Illinois businesses and residents affected by civil unrest on May 26 through June 8 can apply for low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration ( SBA ), Administrator Jovita Carranza announced.
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 regarding the coronavirus ( COVID-19 ), the SBA will not establish a field presence to assist survivors. However, SBA will establish 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 via the SBA's secure website at disasterloanassistance.sba.gov/; also, 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: Mondays through Fridays only
—Hours: 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
—Closed: Friday, July 3, in observance of Independence Day
—Contact info: FOCE-Help@sba.gov, and 571-422-6016 and 470-363-6079
NOTE: These services are only available for the Illinois disaster declaration as a result of the civil unrest on May 26 through June 8, 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 filing deadline to return applications for physical property damage is Aug. 24, 2020. The deadline to return economic injury applications is March 23, 2021.
