DUPAGE COUNTY

Recovery Plan

State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds

August 31, 2021
Table of Contents GENERAL OVERVIEW..........................................................................................................................3

Executive Summary...................................................................................................................................3

Uses of Funds............................................................................................................................................6

Description............................................................................................................................................6

Strategies ..............................................................................................................................................6

Outcomes..............................................................................................................................................7

Promotions............................................................................................................................................7

Equitable Outcomes..................................................................................................................................7

Goals .....................................................................................................................................................7

Awareness.............................................................................................................................................7

Access....................................................................................................................................................8

Outcomes..............................................................................................................................................8

Data Constraints....................................................................................................................................8

Community Engagement ..........................................................................................................................8

Labor Practices..........................................................................................................................................8

Prevailing Wage Act..............................................................................................................................8

Employment of Illinois Workers on Public Works Act ..........................................................................8

Use of Evidence.........................................................................................................................................9

Project Evaluation.................................................................................................................................9

Table of Expenses by Expenditure Category.............................................................................................9

PROJECT INVENTORY .........................................................................................................................9

Project Details...........................................................................................................................................9

Project Number.....................................................................................................................................9

Project Amount.....................................................................................................................................9

Project Expenditure Category .............................................................................................................10

Project Overview.....................................................................................................................................10

Process....................................................................................................................................................10

Project Evidence......................................................................................................................................11

Project Performance Report...................................................................................................................11
DuPage County 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report (Interim) 3

GENERAL OVERVIEW 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

DuPage County (“County”) is still developing its Response Plan (“Plan”) under the 

American Rescue Plan Act (“ARPA”) program. The County received $89,633,292.50 in 

ARPA funding on May 17, 2021. Since that time, Board Members, Departments, Elected 

Officials, and staff have been meeting to strategize on how to best invest ARPA funds. 

While detailed budget discussions have been ongoing for months, the County has paused 

these discussions because of the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 Delta Variant. 

The Delta Variant is a key challenge for this reporting period. The highly infectious COVID19 strain creates uncertainty for the budget as funds may have to shift to the County’s 

immediate COVID-19 response. Both the County’s Health Department and its nursing 

home are pivoting to respond to this latest challenge. Fortunately, because of the size and 

duration of the federal ARPA grant, the County has the ability to shift resources to issues 

like increased testing, mobile vaccine outreach, and booster vaccines. For now, the County 

is taking a cautious, methodical approach to the ARPA budget and the budget priorities. 

Rather than budget the entire ARPA allocation within the first few months of the program, it 

is pausing to see how the Delta Variant unfolds in the near future. This way, the County 

maintains the flexibility to respond quickly and effectively to whatever is needed.

Key to the immediate COVID-19 response is the DuPage County Health Department. The 

Health Department (“HD”) has been the lead agency in the County’s response to the 

pandemic with the clear goal of reducing the spread of COVID-19. In addition to public 

education efforts, its work includes COVID-19 testing, COVID-19 case investigation, 

contract tracing, and vaccine administration. HD programs include efforts to address 

COVID-19-related health disparities in racial and ethnic minorities via the Health Equity and 

Access Response Team (“HEART”). As of 7/31/2021, the County Board had not 

appropriated funds for the HD, but this approval is anticipated by 10/31/2021.

The County’s nursing home (“Care Center”) is also on the front lines of the pandemic. The 

goal of the Care Center is to reduce/eliminate the number of COVID cases in the facility. 

Standard COVID-19 protocols have been in place at the facility for over a year and a half. 

Access to the facility is limited. All visitors must be screened and receive education related 

to the risks of visiting a long-term care facility in advance of a visit. Staff and patients must 

wear masks. Patients diagnosed with COVID-19 cases are isolated and staff are 

appropriately quarantined. In response to the Delta Variant, the frequency of testing has 

been increased to every three to seven days. Currently, five units are under quarantine.

With the emergence of the Delta Variant, the facility is experiencing continual staff issues. 

These staffing issues have necessitated hazard pay and bonus incentives. As of 7/31/2021, 

the County Board had not appropriated funds for the Care Center, but this approval is 

anticipated by 10/31/2021.

