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Lake County, IL

2021 Recovery Plan
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NOTE: This document will be updated as additional decisions and allocations are provided by the Lake County Board.

Lake County, IL

2021 Recovery Plan

Updated: August 31, 2021
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Table of Contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................2

USE OF FUNDS...............................................................2

Program: Food and Housing Support Programs ...............................2

Program: PPE Storage & Distribution .............................................2

Other Federal Funding Programs ....................................................2

PROMOTING EQUITABLE OUTCOMES .............................2

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT............................................2

LABOR PRACTICES ........................................................2

TABLE OF EXPENSES BY EXPENDITURE CATEGORY ........2

ADDITIONAL PROGRAMS...............................................2
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The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) provided $135.2 million in direct local recovery assistance to 

Lake County. Per the US Treasury, ARPA funds must be allocated prior to December 31, 2024 and 

all ARPA expenditures must be completed by December 31, 2026, as required by federal law. There 

are eligibility requirements that have been provided by the Treasury that our team is closely 

reviewing and following.

The Lake County Board is committed to addressing both immediate response needs to the COVID19 public health emergency and long-term recovery initiatives using these one-time resources.

We are cognizant of the immediate response needs of our communities. We applied for and 

received Federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program funds directly from the US Treasury and 

have partnered with our townships on the distribution of funds. The Lake County Board recently 

approved ARPA funds to continue food programs and personal protective equipment (PPE) storage 

and distribution that were initiated with CARES Act funds received in 2020. The County Board will 

continue using ARPA funding to address these immediate needs in our communities.

Given the allowable time for use of funds, the availability and use of other funding sources, and the 

rapidly changing environment from the pandemic, Lake County is in the process of developing a 

long-term, community-driven spending plan to help Lake County fully recover from the pandemic 

and become a stronger county. 

The comprehensive and equitable spending plan will prioritize investing in services, projects and 

infrastructure aligning with the Lake County strategic plan to provide public safety, enhance

economic opportunities, improve infrastructure, promote a sustainable environment and build 

healthy, inclusive, and resilient communities.
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Garnering input is a critical part of Lake County’s long-term strategy. We’re excited to engage 

residents, businesses, and community partners to help determine how Lake County should prioritize 

ARPA funds.

With the help of our communities, we can effectively invest in services, programs and infrastructure 

that will benefit everyone who lives, works and visits Lake County for decades to come. 

Regards,

Sandy Hart 

Lake County Board Chair

Paul Frank

Lake County Finance and Administrative 

Committee Chair
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EXECUTIVE

SUMMARY
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In 2020, Lake County received approximately $120 million of CARES Act 

Coronavirus Relief Funds. Programs were quickly implemented in immediate 

response to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. A number of projects 

were implemented across a variety of programmatic areas. This included 

CARES funding allocations for use in:

1. Rental Support and Assistance

2. Business and Economic Assistance

3. Municipal and Local Essential Service

4. Public Health Support

5. PPE Stockpile & Distribution

6. County-wide Essential Services

As our CARES funds are near exhaustion, the County has elected to allocate 

a portion of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to continue direct 

response-related programs that were initiated with CARES Act funds. This 

includes programs related to Food Insecurity, Homeless Food Support, and 

PPE Storage & Distribution related costs. These are the only Countyapproved programs currently in place with appropriated ARPA funds.

Given the allowable time for use of funds, the availability and use of other 

funding sources, and the rapidly changing environment with respect to the 

pandemic, Lake County is developing a long-term strategic plan for the use 

of the funds. Multiple presentations have been provided to the County’s 

Finance & Administrative Committee with background on the fund, eligible 

use of funds, and how the County will align our fund use with the County’s 

Strategic Plan. At present, the Finance & Administrative Committee has 

provided consensus on Guiding Tenets regarding the use of the funds:

1. Investments will align with the County’s Strategic Plan.

2. The County will evaluate use of ARPA against all other funding 

sources and target ARPA funds on investments that are not eligible 

for other funding.

3. The County will focus on regional investments, especially in critical 

infrastructure, which are non-recurring, targeted, and provide long 

term benefits.

4. Uses of ARPA funds should take into consideration operation costs for 

future years, post-ARPA, to ensure sustainability for any new 

programs or services.

