Illinois State University was slammed with an ice storm two weeks ago. A lot of campus still remains covered in a thick layer of ice. Snow covers the front of the Normal Theatre in Uptown.
On Wednesday, it was announced that 50 businesses in the Town of Normal received grants totaling $450,000. The grants come from the Town of Normal’s small business relief program to aid those that have been impacted by COVID-19.
The money used to help the businesses in Normal was granted through the State’s Local Cure (Coronavirus Urgent Remediation Emergency) Economic Support Grant Program.
“As a long-standing business owner, I know how important these funds are in sustaining many small businesses during these unprecedented times. I proudly support all efforts to bring financial assistance back to our community,” Mayor Chris Koos said.
The program is a federally funded effort from the Coronavirus Relief Fund. The Town of Normal opened applications for local businesses on Dec. 1.
“We had 67 businesses apply for grants. All told, they asked for $760,045 in assistance, more than $300,000 than we had to award,” Assistant City Manager Eric Hanson said.
Funds were requested in three categories, including the operational assistance grant, the digital marketing support grant and the business modification grant.
“These businesses are the backbone of our local economy and we are proud to support them,” Hanson said. “The need is great and our goal was to help as many as possible. Per state requirements, we could only reimburse for COVID-related expenses incurred and paid for by Dec. 30.”
Although, there were many who were excited to work together to help each other through these hard times.
“A cross-functional staff team meticulously reviewed all applications. The process was both time-consuming and rewarding. Staff enjoyed learning more about applicants,” Hanson said.
Businesses were able to apply for up to $15,000 total or $5,000 in each grant category. Grant awards ranged from a minimum of $807 to the $15,000 maximum. The average grant award between the business were $9,000.
Applicants self-selected into six different business types and grants were awarded throughout all six of the categories. The different business types include restaurants, professional services, personal services, retail, hospitality and other.
Restaurants received the highest amount of funds, with $192, 755 awarded in grants, or 68 percent of the fund requested in that specific category.
The highest grant awards were given to businesses that include Destihl Beer Hall, DP dough, Los Potrillos, Moe’s Southwest Grill, The original Pancake House, The Rock and Windy City Wieners.
There were several businesses who originally applied for the Town’s SBRP received funds from the Business Interruption Grant from the State of Illinois, which made them ineligible for additional assistance though the SBRP.
Some businesses in the town who applied unfortunately did not receive awards because they did not meet the state’s eligibility requirements or they did not receive a full award because of documentation requirements.
“The state’s required documentation is immense. We talked with applicants to ensure business owners provided the paperwork needed,” Hanson said.
“Applicants not receiving money unfortunately couldn’t provide necessary documentation. We also saw this from interested businesses. We had 90 businesses express interest, but only 67 applied. In those cases, the state’s required documentation was too large an obstacle for the businesses to overcome.”
Regulators authorized AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine for use in adults throughout the European Union on Friday, amid criticism the bloc is not moving fast enough to vaccinate its population.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former FBI lawyer was sentenced to probation for altering an email that the Justice Department relied on during its surveillance of an aide to President Donald Trump during the Russia investigation.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Tony Evers lashed out Friday at rival Republicans who tried to repeal his statewide mask mandate, saying killing the order would be a ridiculous move comparable to abolishing speed limits.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — As some conservatives in South Carolina celebrated getting a bill that would ban almost all abortions in the state past a legislative barrier and likely becoming law, they said they are not finished trying to end all abortions.
A Moscow court on Friday put the brother and several allies of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny under house arrest for two months as authorities sought to stymie more protests over the jailing of the top Kremlin foe.