While most of the County’s Plan is still under discussion, one area that garnered universal 

and immediate support is local economic development. The local economy in DuPage 

County has been hard hit by the pandemic. In March of 2020, the Governor issued a 

disaster proclamation. Schools were closed, bars/restaurants were closed, large gatherings 

were restricted, and a “shelter in place” order was enacted. Most restrictions stayed in 

place throughout FY2020 and were not lifted until the late spring of 2021 with the roll-out of 

the COVID vaccine. As a result, unemployment rates rose sharply from 3.1% in 2019 to 

7.9% in 2020. Monthly unemployment rates are show in the figure below. While 
DuPage County 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report (Interim) 4

unemployment increased, labor force participation decreased to its lowest levels since 

1992.

1

Small businesses have been particularly hard hit by closures and restrictions. Recognizing 

the importance of small businesses for the local economy, the County has developed a 

small business grant program. This program, called “ReInvest DuPage”, targets small 

businesses that have been negatively impacted by the pandemic. The goal of the program 

is to retain local businesses and local jobs, hence improving unemployment rates. The 

program was approved in the summer of 2021 and a large number of grants have already 

been awarded. These results will be summarized in next year’s annual Recovery Plan 

Performance Report, which will cover the period of 7/1/2021-6/30/2022. 

To help individuals and families recover in the aftermath of the pandemic, the Plan will 

include a range of community service programs. These programs share the major goal of

supporting a long-term recovery by: (i) reducing housing insecurity; (ii) reducing food 

insecurity; and (iii) improving mental health. To reduce housing insecurity and 

homelessness, an array of services are being considered, including eviction case

management, eviction mediation, rental assistance, utility assistance, and homeless shelter 

support. To reduce food insecurity, investments in local and regional food pantries are 

being planned. To reduce depression, anxiety, substance abuse and other mental health 

problems caused by the pandemic, a range of residential and behavioral health programs 

are being considered as part of the Plan. To pull all these services together, a new 2-1-1 

Information and Referral System will provide 24-hour resident access to all these services. 

As of 7/31/2021, the County Board had not appropriated funds for these community service 

programs, but this approval is anticipated by 10/31/2021.

To ensure resources are targeted to those disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, the 

County is currently developing its community engagement and outreach strategies. 

Included will also be resources dedicated to evidence-based evaluations of major 

programs. The County has already started this work through the Health Equity and Access 

Response Team (“HEART”) at the Health Department. Through HEART, HD is surveying 

County residents to gain a better understanding of questions and concerns people have 

1 IL Department of Employment Security.
DuPage County 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report (Interim) 5

about the coronavirus disease and the COVID-19 vaccination. The information collected 

will help the County better understand and respond to residents’ questions and concerns 

about getting a COVID-19 vaccine.

In the long-term, the County has tentative plans for capital investments to help aid in the 

County’s long-term economic recovery. The goal of these projects is to make the County 

safer by reducing the potential spread of COVID at the County’s nursing home, jail, courts, 

and administrative facilities. The projects also have the goal of increasing county 

employment through associated construction jobs and multiplier effects in the local 

economy. At the County campus, these projects under discussion would upgrade 

technology, improve air quality, and enable social distancing in response to COVID-19. In 

addition to COVID projects, the Plan may also invest in stormwater infrastructure, including 

countywide flood control projects, unincorporated drainage projects, and streambank 

stabilization projects. It may also upgrade the County’s wastewater treatment plants with 

turbo blowers to reduce electricity demand and provide reliable air supply for operations. 

These projects will create lasting improvements, while creating local construction jobs 

throughout the region over the duration of ARPA. As of 7/31/2021, the County Board had 

not appropriated funds for these capital projects. As noted above, the County is taking a 

cautious, deliberative approach in the wake of uncertainty created by the Delta Variant.

TIMELINE 

The following timeline shows the County’s preliminary planning work.
DuPage County 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report (Interim) 6

USES OF FUNDS

Unlike the Executive Summary, the following responses are limited to programs budgeted 

for as of 7/31/2021 (i.e., the small business grant program called “ReInvest DuPage”).

Description

The County has targeted small businesses for an immediate use of ARPA funding.

