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Illinois Municipal League Updates Local Leaders on COVID-19

Dated Mar. 30, 2020

SUMMARY BY TAX ANALYSTS

The Illinois Municipal League updated mayors and other local state leaders with information on COVID-19, including tax extensions that are being offered, and advised leaders to exercise caution before entering into agreements that could be collections scams.

DATE: Thursday, March 26, 2020

TO: Mayors/Village Presidents/Town Presidents
Managers/Administrators
Clerks/Deputy Clerks

CC: IML Board of Directors

FROM: Brad Cole, Executive Director
Illinois Municipal League

RE: COVID-19 Update: Thursday, March 26, 2020

Today, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced 673 new cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois. Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 2,538 cases in 37 counties in Illinois. Cases by county can be found on the state's coronavirus website at coronavirus.illinois.gov.

The Governor announced today that President Trump approved a major disaster declaration for the state of Illinois, which expands federal resources available to areas throughout Illinois impacted by COVID-19. This action will support the Illinois Municipal League's (IML) request on March 16, which requires a major disaster declaration designation.

The Governor also issued two new executive orders today. The first order addresses admissions to the Illinois Department of Corrections from county jails, linked here. The second order addresses remote notarization of documents by a Notary Public, linked here.

Tomorrow, the U.S. House of Representatives will consider H.R. 748, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The full text of the legislation is available via this link. The legislation, in Title VI, Section 601 (starting on page 602 of the link), only provides direct aid to local governments in excess of 500,000 in population. IML has requested that, despite Congress' failure to provide direct aid to all municipalities, Governor JB Pritzker direct state aid received under the CARES Act to all municipalities based on a per-capita distribution. IML's letter to the Governor is available via this link.

As the spread of COVID-19 continues, IML has kept multiple lines of communication open with the Governor's Office, other state constitutional officers, state agencies and the Illinois General Assembly. That has included regular correspondence regarding issues of municipal concern during this crisis. Additional formal letters of request, which were sent today, are linked below:

IML Letters to State Officials

As a reminder, Governor Pritzker's office is holding conference calls twice a week with federal, state and local officials regarding their efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19. These calls will be held on Tuesdays and Fridays from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. The call-in information remains the same and is below:

  • Phone Number: (312) 535-8110

  • Access Code: 804 978 987#

Today, the Governor's Office notified me of their intent to again change their guidance regarding golf courses. The guidance is now that golf courses are not allowed to remain open during the “Stay At Home” Order. IML has updated our FAQ on the Governor's “Stay At Home” Order (available via this link) in accordance with that guidance. We apologize for the confusion caused by the conflicting changes. See this statement from the Governor's Office, released today.

The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) is continually providing guidance and information regarding whether businesses are considered essential. If you have a question regarding if a business is essential, contact DCEO's helpline by phone at (800) 252-2923 to leave a message or by email at CEO.support@illinois.gov.

Available via this link is guidance on Essential Businesses & Operations from DCEO. A helpful flowchart to determine if a business is essential or non-essential has been developed by DCEO and is available via this link.

The Governor's Office is continually updating their COVID-19 resources. Linked here is the most recent edition of their Daily COVID-19 FAQs. To assist their efforts, the Governor's Office is collecting and responding to questions regarding the state's response to the COVID-19 outbreak. They have created an email address, Gov.COVID19stakeholder@illinois.gov, where citizens may send questions, comments and recommendations. The Governor's staff compiles all inquiries and responds with answers.

The Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) has released guidance (available via this link) regarding the Governor's announcement yesterday delaying the state's income tax filing and payment deadline to July 15.

IML reminds municipalities that some people and providers may take advantage of crisis situations. Caution is urged when entering into contracts or agreements with groups seeking to provide (1) revenue enhancement or collection services; (2) the sale of supplies at unspecified or higher prices; (3) the sale of alternative supplies or equipment due to shortages; (4) grant or aid application processing services; (5) general consulting services; and (6) other services purported to assist municipalities in dealing with the crisis situations they are experiencing. All contracts should be reviewed thoroughly by a municipal attorney or retained outside legal counsel. If that review reveals questionable contracts and behaviors, please advise IML so we can communicate concerns with other municipalities. IML legal staff is available to assist your retained attorney with such issues if that initial review indicates potential problems.

Due to the Governor's Executive Order 2020-10 (available via this link), limiting public gatherings to 10 or less people, IML has had to cancel some of our upcoming workshops and seminars. IML's updated calendar of 2020 events is available via this link.

IML is posting all of this information and more on our COVID-19 resources page available at iml.org/covid.

The State of Illinois' central website for COVID-19 is available at coronavirus.illinois.gov.

The Illinois Municipal League will continue to distribute timely, reliable and pertinent information as it becomes available. Please feel welcome to share these messages with municipal officials and others in your community. As always, thank you for your dedication to your community. Please feel welcome to contact me at any time, for any reason. Thanks.

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