RESTORE ILLINOIS Phase 3 Industry-specific Reopening Guidelines Released

Governor JB Pritzker today released industry-specific guidelines that allow for the safe re-opening of businesses as the state progresses into the next phase of the Restore Illinois plan. All four regions of the state are on track to advance to Phase 3 of the plan in the coming days, allowing thousands of residents to return to work, and the reopening of businesses in the following industries: retail, offices, manufacturing, barbershops and salons, summer programs, various outdoor recreation activities and bars and restaurants for outdoor dining.

If you think back to your days as an employee, you may recall that one of the best cases for a raise, a title change or even a promotion was to just learn new skills. For your business, the path to operational improvements, margin increases and new revenue streams is identical.

If you and your employer have already experimented with a distributed team, you know that many of the major concerns around remote work — compromised productivity, camaraderie and accountability — were grossly overstated and easily checked. But the question of how to maintain a happy remote team — that takes a lot of care and intentionality.

SBA’s EIDL portal reopened May 4 and is accepting new EIDL applications on a limited basis only to provide relief to U.S. agricultural businesses.

For 1099 workers who have lost work due to COVID-19, a new application portal will open on May 11 via the Illinois Department of Employment Security website. Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) provides 100% federally funded unemployment benefits for those who are not eligible for the state’s regular unemployment insurance program, the extended benefit program or Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), including independent contractors and sole-proprietors.

Businesses that think through the needs of their customers in an ever-changing and adapting world will ultimately outlast their competition by offering solutions that work well both today, post-pandemic and in the next big world change, whatever it may be.

In order to help Illinois manufacturers and other businesses procure the appropriate masks and personal protective equipment, the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association is creating a new Manufacturing Sourcing Center that will be available on the IMA website.

To support small employers through the COVID-19 national health emergency, the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity (DCEO) has announced the availability of new U.S. Department of Labor WIOA grant funding for layoff aversion, planning and rapid response.

In a flash poll of Kankakee County lenders on Monday, the Economic Alliance learned that in the federal Paycheck Protection Program’s initial $350 billion round of emergency funding, more than 1,500 regional businesses were served, with approved loans totaling more than $260 million. According to those polled, the majority of businesses had already received a disbursement. In this initial round, businesses served employ more than 30,000 individuals.

Experts from the world’s leading plasma companies have come together to create a new alliance aimed at treating the new coronavirus. Partners include CSL Behring, the third largest biotech company globally, currently underway with a 1.8 million SF expansion of its Kankakee, Illinois, production site.