5. The County will coordinate with, and be cognizant of, other partner 

local governments in and surrounding Lake County in order to 

develop plans and use funds most effectively.

6. County Administration will be the central point of contact and 

coordinator for requests and discussions related to proposed projects 

and planning.

7. Projects selected will consider:

a. Equitable outcomes and underserved communities

b. Community input

c. Labor requirements established in the compliance documents

d. Appropriate internal controls for responsible implementation 
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USE OF FUNDS

See the Executive Summary for the status of planning for the use of Funds.

Lake County, while still developing our strategic investment plan for the use of ARPA 

funding, is cognizant of the immediate needs in response to the COVID-19 public health 

emergency. We are currently administering the Federal Emergency Rental Assistance 

Program within our community to support those that require rental assistance, and have 

also allocated funds for food insecurity and PPE stockpile storage and distribution. 
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The following is a summary of 

programs that have allocated 

ARPA funding:
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Program: Food and Housing Support Programs

Expenditure Category = [2.1] Household Assistance: Food Programs

Total Allocation as of July 31st, 2021 = $1,000,000

Total Spent as of July 31st, 2021 = $0

Program Goal and Intention

Lake County’s ARPA funding for Food Insecurity and Homeless Food Support will provide low-barrier 

assistance to COVID-impacted families to eliminate hunger and increase economic stability.

Program Summary

Note: This program is still in development to ensure compliance with ARPA guidelines, and no funds 

have been spent at this time.

Grant activities will be conducted through networks active across Lake County and in areas with the 

highest rates of minority and low-income residents to promote equitable outcomes for the most 

vulnerable residents. Funds will be used to expand capacity and purchase food commodities for 

pantries experienced with serving individuals struggling with food insecurity in Lake County, even 

before the current public health emergency. Funds will also be used to provide for food supplies and 

staff time needed to provide prepared meals to homeless families in shelters to provide nutritious 

food and mitigate risk of COVID-19 community transmission. Funds will focus on providing access 

to nutritious foods as part of an evidence-based approach – described below – to promote healthy 

outcomes for food-insecure families and children. Studies have found that nutritious food 

assistance, especially for homeless residents, reduces rates of nutrition-related illnesses. Families 

with fewer health problems will also face fewer risks to their economic stability in the future.

Funding is also planned for the Finish Line Fund, which provides a critical intervention for families 

facing one last obstacle to obtain access to housing. This approach would use ARPA funds to 

efficiently rehouse families and provide assistance with deposits, utility expenses, and other onetime costs that prevent a family accessing stable housing. This stability is critical for a family 

improving their economic outlook.

Community Engagement & Equitable Outcomes

The poverty rate of Census Tracts in Lake County is 3.9% per poverty data published by the Census 

in 2019. Under our previous CARES program our local food network included 63.9% of census tracts 

with a poverty rate higher than the stated County median. This is how we also intend to distribute 

under our ARPA program. We also intend to distribute in census tracts with race and ethnicity 

counts higher than the County median.

We plan to continue existing partnerships with a number of diverse organizations in our mission to 

counteract food insecurity during the pandemic. This includes food pantries, schools, communitybased organizations, and houses of worship across all of Lake County’s townships that provide 

community feedback to outreach staff.
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Evidence Based Interventions

Our programs have historically sourced fresh protein and produce where possible, which studies 

have shown increase better health outcomes in the long-term. 

[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6765436/]

We also use mobile food pantries, which increase food access and mitigate barriers to 

transportation faced by some recipients. [https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/trust/archive/fall2018/mobile-food-banks-serve-isolated-rural-poor]

Program Performance

The project has not yet been initiated with ARPA funds. Performance metrics are in the process 

of development and will be provided once finalized in the next quarterly program report.
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Program: PPE Storage & Distribution

Expenditure Category = [1.5] Personal Protective Equipment

Total Obligation as of July 31st, 2021 = $132,876

Total Spent as of July 31, 2021 = $4,948

Program Goal and Intention:

The goal of this project is to distribute Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and supplies to partners 

in need in the community in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and to ensure the storage of a 

stockpile of PPE and supplies in preparation for potential increased community spread. 

