Assistance for Local Governments

The Local Coronavirus Urgent Remediation Emergency (or Local CURE) Support Program (Section 3-10 of Public Act 101-0636) is a support program for units of local government as defined by the Illinois Constitution. The Local CURE program is appropriated to the department under Section 5 of Article 30 of Public Act 101-0637 in State Fiscal Year 2021 for $250,000,000 and administrative rules for the program can be found under Title 14 Ill. Admin. Code Part 700.  Amendments to the rules were filed on February 17, 2021 and can be found under Notice of Emergency Amendments - Title 14 Ill. Admin. Code Part 700.

Important Local CURE Update: Local CURE statute updated, permitting costs to be incurred from March 1, 2020 through December 31, 2021.

"Units of local government" means counties, municipalities, townships, special districts, and units, designated as units of local government by law, which exercise limited governmental powers or powers in respect to limited governmental subjects, but does not include school districts. (Illinois Constitution, Article VII, Section 1.)

The Local CURE program:

• Is a local government assistance program which applies to all units of local government (as defined by the Illinois Constitution) outside of Cook, Lake, Will, Kane, & DuPage counties.
• Is federally funded from the Coronavirus Relief Fund using dollars allocated to Illinois through the CARES Act.
• Will reimburse units of local government for costs that:
• are necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency with respect to COVID-19;
• were not accounted for in the budget most recently approved as of March 27, 2020 (the date of enactment of the CARES Act) for the unit of local government; and
• were incurred during the period beginning March 1, 2020 and ending December 31, 2021.

Examples of costs which are eligible for reimbursement under the program:

• Medical expenses, including but not limited to: expenses of establishing temporary public medical facilities and other measures to increase COVID-19 treatment capacity, costs of providing COVID-19 testing, and emergency medical response expenses;
• Public health expenses, including but not limited to:
• expenses for communication and enforcement by local governments of public health orders related to COVID-19, including the purchase of media for public health messages related to mask wearing and social distancing,
• expenses for establishing public health programs like one to reimburse businesses for public health measures such as PPE, installation of plexiglass barriers, touchless hand sanitizer stations in public places, and other such expenses;
• Payroll expenses for public safety, public health, health care, human services, and similar employees whose services were substantially dedicated to mitigating or responding to COVID-19;  
• Expenses for actions taken to facilitate compliance with COVID-19 related public health measures;
• Any other COVID-19 related expenses reasonably necessary for the unit of local government to respond to the public health emergency that satisfies the Local CURE Program eligibility criteria.  Local governments must document how expenses are related to COVID-19.

Examples of costs which are ineligible for reimbursement under the program:

• Governmental revenue shortfall replacement;
• Damages covered by insurance;
• Payroll or benefits expenses for employees whose work duties are not substantially dedicated to mitigating or responding to the COVID-19 public health emergency;
• Expenses associated with the provision of economic support in connection with COVID-19;
• Reimbursement to donors for donated items or services;
• Workforce bonuses other than hazard pay or overtime;
• Severance pay;
• Legal settlements;
• Indirect costs or administrative costs; and
• Incurred expenses that have been or will be reimbursed through another State or federal funding opportunity.

Additional Guidance on Eligible Expenses

• Claiming the Costs of Implementing CDC Guidance for Public Employees and within Public Spaces or Facilities
• Substantially Dedicated Payroll Claiming Guidance

For more information on eligible expenses, visit the Local CURE Reporting Portal FAQs or contact the Local CURE Support Team either through the Portal Help Desk or via email at CEO.CURE@illinois.gov.

Reimbursable Expenditure Test:
If “TRUE” can be answered for all of the below, Local CURE funds may be used

• The expense is connected to the COVID-19 emergency.
• The expense is “necessary”.
• The expense is not filling a short fall in government revenues.
• The expense is not funded thru another budget line item, allotment or allocation, as of March 27, 2020.
• The expense is not being reimbursed through a different emergency response program.
• The expense wouldn’t exist without COVID-19 OR would be for a “substantially different” purpose.  

The process for receiving assistance:

1. CERTIFY – All local governments that have received a formula allotment under this program or were awarded through Allotment C should have received a certification form from the Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity. If you have not received this, please contact David Parr at David.parr@illinois.gov.
   
2. REGISTER – All local governments in the program should have received an email inviting you to register on the Local CURE Reporting Portal. Redeem the invitation by clicking on your local government unit’s unique URL. Through this email and link, you will access the Portal and set up a username and password to complete registration.
   
3. SUBMIT – Submit requests for reimbursement through the Local CURE Reporting Portal using your username and password on the Portal.       

For more information, visit the Local CURE Reporting Portal FAQs or contact the Local CURE Support Team either through the Portal Help Desk or via email at CEO.CURE@illinois.gov.

• Allotment A Detail: Per capita formula allotments for Counties & Municipalities
• Allotment B Detail: Per capita and low-income population distribution to Certified Local Public Health Departments, based on IDPH's Local Health Protection Grant formula
• Allotment C – Special Taxing District allotments
• Local CURE Detailed Voucher Report