SBA Offers Disaster Assistance to Residents of Illinois Affected by June/July Severe Storms, Flooding and Tornadoes

WASHINGTON, Sept. 3, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Illinois businesses and residents affected by the severe storms, flooding and tornadoes between  June 7 and July 31, can apply for low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration, SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet announced today.

Contreras-Sweet made the loans available in response to a letter from Gov. Bruce Rauner on Aug. 27, requesting a disaster declaration by the SBA. The declaration covers Grundy and Iroquois counties and the adjacent counties of Ford, Kankakee, Kendall, La Salle, Livingston, Vermilion and Will in Illinois; Benton and Newton in Indiana.

"The SBA is strongly committed to providing the people of Illinois with the most effective and customer-focused response possible to assist businesses of all sizes, homeowners and renters with federal disaster loans," said Contreras-Sweet. "Getting businesses and communities up and running after a disaster is our highest priority at SBA."

"Businesses and nonprofit organizations of any size may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory, and other business assets," said SBA's Illinois District Director Robert S. Steiner.

The Centers are located in the following communities and will open as indicated:

For small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small aquaculture businesses and most private nonprofit organizations of all sizes, the SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster.  EIDL assistance is available regardless of whether the business suffered any physical property damage.

"Loans up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate. Homeowners and renters are eligible for loans up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property," said Frank Skaggs, director of SBA's Field Operations Center East in Atlanta.  SBA's customer service representatives are available at the Disaster Loan Outreach Centers to answer questions about the disaster loan program and help individuals complete their applications.

Interest rates are as low as 4 percent for businesses, 2.625 percent for nonprofit organizations, and 1.688 percent for homeowners and renters with terms up to 30 years.  Loan amount and terms are set by the SBA and are based on each applicant's financial condition.

Applicants may be eligible for a loan amount increase up to 20 percent of their physical damages, as verified by the SBA, to make improvements that help prevent the risk of future property damage caused by a similar disaster.

Applicants may apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via SBA's secure website at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela.

Businesses and individuals may also obtain information and loan applications by calling the SBA's Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 (1-800-877-8339 for the deaf and hard-of-hearing), or by emailing [email protected]. Loan applications can also be downloaded at www.sba.gov/disaster. Completed applications should be returned to the centers or mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center,
14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.

The filing deadline to return applications for physical property damage is Nov. 2, 2015.  The deadline to return economic injury applications is June 3, 2016.

For more information about the SBA's Disaster Loan Program, visit our website at www.sba.gov/disaster.  

Release Number: 15-348 IL 14448/14449

Contact: Michael Lampton 
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (404) 331-0333

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SOURCE U.S. Small Business Administration