Kane County, townships, municipalities, school districts to receive funds from the American Rescue Plan

President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan into law Thursday, which will send millions of dollars in funding to Kane County and local municipalities to offset costs related to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a news release from U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Naperville.

“Northern Illinois families and small businesses need relief from the hardships caused by the coronavirus pandemic, and help is on the way,” Underwood stated in the release. “This legislation will help speed vaccinations, provide direct payments to families, equip our schools with the resources they need to operate safely and effectively, and help small businesses keep their doors open. The American Rescue Plan will put money in the pockets of families who need it through direct payments, an enhanced child tax credit, extended unemployment benefits, and lower health care costs. This bold legislation gives us the tools we need to crush the virus and rebuild our economy.”

The American Rescue Plan provides an estimated $893 million to municipalities in Illinois’ 14th Congressional District.

New state and local Coronavirus Relief Funds can be used to cover pandemic related costs and keep first responders, frontline health workers, and other vital service providers safely on the job as Illinois and local governments roll out vaccines. Funds must be used to address the pandemic or its negative economic impacts, including to replace revenue lost, delayed, or decreased as a result of the pandemic.

State and local funding estimates from American Rescue Plan for Kane County:

Kane County: $103,256,283.32

Batavia city: $3,264,133.56

Burlington village: $76,599.65

Campton Hills village: $1,370,268.94

Elburn village: $740,916.31

Geneva city: $2,694,454.54

Kaneville village: $59,302.96

Lily Lake village: $126,389.43

Maple Park village: $168,642.78

North Aurora village: $2,230,903.09

St. Charles city: $4,063,117.36

Sugar Grove village: $1,221,640.90

Virgil village: $40,400.14

School districts:

Batavia Unit School District 101: $1,680,000

Central Community Unit School District 301: $2,180,000

Geneva Community Unit School District 304: $1,759,000

Kaneland Community Unit School District 302: $1,085,000

St. Charles Community Unit School District 303: $3,251,000

According to the release, the American Rescue Plan also includes key provisions to:

Speed up vaccinations, contain the virus, and keep schools open safely:

• Provides $275 million to Illinois to speed up the distribution of vaccines and set up community vaccination centers around the United States.
• It also provides $1.5 billion to Illinois for testing, tracing, and mitigation efforts to fight the spread of COVID-19 and provide PPE to frontline health care workers.
• The American Rescue Plan invests nearly $130 billion directly in K-12 education to help schools operate safely and make up for lost learning time. School districts in Illinois’ 14th Congressional District will receive approximately $169 million.
• It provides an estimated $1.3 billion to support Illinois institutions of higher education and help their students cope with the financial strain caused by COVID-19.

Deliver immediate economic relief for Americans:

• Economists estimate the plan will create 7.5 million jobs and bring the economy back to near full employment in a little over 12 months, which would have taken at least three years without the new legislation.
• Delivers another round of relief checks to adults with incomes up to $80,000 and families with incomes up to $160,000. Most adults and dependent children will receive $1,400 each.
• Keeps the weekly federal unemployment benefit at $300 per week through Sept. 6 and extends the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program.
• It also fixes a glitch in eligibility for recipients of Illinois’ pandemic unemployment assistance program, restoring payments to workers who had lost them in early March.
• Provides tax relief by exempting up to $10,200 in unemployment benefits from federal income taxes for hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans that have claimed unemployment insurance benefits in 2020.
• Increases the Child Tax Credit for 2021 from $2,000 per child to $3,600 per child under age 6 and $3,000 per child under age 18. This applies to single filers earning up to $75,000, head of household filers earning up to $112,500, and joint filers earning up to $150,000 and is refundable, meaning families will receive it as a direct payment even if they do not owe taxes this year.
• To ensure families receive immediate relief, starting in July, the IRS will distribute half of the credit via direct payments. This means a family claiming the full expanded credit could receive $250 a month per child from July to December 2021, and then would receive the remainder as a credit on their 2021 tax return.
• The expanded Child Tax Credit will benefit nearly 9 in 10 Illinois children and lift over 150,000 Illinois children out of poverty.
• Strengthens and expands federal nutrition programs to address the current hunger crisis.
• Provides funding for rental assistance, mortgage forbearance,and extending the eviction and foreclosure moratoriums until Sept. 30.

Lowers health care costs:

• Includes legislation championed by Rep. Underwood to lower out-of-pocket health care costs for people purchasing Marketplace plans, expanding coverage to uninsured Americans and saving individuals and families hundreds or thousands of dollars on premiums.
• Covers 100% of COBRA premiums for laid off workers so families can afford to keep their employer-sponsored coverage.
• Prohibits copayments for medical care for veterans during the pandemic.

Support for communities and small businesses:

• Provides $29 billion to revitalize restaurants, food, and beverage establishments for a Restaurant Revitalization Fund to support struggling restaurants and bars.
• Continues to support popular programs to support non-profits stay open and keep their employees on payroll.