The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) today (January 11) reopened the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan portal featuring website updates with new details including the application form and the Interim Final Rule for the program changes recently signed into law with the $9 billion Emergency Coronavirus Relief Act.
Quite simply, the Coronavirus Pandemic of 2020 ranks as the most-challenging of times over my 21-year tenure as ECCI’s President and CEO and three decades of Chamber service—more so than the Great Recession of 2007-09 or even the 9-11 terrorist attacks of 2001, which unfolded while our Board of Directors were attending their regular monthly meeting in Community Bank of Elmhurst’s Hammersmith Community Room.
Two-term Elmhurst Mayor Steve Morley will deliver his eighth and final “State of Our City” Mayoral Address from event co-sponsor Community Bank of Elmhurst’s second-floor Hammersmith Community Room on Thursday, January 14, at 8 a.m. via the City’s YouTube page at youtube.com/elmhursttv.
Late last Sunday, U.S. President Donald J. Trump ended his threat of a veto (or, worse, pocket veto) and signed into law the $900 billion federal relief package that both the U.S. House of Representatives and then U.S. Senate passed by an overwhelming majority six days earlier.
Last on December 21, the United States House of Representatives and then U.S. Senate passed the Omnibus Appropriations and Emergency Coronavirus Relief Act (House Resolution 133) by an overwhelming majority in both Congressional chambers, appropriating another $900 billion in financial assistance to small businesses—including chambers of commerce, trade association and other 501(c)(6) not-for-profit organizations—unemployed workers and individual income taxpayers.
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker on December 12 signed a new Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamation extending his statewide declaration through January 9, 2021, and signed Executive Order 2020-74 to extend Restore Illinois Tier 3 enhanced mitigations, in response to an increase in Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic cases.