Small businesses play an important role in the County’s local economy. As explained 

in the Interim Final Rule, small businesses comprise almost half of U.S. private-sector 

employment and account for approximately two-thirds of net new jobs.2 In DuPage 

County, these businesses have been particularly hard hit by COVID-related closure 

and stay at home orders. Local sales tax analysis reveals that restaurants, apparel, 

and general merchandizing businesses declined 24%, 38%, and 12% respectively in 

2020.

3 These declines in small business contributed to the County’s 7.9% 

unemployment rate in 2020, which is the highest rate since the Great Recession. 

In response, the County’s strategy has been to allocate $15 million for these small 

businesses, which have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.4 The 

County’s small business program is called ReInvest DuPage. ReInvest DuPage is a 

grant program designed to assist small businesses, independent contractors and 

nonprofits within DuPage County that have been adversely impacted by COVID-19.

Under the program, businesses and nonprofits are eligible for grants up to $50,000, 

while independent contractors are eligible for grants up to $15,000. To qualify, 

businesses must have less than $20 million in annual gross revenue, while 

independent contractors must have less than $250,000 in annual gross income with 

more than 50% of their annual gross income coming from 1099 work. All applicants 

must be able to provide proof of revenue decline due to COVID-19 based on official 

financial reports (e.g., ST-1 Forms, Profit & Loss Statements, Sales Tax Receipt 

Runs). In addition, businesses must have been in operation as of January 1, 2019, 

must be in Good Standing, and must be located in DuPage County.

This program serves all communities in DuPage County, including those populations 

that have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.

Strategies

To administer the program, the County is partnering with Choose DuPage. Choose 

DuPage is a public/private partnership that is co-chaired by the DuPage County 

Board Chairman. It is the lead organization on county-wide economic development 

issues. As a public/private partnership, Choose DuPage is dedicated to supporting 

economic development initiatives, retaining and attracting businesses, and 

addressing policy issues critical to the needs of the County’s business community. The 

County’s strategy of partnering with Choose DuPage leverages the business expertise 

of this organization. For example, to evaluate applications Choose DuPage used its 

private sector members and connections to develop a Grant Committee that reviewed 

thousands of applications at no cost. Having worked with Choose DuPage in the past, 

the County was able to quickly mobilize the program.

2 Interim Final Rule, United States Department of the Treasury, 31 CFR Part 35, Page 26, May 10, 2021. 3 DuPage County Sales tax data for CT, CST, RTA and Use taxes, FY2019 vs. FY2020 by SIC codes.

4 The County appropriated $15M for ReInvest DuPage on 6/22/2021 in the first Recovery Plan Performance Report 

period of 3/3/2021-7/31/2021. It appropriated an addition $1.5M on 8/24/2021 in the second annual report period of 

7/1/2021-6/30/2022.
DuPage County 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report (Interim) 7

The County also took a strategic approach to administering the program. This strategy 

included the following efficiency improvements: (i) updated methods for additional bulk

address uploads in the County’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software; (ii) 

additional address requirements to eliminate applicant confusion and streamline the 

payment process; (iii) improved collaboration with County GIS team for geographical 

analysis; (iv) reduced payment cycle through training and clear timetable deadlines

with Accounts Payable staff; and (v) additional staff headcount funding for the County 

Audit Department to ensure thorough, detailed compliance evaluations/audits of 

applications prior to the release of funds. 

Outcomes

The strategic partnership with Choose DuPage and efficient management of the 

program should enable the County to quickly aid at-risk small businesses. Reinvest 

DuPage was approved by County Board in June of 2021. As of the date of this report, 

a large number of grants have been awarded. These outcomes will be reported in next 

years annual report, which covers the period of 7/1/2021-6/30/2022.

Promotions 

Choose DuPage promoted the Reinvest DuPage program in a number of different

ways. Before accepting applications, Choose DuPage conducted a webinar to provide 

an overview of the program, including the criteria for eligibility, the documents that 

applicants would be required to submit, the process, and the timing. There were 570 

participants. This webinar was made available in both English and Spanish. Choose 

DuPage emailed 7,532 organization subscribers announcing the program and the 

webinar. It also emailed municipalities and economic development organizations for 

distribution to local businesses. Choose DuPage purchased an email campaign for 

40,000 recipients, targeting a larger audience. In addition, Choose DuPage used 

Facebook and LinkedIn to announce and promote the program.

