COVID-19 Center

August 11, 2020 - Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) announced that applications for rental assistance are now available for renters who have lost a job or income due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Applications are currently being accepted for eligible tenants through the Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) Program. Following the application period for rental assistance, IHDA will open applications for Emergency Mortgage Assistance (EMA) Program. 

More information about both programs - including tenant and homeowner eligibility - are available in the full Illinois e-News Release below. Links to the application portals through the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) for both the ERA and EMA Programs are also available. 

• Illinois e-News Release (8/10/2020) (PDF)
• Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA)
• Emergency Mortgage Assistance (EMA)

July 28, 2020 - All regions of the State of Illinois remain in Phase 4 (Revitalization) of the "Restore Illinois Plan". For a region to move into Phase 5 (Illinois Restored) a vaccine or effective treatment must be made available or the State must have seen an elimination of new cases over a sustained period of time through herd immunity or other factors. Currently in Phase 4, public meetings and social events are limited to the lesser of 50 people or 50% overall room capacity.

July 24, 2020 - Governor JB Pritzker signed a new Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamation (PDF) extending the statewide declaration through Saturday, August 22. Additionally, Governor Pritzker signed Executive Order 2020-48 (HTML) (PDF) to extend all Phase 4 orders. 

July 15, 2020 - The State of Illinois (Restore Illinois) Released a Mitigation Plan (PDF) in an effort to prevent a resurgence of COVID-19. As a part of that mitigation plan, the Governor announced that the state would be modifying its regional boundaries to largely follow IDPH’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) regions. 

June 26, 2020 - The State of Illinois moved into Phase 4: Revitalization. View an Overview of Phase 4 Changes (PDF). Below is a YouTube video from Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity (IDCEO) regarding Phase 4 Guidelines. For information regarding specific industries and additional resources, please visit the IDCEO website.