The current allocation was provided to ensure that the program, started with CARES Act funds, is 

able to continue and be supported with ARPA funds due to exhaustion of CARES Funds. Current 

funding is for the storage of the PPE stockpile that the County purchased and assembled in the 

height of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. 

The current intention is to ensure this program is supported and continues with the use of ARPA 

funds, which may require additional allocations of funding due to the rapidly changing environment 

with the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency as it relates to shifts in transmission rates due to 

variants.

Program Summary:

PPE and other emergency supplies to combat COVID-19 were in high demand starting March 2020 

nationwide, and this was no different in Lake County. PPE was acquired from the Illinois Emergency 

Management Agency (IEMA) warehouse, the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS), donations, and 

purchased internally via CARES Funding. Those items have been distributed to over 400 Lake 

County entities. Funding ensures the safe storage and housing of the stockpile created under 

CARES so the County can continue to distribute to those most in need as the COVID-19 public 

health emergency continues.

As of August 12, 2021, over 4.1 million PPE and supplies items have been distributed to Lake 

County entities to prevent the spread of COVID-19. 
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Entities receiving PPE include:

» Long term care facilities (LTCF), skilled care, home health, senior retirement facilities 

» Hospitals 

» Mass vaccination clinics, mobile points of dispensing (POD) units, pop-up vaccine clinics, and 

COVID-19 testing centers

» Group homes, rehabilitation centers, health clinics, and behavioral health homes 

» Police and Fire departments

» Schools, school districts, colleges, and universities 

» Local community-based partners such as CERT, Mano a Mano, NAACP, HACES, and PADS 

» Faith based groups

» Warming/cooling centers

» Townships and municipalities 

» Doctors and dentists’ offices 

» Internal County department 

» Public libraries 

Over 40 donors nationwide have donated approximatively 443,000 items to Lake County’s 

Emergency Management Agency (LCEMA) for distribution to the above listed groups. Items were 

distributed on a tier system according to the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and the 

CDC’s Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) since supply was very low at the start of the pandemic 

response. Facilities were classified into the following tiers for PPE distribution: 

» Tier 1- Hospitals, Health Department, LTCFs, etc. 

» Tier 2 - First Responders and Counties 

» Tier 2 – Departments of Corrections, Children & Family Services, and Homeland Security

» Tier 3- Private ambulance companies and congregate care

» Tier 4 – Schools and all others 

This process and the Tier breakdown continue to evolve as many factors in the acquisition of PPE 

and distribution changes. At present, in order to continue to distribute PPE to needed entities in 

accordance with current methods, ARPA funds are being used for the storage and other related 

costs.

Community Engagement and Equitable Outcomes:

The efforts and intended outcomes directly promote equity as PPE and supplies were distributed for 

emergency use authorization during high demand based on the IDPH Tiers. Hospitals, nursing 

homes, health clinics, and anyone with direct patient contact were affected the most at the start of 

the pandemic. Therefore, Tier 1 groups were the first to receive supplies. The Lake County Health 

Department (LCHD) provided a list of LTCFs with active COVID cases and calls were placed to each 

facility. At first, outreach efforts were conducted a few times a week and facilities also reached out 

to obtain PPE from Lake County as they were not able to procure items on their own. As supply 

increased, PPE was offered to other public entities and community-based groups, based on 

municipal call volume and the burn rate for each facility or if they had an active COVID-19 

outbreak. Overstocked items were offered to hospitals and LTCFs, first responders, communitybased organizations, churches, municipalities, and any other Lake County public entity. LCEMA 

collaborated with LCHD’s LTCFs and home health liaisons to offer surplus items to entities in 

congregate settings and agencies that have daily patient contact across the County. 
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There was a large PPE push to schools in the summer of 2020 to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in 

the schools during in-person learning. LCHD provided a tiered list of schools that were lacking the 

most resources obtained from the Illinois School Board of Education (ISBE). ISBE categorizes Tier 1 

schools as schools with less adequacy based on calculations from Evidence-Based Funding (EBF) 

formulas. Some of the Tier 1 schools included schools in Zion, Fox Lake, Round Lake, Waukegan, and 

North Chicago. Outreach efforts were concentrated on the Tier 1 schools, then followed with Tier 2 

and Tier 3 schools. After 1, 2, 3 were exhausted, PPE was offered to all remaining schools. Schools 

with special needs students, functional needs students, and schools in partnership with mental 

health, behavioral health, special education student needs were also offered PPE from the stockpile. 