EQUITABLE OUTCOMES 

Unlike the Executive Summary, the following responses are limited to programs budgeted 

for as of 7/31/2021 (i.e., the small business grant program called “ReInvest DuPage”).

Goals

The County has a number of projects targeted to assist underserved, marginalized, 

and adversely affected groups; however most still await final approval as of 7/31/2021. 

The one program that has been approved to date is the County’s small business 

program, which is called ReInvest DuPage. The goal of this program is to serve small 

businesses that have been adversely affected by COVID-19. 

Awareness

Marketing and outreach for the ReInvest DuPage program was broad-based and 

extensive as explained in the “Promoting the Program” section above. The program 

administrator, Choose DuPage, targeted at-risk businesses in several ways. First, it 

worked with local municipalities. Municipalities know the needs of their local business 

districts. Partnering with these local municipalities helped ensure a targeted and 

coordinated outreach effort. In addition, Choose DuPage worked with local economic 

development organizations. These organizations know the types of business most at-
DuPage County 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report (Interim) 8

risk, so this outreach also ensured a targeted approach to at-risk businesses. Choose 

DuPage conducted its webinar in both English and Spanish. FAQs were also available 

in English and Spanish to make its information available to the many Spanish speaking 

businesses in the County. 

Access

The program application is relatively long; however, Choose DuPage has made efforts 

to create clear directions, provide FAQs, simplify the language on the form, and 

troubleshoot extensively over the phone with applicants to make sure that the 

applications are complete and correct prior to both the Grant Committee review and 

the County Audit review.

Outcomes

For the ReInvest DuPage program, key outcomes are retaining small businesses and 

small business jobs. Small businesses are generally at-risk for failure. They are 

generally less profitable and less well capitalized than large national and international 

firms. In DuPage County, sales taxes for small businesses, including restaurants and 

retailers, declined sharply as reflected by County sales tax receipts. Workers in these 

sectors also tend to be low-skilled, relatively uneducated, low-income, and most likely 

to be disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. Providing grants to small 

businesses supports these at-risk employees, who have been disproportionately 

impacted by the pandemic.

Data Constraints

Current data constraints for the ReInvest DuPage program include employee data on 

race, ethnicity, income, and address. County staff is working to obtain additional 

business financial data, business bankruptcy data, and county-wide business datasets 

that includes information on business by industry and number of employees.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Work on this scope is still in process.

LABOR PRACTICES 

At this time, ARPA-funded infrastructure projects have not yet been approved. However, 

once approved, the County will adhere to applicable laws and agreements for infrastructure 

projects.

Prevailing Wage Act

The Prevailing Wage Act requires contractors and subcontractors to pay laborers, 

workers, and mechanics employed on public works construction projects no less than 

the general prevailing rate of wages (consisting of hourly cash wages plus fringe 

benefits) for work of a similar character in the county where the work is performed. The 

County will comply with this Act.

Employment of Illinois Workers on Public Works Act

In addition, the County will also comply with the Employment of Illinois Workers on 

Public Works Act, which took effect on July 1, 2021. Due to the high unemployment 

rate caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this Act requires that employees on 

all public works projects must be comprised of a minimum of 90% Illinois residents. 
DuPage County 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report (Interim) 9

The Illinois Department of Labor (“IDOL”) administers the Act, which was passed to 

alleviate unemployment in Illinois by ensuring that most workers on public works 

projects live in the State. The requirement to employ 90% Illinois workers applies to all 

labor on public works projects or improvements. The County will comply with this Act.

USE OF EVIDENCE

Project Evaluation

As of 7/31/21, the County has budgeted for only one program: the ReInvest DuPage 

grant program. This program supports economic development through small business

grants. As of 7/31/2021, the County has approved approximately $15 million in the 

initiative to fuel the local recovery. This investment will be used to retain small 

businesses, nonprofits, and independent contractors to preserve businesses and 

employment in the County.

To evaluate the long-term effectiveness of the ReInvest DuPage program, the County 

has tentative plans for a longitudinal study of current recipients that considers factors 

such as business closures, bankruptcies, credit worthiness, and layoff over time. The 

study also evaluates a control group of restaurants in terms of size, employees, 

industry and location as determined by location over time for the purpose of 

comparison. Nonprofits and independent contracts will not be part of the study. 

