This week's Illinois State Association of Counties (ISACo) News and Views e-newsletter links to Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamations extending the disaster declarations for COVID-19 and asylum seekers, includes information about Local Transportation Enhancement Program (ITEP) project awards, makes counties aware of a Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program, links to the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) Local Tax Allocation Division Quarterly Newsletter for April, includes a link to ISACo's County Quarterly Newsletter for March, encourages county officials and staff to register for the July National Association of Counties (NACo) Annual Conference, shares upcoming NACo webinar opportunities, highlights ISACo corporate partner Nationwide and invites counties to join ISACo.
Disaster Proclamations Extended
On March 31, Governor JB Pritzker signed a new Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamation that extends the state's COVID-19 disaster declaration through April 29, 2023. As we reported in our February 6 News and Views e-newsletter, Governor Pritzker announced that the COVID-19 public health emergency will expire on May 11, 2023. This coincides with when the federal public health emergency will end.
The Governor also issued COVID-19 Executive Order (EO) 2023-06. This EO re-issues several previous COVID-19-related EOs.
Per P.A. 101-0640, remote meetings remain a permissible option for local governments if certain criteria are met. Additional information about this authority is available via this link.
On March 31, Governor Pritzker also extended the Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamation concerning asylum seekers for an additional 30 days.
Local Transportation Enhancement Projects Awarded
On April 7, Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) announced that $127.9 million has been awarded through the Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program (ITEP) to expand travel options and enhance quality of life in communities throughout the state.
The 72 projects selected include biking and walking paths, trails, streetscape beautification and other projects designed to encourage safe travel across the various modes of transportation at the local level. An all-time high of nearly $127.9 million was made available in this funding cycle, with more than 75% allocated to projects in communities that best demonstrated a financial need.
Click here for a complete list of recipients or visit https://idot.click/itep and click the “Awarded Projects” tab.
Additional information is available via this link.
Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program
On March 24, IDOT issued Circular Letter 2023-11 (available via this link) with information on the federal Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program. The program is a new competitive grant program included in the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that will strategically deploy publicly accessible electric vehicle charging and alternative fueling infrastructure. The program provides two categories of grant funding: Community Charging and Fueling Grants and Alternative Fuel Corridor Grants. A total of $2.5 billion is available during the next five years for the program, with $200 million available in Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2022 and $400 million available in FFY 2023.
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) hosted two webinars on this program in March. Recordings of those webinars will soon be available on FHWA’s website (available via this link).
All applications must be submitted electronically (available via this link). The deadline for applications is Tuesday, May 30, at 10:59 pm CDT.
IDOR April Local Government Newsletter
On April 3, the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) Local Tax Allocation Division issued its April 2023 Quarterly Newsletter (available via this link). The newsletter contains information on IDOR’s annual Local Government Workshop, speaking requests for IDOR staff on topics related to state and local taxes administered by IDOR, important upcoming dates for local units of government and the ability to sign up to receive IDOR emails and text messages.
IDOR’s annual Local Government Workshop will be held virtually on Wednesday, June 14, from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm CDT. This year’s workshop will focus on detailed descriptions of the various tax types and the timing of disbursements. To register for the workshop, please email IDOR at REV.LocalTax@illinois.gov with your name, municipality, title, email address and phone number.
ISACo County Quarterly for March 2023
In case you missed it, ISACo's County Quarterly for March 2023 is available by clicking on the image below!
Some of the content included within the County Quarterly is a message from new ISACo President and Kendall County Circuit Clerk Matt Prochaska, information about a dinner co-hosted by ISACo and the United Counties Council of Illinois (UCCI) and sponsored by ISACo corporate partner PMA-IPRIME during the February NACo Legislative Conference, a summary of a successful joint ISACo-Cook County event with members of Congress following the NACo Legislative Conference, an analysis of Governor Pritzker's proposed State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2024 budget and information for use in advocating for an increase in county funding through the Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF).
Registration for NACo Annual Conference
The 2023 National Association of Counties (NACo) Annual Conference will be held in Travis County, Texas from July 21-24. Participants from counties of all sizes come together to shape NACo's federal policy agenda, share proven practices and strengthen knowledge networks to help improve residents’ lives and the efficiency of county government. Join other Illinois county officials and staff members in Travis County for learning and relationship building! Registration and information about housing for conference attendees is available via this link.
Upcoming NACo Webinars
NACo has announced the following upcoming webinar opportunities. ISACo is a proud partner with NACo and encourages counties to participate in NACo membership and activities.
Ending the PHE: Implications for Counties
(Tuesday, April 11, 2023, 2:00pm-3:00pm CDT)
The federal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) will end on May 11, 2023, significantly reducing flexibilities implemented during the pandemic to improve access to health care, food and nutrition and COVID-19 vaccines, tests and treatments. As frontline health and human service providers, counties will play a key role in protecting access to services for vulnerable residents once the PHE expires. This webinar will feature federal experts and local leaders to discuss federal administrative guidance, policy changes and best practices for county health and human services agencies to minimize disruptions in care.
Click on this link to register for the webinar.
Improve the Permitting, Licensing, and Workflow Experience: Introducing ClearForms from ClearGov
(Thursday, April 13, 2023, 11:30am-12:00pm CDT)
Join your fellow NACo members as we introduce ClearForms, the latest product from ClearGov to be endorsed by NACo. ClearForms furthers NACo’s commitment to helping counties achieve greater efficiencies – now with licensing, permitting, and other workflows.
In this informative webinar, see how counties can speed up their workflow processes to save time and increase application turnaround speeds for permitting and licensing applications. Learn how to replace paper, PDFs, and basic online forms with a modern, cloud-based platform that lets you work more efficiently, provide greater clarity to your applicants, encourage compliance, and collect revenue associated with permitting and licensing.
Click on this link to register for the webinar.
CORPORATE PARTNER SPOTLIGHT
This week's corporate partner spotlight highlights ISACo's partnership with Nationwide.
Over the past 85 years, focusing on customers and valuing people have helped Nationwide become one of the largest insurance and financial services companies in the world.
Even though Nationwide has dozens of affiliated companies, people are its biggest resource – and its greatest asset in providing excellent customer service to its customers. That's why its Supply Management Services group makes sure agents and associates get the best quality products and services, at the best possible cost. It's also why Nationwide has an Office of Customer Advocacy.
More information about the services provided by Nationwide is available via this link.
Click on this link to learn more about the benefits and opportunities available through ISACo's Corporate Partner Program.
Become an ISACo Member!
Is your county a member of ISACo? If not, why not?
ISACo is a statewide association whose mission is to empower county officials to provide excellent service to their residents.
ISACo member counties are comprised of forward-thinking public servants who recognize that the challenges confronting county governments require new and innovative ideas, collaborative solutions and collective advocacy at the state and federal levels of government.
Members of the association will benefit from education and training opportunities, peer-to-peer networking, shared resources and robust representation before policymakers at various levels of government. ISACo creates and connects county officials to these opportunities and successfully equips them to make counties ideal places to live, work and play.
If your county is interested in discussing membership in ISACo, please contact Executive Director Joe McCoy at (217) 679-3368 or jmccoy@isacoil.org. ISACo member counties are listed here. Thank you for your consideration.