The Business Interruption Grant (BIG) program was developed by Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois General Assembly to provide $580 million in economic relief for small businesses hit hardest by COVID-19. BIG – the largest program of its kind in the nation - leverages federal funding provided by the CARES Act to help offset COVID-19 related losses for Illinois small businesses.
The BIG program consisted of $290 million for child care providers and $290 million for other small businesses throughout Illinois. As part of this program, DCEO has issued over $276 million through over 9,000 grants to small businesses located in over 600 cities and towns, and 98 counties throughout Illinois. In addition, $7 million has gone to forgive Illinois Small Business Emergency Loans, and up to $5 million is in the process of being issued for the Livestock Management Facilities Program. Find more information on the $290 million that will be provided to child care providers.
Using an equity framework to distribute these funds, the State of Illinois provided awards to small businesses located in industries and geographies hardest hit by the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. As a result, nearly half of the awards were made to businesses in economically disadvantaged areas, 80 percent of funds went to businesses with $1 million or less in annual revenues, and 40 percent of awards were made to minority-owned businesses statewide. Additionally, $105 million or 3,100 awards were provided to downstate communities.
The average grant award was $30,000, and businesses which did not receive other forms of assistance from PPP or other programs were given priority. Funding amounts are commensurate with losses or expenses incurred as a result of COVID-19, and can be used to help businesses with working capital expenses, including payroll costs, rent, utilities, and other operational costs as defined in the eligible cost list found below.
If you recently received a notice regarding the status of your grant application and have questions, please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions document.