Discussion on data sharing/access and partnering with regional research organizations 

are in the works in an effort to clearly define a feasible scope of work including sample 

size and duration.

TABLE OF EXPENSES BY EXPENDITURE CATEGORY

The following table is abbreviated because the County has no ARPA expenditures as of 

07/31/2021.

Category Cumulative

expenditures to 

date ($)

Amount spent 

since last 

Recovery Plan

1 Expenditure Category: Public Health

2 Expenditure Category: Negative Economic 

Impacts

3 Expenditure Category: Services to 

Disproportionately Impacted Communities

4 Expenditure Category: Premium Pay

5 Expenditure Category: Infrastructure

6 Expenditure Category: Revenue Replacement

7 Administrative and Other

PROJECT INVENTORY 

PROJECT DETAILS 

Project Number 

FI-R-0326-21: ReInvest DuPage Small Business Grant Program

Project Amount 

$15,000,000
DuPage County 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report (Interim) 10

Project Expenditure Category 

2.9, Small Business Economic Assistance (General)

PROJECT OVERVIEW 

ReInvest DuPage is a grant relief program designed to assist businesses, independent 

contractors, and nonprofits within DuPage County, who have been adversely impacted by

COVID-19. Under the program, applicants apply for grants through an on-line portal. Their 

applications describe their current situation and the impact that COVID-19 has had on their 

business. Applicants uploaded their submission. Key elements of the application include: 

(i) evidence of revenue decline due to COVID-19 based on official financial reports (e.g., 

ST-1 Forms, Profit & Loss Statements, Sales Tax Receipt Runs); (ii) verification of status

as small business, independent contractor, or nonprofit; (iii) proof that entity was in 

operation as of January 1, 2019; (iv) verification that the business is in Good Standing with 

the IL Secretary of State; (v) attestation that the information provided is true and accurate; 

and (vi) proof that the entity be located in DuPage County.

All applications are thoroughly reviewed and vetted. First, the Choose DuPage staff review 

the applications. Next, the Choose DuPage Grant Committee performs its review. The 

approved applications are then transferred to the County, where Finance, GIS, and Audit 

Departments perform various reviews prior to County Board approval. Multiple reviews 

assure compliance and accuracy. Any application that fails to meet any of the criteria 

outlined in the County resolution are deemed ineligible. 

For further program information, please see:

https://www.choosedupage.com/reinvest-dupage/

PROCESS 

The following the graphic shows the grant approval process for the ReInvest Dupage program.

Apply 

Online

Initial 

Review

Provide 

Support 

Documen

ts

Grant 

Committ

ee 

Review

County 

Board 

Approv

al

Award 

Grants

Track 

Busines

s 

Metrics
DuPage County 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report (Interim) 11

PROJECT EVIDENCE 

As of 7/31/2021, the County has budgeted approximately $15 million in the initiative to fuel 

the local recovery. This investment will be used in an attempt to retain small businesses, 

nonprofits, and independent contractors to retain businesses and jobs in DuPage County. 

To evaluate the long-term effectiveness of the ReInvest DuPage program, the County has 

tentative plans for a longitudinal study of current recipients that considers factors such as 

business closures, bankruptcies, credit worthiness, and layoffs over time. The study will 

also evaluate similar nonapplications in terms of size, employees, industry and location as 

a control group over time for the purpose of comparison. Nonprofits and independent 

contracts will not be part of the study. Discussion on data sharing/access and partnering 

with regional research organizations are in the works in an effort to clearly define a feasible 

scope of work including sample size and duration.

PROJECT PERFORMANCE REPORT 

Recovery Plan Performance Report - Key Performance Indicators

Project Name: ReInvest DuPage Small Business Grant Program

Project Expenditure Category: Negative Economic Impacts

Project Expenditure Subcategory: Small Business Economic Assistance (General)

Performance Indicator Annual Report 1 

(Interim)

Annual Report 1 

(Final)

Annual Report 2 Annual Report 

3

Period Ending Date 7/31/2021 7/31/2021 6/30/2022 6/30/2023

Report Due Date 8/31/2021 10/31/2021 7/31/2022 7/31/2023

Number of Small 

Businesses Retained

Number of Employees 

Retained

Unemployment Rate 

(County)

6.7% (June 2021)

Unemployment Rate (State) 7.2% (June 2021)