(20 ILCS 605/605-1047)

Sec. 605-1047. Local Coronavirus Urgent Remediation Emergency (or Local CURE) Support Program.

(a) Purpose. The Department may receive, directly or indirectly, federal funds from the Coronavirus Relief Fund provided to the State pursuant to Section 5001 of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to provide financial support to units of local government for purposes authorized by Section 5001 of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and related federal guidance. Upon receipt of such funds, and appropriations for their use, the Department shall administer a Local Coronavirus Urgent Remediation Emergency (or Local CURE) Support Program to provide financial support to units of local government that have incurred necessary expenditures due to the COVID-19 public health emergency. The Department shall provide by rule the administrative framework for the Local CURE Support Program.

(b) Allocations. A portion of the funds appropriated for the Local CURE Support Program may be allotted to municipalities and counties based on proportionate population. Units of local government, or portions thereof, located within the five Illinois counties that received direct allotments from the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund will not be included in the support program allotments. The Department may establish other administrative procedures for providing financial support to units of local government. Appropriated funds may be used for administration of the support program, including the hiring of a service provider to assist with coordination and administration.

(c) Administrative procedures. The Department may establish administrative procedures for the support program, including any application procedures, grant agreements, certifications, payment methodologies, and other accountability measures that may be imposed upon recipients of funds under the grant program. Financial support may be provided in the form of grants or in the form of expense reimbursements for disaster-related expenditures. The emergency rulemaking process may be used to promulgate the initial rules of the grant program.

(d) Definitions. As used in this Section:

(1) "COVID-19" means the novel coronavirus virus disease deemed COVID-19 by the World Health Organization on February 11, 2020.

(2) "Local government" or "unit of local government" means any unit of local government as defined in Article VII, Section 1 of the Illinois Constitution.

(3) "Third party administrator" means a service provider selected by the Department to provide operational assistance with the administration of the support program.

(e) Powers of the Department. The Department has the power to:

(1) Provide financial support to eligible units of local government with funds appropriated from the Local Coronavirus Urgent Remediation Emergency (Local CURE) Fund to cover necessary costs incurred due to the COVID-19 public health emergency that are eligible to be paid using federal funds from the Coronavirus Relief Fund.

(2) Enter into agreements, accept funds, issue grants or expense reimbursements, and engage in cooperation with agencies of the federal government and units of local governments to carry out the purposes of this support program, and to use funds appropriated from the Local Coronavirus Urgent Remediation Emergency (Local CURE) Fund upon such terms and conditions as may be established by the federal government and the Department.

(3) Enter into agreements with third-party administrators to assist the state with operational assistance and administrative functions related to review of documentation and processing of financial support payments to units of local government.

(4) Establish applications, notifications, contracts, and procedures and adopt rules deemed necessary and appropriate to carry out the provisions of this Section. To provide for the expeditious and timely implementation of this Act, emergency rules to implement any provision of this Section may be adopted by the Department subject to the provisions of Section 5-45 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act.

(5) Provide staff, administration, and related support required to manage the support program and pay for the staffing, administration, and related support with funds appropriated from the Local Coronavirus Urgent Remediation Emergency (Local CURE) Fund.

(6) Exercise such other powers as are necessary or incidental to the foregoing.

(f) Local CURE financial support to local governments. The Department is authorized to provide financial support to eligible units of local government including, but not limited to, certified local health departments for necessary costs incurred due to the COVID-19 public health emergency that are eligible to be paid using federal funds from the Coronavirus Relief Fund.

(1) Financial support funds may be used by a unit of local government only for payment of costs that: (i) are necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency of COVID-19; (ii) were not accounted for in the most recent budget approved as of March 27, 2020 for the unit of local government; and (iii) were incurred between March 1, 2020 and December 31, 2021, or until the end of any extension of the covered period authorized by federal law.

(2) A unit of local government receiving financial support funds under this program shall certify to the Department that it shall use the funds in accordance with the requirements of paragraph (1) and that any funds received but not used for such purposes shall be repaid to the Department.

(3) The Department shall make the determination to provide financial support funds to a unit of local government on the basis of criteria established by the Department.

(g) Additional purpose. The Local CURE Fund may receive, directly or indirectly, federal funds from the Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund pursuant to Section 9901 of the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 in order to distribute the funds to units of local government in accordance with Section 9901 of the American Recovery Plan Act and any related federal guidance. Upon receipt of such funds into the Local CURE Fund, as instructed by the Governor, the Department shall cooperate with the Department of Revenue and any other relevant agency to administer the distribution of such funds to the appropriate units of local government.

(Source: P.A. 101-636, eff. 6-10-20; 102-16, eff. 6-17-21; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21.)