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| 1 | AN ACT concerning State government. | ||||||
| 2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | ||||||
| 3 | represented in the General Assembly: | ||||||
| 4 | Section 5. The Grocery Initiative Act is amended by | ||||||
| 5 | changing Section 15 as follows: | ||||||
| 6 | (20 ILCS 750/15) | ||||||
| 7 | Sec. 15. Grocery Initiative Grants and Financial Support. | ||||||
| 8 | (a) The Department shall, subject to appropriation, | ||||||
| 9 | establish the Grocery Initiative to expand access to healthy | ||||||
| 10 | foods in food deserts in Illinois and areas at risk of becoming | ||||||
| 11 | food deserts in Illinois by providing grants and other forms | ||||||
| 12 | of financial assistance to independently owned for-profit | ||||||
| 13 | grocery stores, cooperative grocery stores, or not-for-profit | ||||||
| 14 | grocery stores, as well as grocery stores owned and operated | ||||||
| 15 | by local governmental units. The Department may enter into | ||||||
| 16 | contracts, grants, or other agreements to administer these | ||||||
| 17 | grants and other forms of financial assistance. The Department | ||||||
| 18 | may, by rule, place limits on the size of the grocery stores | ||||||
| 19 | that are eligible for grants and other financial assistance | ||||||
| 20 | under this Act, including, but not limited to, limits on the | ||||||
| 21 | annual revenue or projected revenue of the applicant, number | ||||||
| 22 | of full-time employees, or square footage of the facilities. | ||||||
| 23 | The Department may prioritize grant awards and loan funding to | ||||||
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| 1 | applicants based on poverty rates, income, geographic | ||||||
| 2 | diversity, local ownership, access to grocery stores in the | ||||||
| 3 | area surrounding proposed project locations, and other factors | ||||||
| 4 | as determined by the Department. The Department may award | ||||||
| 5 | grants or provide loans for any one or more of the following: | ||||||
| 6 | (1) market and site feasibility studies, promotional | ||||||
| 7 | materials, and marketing; | ||||||
| 8 | (2) salaries and benefits for workers; | ||||||
| 9 | (3) rent or a down payment to acquire a facility; | ||||||
| 10 | (4) purchase of ownership of a grocery store as part | ||||||
| 11 | of establishing a new grocery store; | ||||||
| 12 | (5) capital improvements, planning, renovations, land | ||||||
| 13 | acquisition, demolition, durable and non-durable equipment | ||||||
| 14 | purchases; or | ||||||
| 15 | (6) other costs as determined eligible by the | ||||||
| 16 | Department. | ||||||
| 17 | (b) The Department may, subject to appropriation, provide | ||||||
| 18 | grants for equipment upgrades for existing independently owned | ||||||
| 19 | for-profit grocery stores, cooperative grocery stores, or | ||||||
| 20 | not-for-profit grocery stores, or farmer-owned grocery stores | ||||||
| 21 | or markets. The Department shall use no more than 20% of total | ||||||
| 22 | program funding for this purpose. Equipment upgrades shall be | ||||||
| 23 | focused on providing access to equipment that is energy | ||||||
| 24 | efficient. | ||||||
| 25 | (Source: P.A. 103-561, eff. 1-1-24.) | ||||||