Day care facilities across the county were offered PPE as well, but they did not accept the PPE offer 

from LCEMA.

LCEMA worked with LCHD Community Ambassadors contacts to offer PPE to community-based 

organizations throughout the county. Community groups that were going door-to-door to help 

patients register in LCHD’s AllVax, vaccine registration and management program, attending 

community events such as fairs, farmers’ markets and smaller pop-up vaccine clinics were also 

offered PPE. The following is a list of community-based organizations that obtained PPE from LCEMA:

» Providing Advocacy, Dignity, and Shelter (PADS)

» Mano a Mano 

» Hispanic American Community Education Services (HACES)

» National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

» Community Emergency Response Teams (CERTs)

» Salvation Army 

» Townships 

» Municipal Public Works 

» Municipal Park Districts 

» Young Men’s Christian Association (YWCA)

» Collaborative Community Housing 

» African American churches

» Synagogues and temples 

» Mosques 

» A Safe Place 

» Reach Rescue 

» Chicago Worker’s Collaborative 

» Roberti Community House 

» Center for Immigrant Progress

» FOCUS (Waukegan community-based group – For Our Children’s Undistracted Success)

» Community Action Partners (CAP)

» Public libraries 

» Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services (RACES) 

» United Way of Lake County/211

Performance of Program:

» Number of PPE items distributed based on supply & demand between January 2021 – August 

2021 = 2,203,132

» LCEMA will be creating additional performance metrics/outcomes based on ARPA guidance on 

community needs. Some of those examples can be found in the Promoting Equitable 

Outcomes section.
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Lake County’s Federal Emergency Rental 

Assistance (FERA) partners with 15 local 

Townships and Lake County’s Federal Emergency 

Rental Assistance (FERA) partners with 15 local 

Townships and Community Non-Profits to provide 

rental and utility assistance to residents affected 

by the COVID-19 pandemic. By partnering with 

the local Townships, residents in the highest 

need communities are able to access services 

locally. All of the Townships are resources for the 

community, providing a wide range of assistance 

to residents, many of whom already receive 

other assistance, such as food, making 

Townships ideal partners for this initiative. 

Additionally, local non-profits are valued FERA 

providers, these partners are: Catholic Charities, 

Community Action Partnership of Lake County, Community Partners for Affordable Housing, Lake 

County Housing Authority, Mano a Mano Family Resource Center and YWCA. These non-profits 

have a history or serving racial and ethic minorities across Lake County, serving as a trusted 

provider for many of those hardest hit by this pandemic.

Other Federal Funding Programs

Federal Rental Assistance Program Summary
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PROMOTING 

EQUITABLE 

OUTCOMES

Equity-related components and outcomes in our 

programs will be considered on a program by program 

basis and are included as a consideration in our current 

guiding tenets. Related to work already completed due 

to funds allocated, comments are provided under each 

project related to equity outcomes.
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COMMUNITY 

ENGAGEMENT 

Community Input is a consideration when developing 

and selecting programs for funding allocation. As it 

relates to work already completed with funds 

allocated, comments are provided under each project 

related to any community involvement or engagement.
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LABOR PRACTICES

Lake County does not have any current or planned 

appropriations of ARPA funding for use on infrastructure 

and offers no comments or information related to Labor 

Practices at this time. If or when funding is appropriated 

to infrastructure-related projects, information will be 

provided documenting compliance with US Treasury 

guidance.
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Category

Cumulative 

expenditures 

to date ($)

Amount spent 

since last 

Recovery Plan

1 Expenditure Category: Public Health

1.1 COVID-19 Vaccination

1.2 COVID-19 Testing

1.3 COVID-19 Contact Tracing

1.4 Prevention in Congregate Settings (Nursing Homes, Prisons/Jails, 

Dense Work Sites, Schools, etc.)

