Governor Bruce Rauner today announced the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) approved the state’s request for assistance to help people and businesses in northwestern Illinois recover from severe storms and floods that occurred in July.
People and businesses in Stephenson and the contiguous Illinois counties of Carroll, Jo Daviess, Ogle and Winnebago who were impacted by the flooding are now eligible to apply for low-interest, long-term loans.
“This assistance will help many people and businesses begin the next phase of their recovery from this disaster,” Gov. Rauner said.
To be eligible for an SBA declaration, at least 25 homes and/or businesses in a county must sustain major, uninsured losses of 40 percent or more. A damage assessment conducted in August identified 112 homes, six businesses and one non-profit entity in Stephenson County sustained major damages and had uninsured losses.
For more information, contact SBA’s Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center by calling (800) 659-2955, emailing, or visiting SBA’s Web site at http://www.sba.gov/disaster. Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals may call (800) 877-8339. Applicants may also apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via SBA’s secure Web site at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela.