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Projects slated for Holmes’ district include:

  Description                                                                                                                                              Year/Investment

When construction is underway, motorists should anticipate delays and may wish to seek alternate routes. Holmes encourages drivers to obey posted construction zone speed limits and watch out for workers on construction projects.

IDOT’s complete Multi-Year Plan can be found on its website.

AURORA — As Illinois’ number of COVID-19 cases keeps dropping, health and education officials have given the go-ahead to reopen schools this fall with a thorough set of guidelines, according to Assistant Senate Majority Leader Linda Holmes (D-Aurora).

“We saw so much success by teachers, parents and students adapting to learning at home during a period none of us expected,” Holmes said. “Things will still be different so that learning can be resumed safely, but it will be back to classrooms.”

The Illinois State Board of Education and Illinois Department of Public Health outlined guidelines for K-12 schools and higher education institutions to safely resume in-person learning this fall, while ensuring the health and safety of students and staff is prioritized. The groups worked with educators, superintendents, social workers, nurses and other stakeholders to create the 60-page guidance.

The guidelines for Phase 4 will, among other things:

• Require use of appropriate personal protective equipment, including face coverings;
• Prohibit more than 50 individuals from gathering in one space;
• Require social distancing be observed, as much as possible;
• Require schools conduct symptom screenings and temperature checks or require that individuals self-certify that they are free of symptoms before entering school buildings; and
• Require an increase in school-wide cleaning and disinfection.

All public and nonpublic schools in Illinois serving K-12 students must follow these guidelines.

“Students and teachers can maintain health and safety guidelines back in their familiar classrooms and surroundings. It is a great step forward,” Holmes said.

AURORA — Assistant Majority Leader Linda Holmes (D-Aurora) is encouraging salon and barbershop owners who suffered during the COVID-19 Stay at Home Order to apply for Business Interruption Grants through the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

“Salons and barbershops were some of the hardest hit businesses during the Stay at Home Order,” Holmes said. “They couldn’t provide their services online or to-go. They simply had to shut down entirely. I encourage all eligible businesses to apply if they had significant losses during this period.”

The General Assembly authorized the BIG program as part of the budget it passed in May. Intended to help businesses hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and associated Stay at Home Order, the $636 million program is being released in rounds. This first round is making $60 million in funding available, with a special emphasis on helping businesses that were also affected by recent social unrest.

$10 million has been specifically set aside for barbershops and salons that made less than $500,000 in 2019 and that had been in operation for at least three months before the pandemic hit. DCEO will award 1,000 grants to these businesses, with 5,000 set aside for disproportionately impacted areas.

This round of the BIG program is also providing $20 million in grants to businesses in disproportionately affected areas that experienced significant property damage during recent unrest.

It provides $20 million in grants to bars and restaurants, and $10 million in grants to gyms and fitness centers.

In general, to qualify, businesses must not have received any other assistance from DCEO, a Coronavirus Relief Fund program, or the Paycheck Protection Program. However, they may still apply if they have experienced losses in excess of the amount of any previous grant or loan.

DCEO will provide applications and more details later this week. They will make the applications available for BIG on Monday, June 22.

SPRINGFIELD — Assistant Majority Leader Linda Holmes (D-Aurora) looks forward to the relief the new budget legislation will bring following its signing by the governor this morning.

“This was unlike any other budget process given the unprecedented essentials funding required for the many services needed to respond and recover from COVID-19’s after effects,” Holmes said. “Education, human services, job recovery, infrastructure and public safety all needed immediate attention to get our people and institutions back on their feet and the economy back on track, and we pulled this together in a bipartisan manner.”

Holmes led the Senate Working Group on unemployment, which was a cooperative effort including input from labor and business groups.

“We’ve provided the Department of Employment Security with nearly $60 million in additional funding to help address the challenges with the unemployment system,” Holmes said. “I’ve heard from dozens of constituents who’ve had problems registering and receiving their benefits; this will help the agency increase the number of workers to help aid residents in navigating the unemployment system and process claims faster.”

Holmes also lauded the budget for ensuring the state will make its full pension payment commitment as planned. It is a cornerstone of ongoing efforts to address our underfunded pension systems, without taking away from COVID-19 recovery needs.

“People in the 42nd District need consistency and peace of mind right now, and the COVID-19 recovery budget items will provide help for those needing it.”

Legislation addresses federal unemployment aid, employee safety, benefits

SPRINGFIELD — To protect essential workers and incentivize employers to provide the best protective measures possible in the workplace during the pandemic, State Senator Linda Holmes (D-Aurora) led the effort to pass a comprehensive labor and workers’ compensation plan out of the Illinois Senate Thursday.

“This is an agreement between business and labor that ensures better protections for employees and clear, consistent guidelines to ensure employers know how to operate safely,” Holmes said. “I’m grateful for the spirit of cooperation that allowed us to work quickly and decisively to pass this plan.”

House Bill 2455, sponsored by Holmes, ensures Illinois continues to qualify for federal relief packages by extending unemployment benefits, waiving the one-week unemployment insurance waiting period, and expanding eligibility for unemployment to non-instructional education employees, such as lunch workers and teachers’ aides. Employers would also not be charged for unemployment benefits paid to those out of work due to COVID-19 for benefits issued between March 15, 2020 and Dec. 31, 2020.

In the interest of providing incentives for employers to do all they can to ensure a safe workplace for employees as businesses operate in pandemic conditions, the legislation creates a “rebuttable presumption” that a first-responder or essential worker who contracts COVID-19 did so in the course of their employment. An employer would have certain means of rebutting the worker’s claim.

“Workers’ compensation doesn’t normally cover illnesses, because they usually can’t be directly tied to a workplace, but we are not in normal times,” Holmes said. “Jobs that are not typically considered hazardous have suddenly become dangerous for workers due to COVID-19. This workplace injury framework protects employees, but it also gives employers the ability to prove they did all they could to prevent COVID-19 infections in their workplace by giving those employers a strong incentive to take the best precautions that experts advise.”

Employers may rebut the presumption that an employee contracted COVID-19 in the workplace through the following means:

• Demonstrating that for at least 14 days prior to the date the employee claims injury (their COVID-19 infection) the workplace was following up-to-date public health guidelines appropriate to their type of business issued by the Illinois Department of Public Health or the Centers for Disease Control.
• Demonstrating that the employee in question was working from home for a period at least 14 days prior to the injury claim.
• Demonstrating that the employee was exposed to the virus by an alternative source outside the workplace.

Other provisions in the legislation include a similar rebuttable presumption for Chicago first responders, who are not covered under the state’s Workers’ Compensation Act. It also mandates that the Illinois Work Review Panel, created last year, expediently fill its vacant positions and meet within 45 days of the law taking effect.

House Bill 2455 passed the Senate 50-4. It now is in the House for concurrence.

Aurora, Ill. – Assistant Senate Majority Leader Linda Holmes (D-Aurora) is pleased to learn the Illinois Department of Public Health has updated its guidance on allowing dental providers to resume routine oral and dental care beginning this week.

“IDPH’s decision lifts the limit to emergency and urgent needs to now let dentists resume routine oral and dental care, with the specific procedures to be taken to minimize the risk of transmission of COVID-19 in this setting,” Holmes said. “Area dentists contacted me about this issue and I’m glad we made this progress.”

IDPH says to yield good procedural outcomes, oral health providers should consider their patient's health care needs, assess the risks and benefits of any procedures, and appropriately screen patients for COVID-19. Patients will need to be symptom free and have their temperature taken. Dentists will need to address their use of masks, face guards, and suction devices.