1.5 Personal Protective Equipment $4,948 $4,948

1.6 Medical Expenses (including Alternative Care Facilities)

1.7 Capital Investments or Physical Plant Changes to Public Facilities 

that respond to the COVID-19 public health emergency

1.8 Other COVID-19 Public Health Expenses (including 

Communications, Enforcement, Isolation/Quarantine)

1.9 Payroll Costs for Public Health, Safety, and Other Public Sector 

Staff Responding to COVID-19

1.10 Mental Health Services

1.11 Substance Use Services

1.12 Other Public Health Services

2 Expenditure Category: Negative Economic Impacts

2.1 Household Assistance: Food Programs

2.2 Household Assistance: Rent, Mortgage, and Utility Aid

2.3 Household Assistance: Cash Transfers

2.4 Household Assistance: Internet Access Programs

2.5 Household Assistance: Eviction Prevention

2.6 Unemployment Benefits or Cash Assistance to Unemployed 

Workers

2.7 Job Training Assistance (e.g., Sectoral job-training, Subsidized 

Employment, Employment Supports or Incentives)

2.8 Contributions to UI Trust Funds*

2.9 Small Business Economic Assistance (General)

2.10 Aid to nonprofit organizations

2.11 Aid to Tourism, Travel, or Hospitality

2.12 Aid to Other Impacted Industries

2.13 Other Economic Support

2.14 Rehiring Public Sector Staff

3 Expenditure Category: Services to Disproportionately Impacted 

Communities

3.1 Education Assistance: Early Learning

3.2 Education Assistance: Aid to High-Poverty Districts

3.3 Education Assistance: Academic Services

3.4 Education Assistance: Social, Emotional, and Mental Health 

Services 

3.5 Education Assistance: Other 

TABLE OF EXPENSES BY 

EXPENDITURE CATEGORY
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Category

Cumulative 

expenditures 

to date ($)

Amount spent 

since last 

Recovery Plan

3.6 Healthy Childhood Environments: Child Care 

3.7 Healthy Childhood Environments: Home Visiting 

3.8 Healthy Childhood Environments: Services to Foster Youth or 

Families Involved in Child Welfare System 

3.9. Healthy Childhood Environments: Other 

3.10 Housing Support: Affordable Housing 

3.11 Housing Support: Services for Unhoused persons 

3.12 Housing Support: Other Housing Assistance 

3.13 Social Determinants of Health: Other 

3.14 Social Determinants of Health: Community Health Workers or 

Benefits Navigators 

3.15 Social Determinants of Health: Lead Remediation

3.16 Social Determinants of Health: Community Violence Interventions 

4 Expenditure Category: Premium Pay

4.1 Public Sector Employees

4.2 Private Sector: Grants to other employers 

5 Expenditure Category: Infrastructure

5.1 Clean Water: Centralized wastewater treatment

5.2 Clean Water: Centralized wastewater collection and conveyance

5.3 Clean Water: Decentralized wastewater

5.4 Clean Water: Combined sewer overflows

5.5 Clean Water: Other sewer infrastructure

5.6 Clean Water: Stormwater

5.7 Clean Water: Energy conservation

5.8 Clean Water: Water conservation

5.9 Clean Water: Nonpoint source 

5.10 Drinking water: Treatment

5.11 Drinking water: Transmission & distribution

5.12 Drinking water: Transmission & distribution: lead remediation

5.13 Drinking water: Source

5.14 Drinking water: Storage 

5.15 Drinking water: Other water infrastructure

5.16 Broadband: “Last Mile” projects

5.17 Broadband: Other projects

6 Expenditure Category: Revenue Replacement

6.1 Provision of Government Services

7 Administrative and Other

7.1 Administrative Expenses 

7.2 Evaluation and data analysis 

7.3 Transfers to Other Units of Government

7.4 Transfers to Nonentitlement Units 

(States and Territories only)
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All programs have meaningful outcomes, and as the programs progress 

and are setup, appropriate metrics will be provided. Some metrics have 

been provided in our project summaries.

ADDITIONAL PROGRAMS
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Lake County, IL

2021 Recovery Plan
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NOTE: This document will be updated as additional decisions and allocations are provided by the Lake County Board.

Updated: August 31, 2021
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