GOVERNOR’S BRIEFING
Today, Governor JB Pritzker‘s briefing focused on child-care – both existing support and additional support needed as a result of the pandemic. The Governor noted that childcare assistance is now available for essential employees including retail employees. Over 550 emergency child care facilities have gone operational and over 1,500 home-based providers have continued to operate. Applications for childcare assistance can be found here and here. IRMA strongly encourages retailers to make their employees aware of this assistance.
SNAP
This morning, the Illinois Department of Human Services t received approval for its Emergency SNAP Allotment Plan. The state applied for emergency benefits for the months of April and May. There will be two different allotments per month: one for emergency additional benefits for current SNAP clients and the other for families with children that are eligible for the free school lunch program. The Department is gearing up to have the money start hitting clients’ accounts on Wednesday, April 8th. There is about $78 million scheduled for this allotment. This first allotment, the emergency additional benefits for current SNAP clients, is expected to be delivered according to the schedule below:
| AVAILABILITY DATE | AMOUNT |
| 4/8/2020 | $ 3,832,276 |
| 4/9/2020 | $ 11,910,712 |
| 4/10/2020 | $ 11,368,948 |
| 4/11/2020 | $ 13,683,643 |
| 4/14/2020 | $ 16,159,314 |
| 4/15/2020 | $ 16,806,194 |
| 4/17/2020 | $ 2,614,733 |
| 4/18/2020 | $ 2,502,475 |
PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT THESE NUMBERS ARE THE DEPARTMENT’S BEST ESTIMATES OF HOW THE ADDITIONAL BENEFITS WILL BE DISTRIBUTED. They expect some fall off as some of the benefits will not go through for a variety of reasons. But it is safe to assume that fall off on any particular day will be about 10%. Remember, these number are in addition to the benefits that clients currently receive.
There is another round of additional benefits that have yet to be put into circulation. The second group of benefits will go to families with children that are eligible for the free school lunch program, also known as P-EBT. These benefits will total to about $95 million and the department hopes to spread that as evenly as possible between 20th-30th of the month. When IRMA receives an actual estimate of how those benefits will be distributed, we will send that to you.
ALL IN ILLINOIS
Yesterday, the State of Illinois launched a public awareness program All In Illinois. It is designed to give citizens practical tips and tools to keep themselves and those like medical professionals and retail workers safe. Citizens can also use it to change their social media profiles, print a sign for windows/doors, and share stories of those who are going above-and-beyond to meet the needs around them.
IRMA encourages you to visit All In Illinois and to make your employees aware as well.
ILLINOIS COVID-19 IMPACT UPDATE
Dr. Ngozi Ezike, MD, Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health announced 899 new cases in Illinois, including 31 more deaths. Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 11,256 cases, to date, including 274 deaths, in 71 of Illinois’ 102 counties. Additional information can be found here.