In February 2009,
President Obama signed into law the $787
billion economic stimulus package, the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
ARRA is designed to put America back to work
by saving or creating 3.5 million jobs over
the next two years with $499 billion in
critical investments and $288 billion in tax
relief.
The Illinois DCEO is
distributing ARRA funds to governments,
businesses and organizations through formula
and competitive grant opportunities. The
Recovery Act contains targeted funding in
the following areas within DCEO’s mission:
Job Training and Green Jobs
DCEO administers
funding from the U.S. Department of Labor
that supports Local Workforce Investment
Areas, which provide job training and
placement services to adults, youth and
dislocated workers. DCEO also administers
the federally-funded Trade Adjustment
Assistance program and is playing an
important role in the U.S. Department of
Labor's new "Green" Jobs Training programs.
Homelessness Prevention & Transitional
Support Services
DCEO administers
funding from the U.S. Department of Health &
Human Services for programs to support local
agencies that provide homelessness
prevention and assistance services. DCEO
also administers HHS funding to support
local Community Action Agencies, which
provide employment, food, housing, health
care and other transitional support services
to low-income citizens.
Access to Capital
Under ARRA, the U.S.
Small Business Administration will provide
additional lending and investment programs
for small businesses, including microloans
and surety bond guarantees. In addition, the
U.S. Department of Treasury provides funding
to the Community Development Financial
Institutions (CDFI) program to provide
financial assistance to locally-based
organizations engaged in increasing the
availability of affordable housing,
providing banking services to underserved
communities, and building regional
economies.
Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy
DCEO administers
funding from the U.S. Department of Energy
to support projects that promote increases
in energy efficiency and expand our state's
production of renewable energy such as wind,
solar, biogas, geothermal and other
investments that reduce U.S. reliance on
foreign oil and promote the use of clean
energy to protect the environment.
Energy Assistance
DCEO distributes
funding from the U.S. Department of Energy
to local provider agencies that help
families reduce their energy costs by
weatherizing their homes to be more energy
efficient.
Community Infrastructure
DCEO distributes
funding from the U.S. Department of Housing
& Urban Development to local governments and
regional planning commissions to help them
make infrastructure investments to benefit
low and moderate-income persons, such as
water and sewer system upgrades and
affordable housing developments.
Broadband Access
Under ARRA, the U.S.
Department of Commerce and the U.S
Department of Agriculture will provide
funding through a competitive application
process for broadband infrastructure grants,
innovative programs to encourage broadband
use, projects that improve capacity and
service, public computer technology centers,
distance learning, telemedicine and others.
Science & Technology
ARRA provides funding
to federal research agencies to support a
variety of innovation, research and
development, and construction projects.
If you’d like to be
kept up-to-date with ARRA opportunities,
sign up for an e-newsletter. State
information across all state agencies is
available at the State of Illinois Recovery
Act website at
www.recovery.illinois.gov.
