McHenry County plans to invest about $30 million into projects to ‘directly benefit’ community

Advance McHenry County, an initiative to invest tens of millions of dollars in federal COVID-19 recovery funding into projects that “directly benefit the community,” will begin accepting applications Monday, the county said Friday.

As part of the first phase of the Advance McHenry County plan, the county intends to invest half of the $59.7 million it is set to receive in American Rescue Plan Act funding, according to a news release. Of the $29.8 million to be disbursed in this first phase, $14 million is earmarked for infrastructure projects, such as broadband and stormwater upgrades.

An additional $8 million will be dedicated to manufacturing, workforce development and jobs programs, as well as other economic development initiatives, according to the release. About $3 million will go to programs administered by nonprofit agencies, and another $3 million will be set aside for special districts and other local governments that did not receive federal COVID-19 funds.

“We’ve been working for many months to get this program off the ground to put these federal funds to work enhancing the McHenry County community’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic,” McHenry County Board Chairman Mike Buehler, R-Crystal Lake, said in a statement. “While many local governments are choosing to keep their American Rescue Plan Act funding for themselves to recoup their losses, we’re investing it into thoughtful and impactful initiatives to help McHenry County come back stronger than before.”

The online application portal, which will be accessible through the Advance McHenry County website at www.mchenrycountyil.gov/advance, will go live Monday, and proposals can be submitted for this first round of funding through early 2022.

Each funding request must meet a specific set of criteria, and ones recommended for approval will go before the County Board for final consideration. The application website also will act as a “transparency and accountability portal,” where the public can track where the money is going.

The county will host information sessions Nov. 9 and 15 for qualified groups. Information on these sessions will be posted on the website.