This week's Illinois State Association of Counties (ISACo) "News and Views" e-newsletter recognizes that February is Black History Month, provides an update on House and Senate schedule changes, reports on a deadline extension for reimbursement submissions under the Local CURE Program, shares COVID-19 mitigation updates, announces a virtual townhall event where legislators will discuss the criminal justice reform bill approved in January, links to a new COVID-19 vaccination portal, includes information about registering for the National Association of Counties (NACo) virtual Legislative Conference and highlights ISACo corporate partner 2im Group.
ISACo Celebrates Black History Month
February is Black History Month. ISACo will recognize important dates and historical events on our social media feed throughout the month.
Illinois House and Senate Cancel Session Days
The Illinois House of Representatives will return to session for one day on February 10 to adopt rules for the chamber. All remaining House session days for February have been cancelled. As we reported last week, the Senate is targeting a resumption of session on February 9. The official House and Senate calendars are linked below and do not reflect cancellations:
House Calendar - Scheduled Session Days
Senate Calendar - Scheduled Session Days
Illinois CURE Program Cost Reimbursement Submission Deadline Extended
On January 28, 2021, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) announced that the State is extending the deadline for cost reimbursement submissions under the Local CURE Program. The new deadline is January 31, 2022. Costs incurred from March 1, 2020 - December 30, 2020, can be submitted until the extended deadline. The deadline extension follows federal changes to the CARES Act.
The Local CURE Program provides assistance to the 97 counties that did not receive direct funding from the federal government. Counties that received direct funding include Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake and Will. Additional information is available via this link.
ISACo supports efforts to provide additional flexibility for expenditures under the Local CURE Program.
COVID-19 Mitigation Update
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced that Region 8 (DuPage and Kane) and Region 9 (Lake and McHenry) moved to Tier 1 effective January 26, 2021.
Region 1 (Boone, Carroll, DeKalb, Jo Daviess, Lee, Ogle, Stephenson, Whiteside and Winnebago) and Region 2 (Bureau, Fulton, Grundy, Henderson, Henry, Kendall, Knox, La Salle, Livingston, Marshall, McDonough, McLean, Mercer, Peoria, Putnam, Rock Island, Stark, Tazewell, Warren and Woodford) moved to Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois Plan effective January 26, 2021. Region 11 (City of Chicago) moved to Phase 4 on January 31, 2021. Information about Phase 4 is available via this link.
Information about which tier and phase regions are in can be found at the top of the IDPH website homepage.
Legislators Hosting Virtual Presentation on Criminal Justice Reform Legislation
Several legislators announced they will host a Zoom town hall on Tuesday, February 2 at noon to explain the content of the criminal justice reform legislation (HB 3653) approved by both chambers in January. Registration to participate in the townhall event is available via this link.
Illinois Launches COVID-19 Vaccination Portal
The State announced a new portal on coronavirus.illinois.gov to provide residents with easily accessible information about the COVID-19 vaccine. The website will provide eligible residents with nearby vaccination sites, information on how to make an appointment to receive the vaccine, updates on the state's plan and eligibility and answers to frequently asked questions about the COVID-19 vaccine.
Registration Opens for NACo 2021 Virtual Legislative Conference
The 2021 NACo Legislative Conference is going virtual! The event will take place over several days throughout the month of March, with bonus content throughout April. Additional information about the conference schedule and the registration process is available via this link.
Corporate Partner Spotlight
This week's corporate partner spotlight highlights ISACo's partnership with 2im Group.
2im Group, LLC is a multi-disciplined civil engineering and environmental services firm, specializing in water resource management. Their experience includes working with transportation agencies and private sector clients. 2im Group, LLC strives to recognize their clients’ priorities to ensure project success!
The project scopes include: Phase I studies, reports, and investigations; Phase II detailed plans, specifications, and engineer’s cost estimates; and Phase III construction engineering services.
2im Group was established in July 2005 and has a combined personnel experience of over 100 years. Major clients include the Illinois Tollway and Illinois Department of Transportation.
More information about the services provided by 2im Group, LLC is available via this link.
Click on this link to learn more about the benefits and opportunities available through ISACo's Corporate Partner Program.