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The program provides federal funding for a variety of community-based projects. Communities in non-metropolitan areas can apply for grant funding to improve public infrastructure and eliminate conditions detrimental to public health, safety and public welfare. Local governments may request grant funds that allow public facilities to undertake projects designed to alleviate these conditions. Priority is given for water, sanitary and storm sewer projects.

Housing and Community Development (HCD) Act of 1974; 20 ILCS 605/605-915; 20 ILCS 605/605-945; 20 ILCS 605/605-950

N/A

Title 47, Section 110

Improvement of public infrastructure and elimination of conditions which are detrimental to health, safety and public welfare.

Yes

Program-Specific Terms and requirements can be found at 24 CFR Part 570, 2 CFR 200 and program information at https://dceo.illinois.gov/communitydevelopment.html

Government Organizations;

Only units of general local government (i.e., cities, villages, townships and counties) may apply for funding. Municipalities must not be a HUD direct Entitlement community or be located in an urban county that receives ""entitlement"" funds. County and township applicants should not include areas that are incorporated within a city or village. Incorporated areas must apply on their own behalf, regardless of whether a water district or sanitary district is involved. Units of local government may apply for one grant per competitive program per year. Applicants that received a grant in the previous year must demonstrate reasonable progress by the time the application is reviewed, or it will not be considered. Applications that further a project in progress, whether funded with or without CDBG funds, will not be accepted. All applicants must be registered and have completed the Internal Control Questionnaire (ICQ) for the current year available at: https://grants.illinois.gov/portal/ prior to application submission. Applications submitted by communities who have not registered or completed the ICQ for the current year will not be considered for review. Cities, Villages, Counties, and Townships may also submit ""on behalf of"" applications for local entities that otherwise may not be eligible to apply; for example, rural water system or cooperative, water or sanitary district, or an unincorporated area

Persons residing within the project area, of which a minimum of 51% must be low-to-moderate income qualified.

Project Grants

Economic Development

1. Low-to-Moderate Income Benefit Requirements Each application must include documentation that the proposed project will benefit at least 51.0 percent low-to-moderate income (LMI) persons. Those projects benefiting less than 51.0 percent LMI persons will not be considered for funding. 2. Documentation of Threat to Health and Safety: Within the Project Summary, each application should detail the public infrastructure needs to be addressed by the proposed project and the specific project activities to be undertaken. This narrative should include, as appropriate, the degree to which present conditions affect public health and safety, the severity and immediacy of the problem, and whether the proposed activities are necessary to comply with state or federal regulations 3. Water and Sewer Rates: A fundamental principle of utility fund financing is that user rates should be sufficient to fund the entire cost of utility system operations. This principle is accepted by all authoritative Sources. Therefore, an applicant must demonstrate that the applicable Water or Sewer rate currently meets or exceeds 1 percent of the Median Household Income (MHI) per 5,000 gallons.

Applications for Public Infrastructure grants are available through a competitive process held annually after HUD's allocation has been determined.

All original Application Forms and Materials as shown in the Guidebook must be utilized. The Guidebook and Application is available online at: https://www2.illinois.gov/dceo/CommunityDevelopment/Pages/default.aspx All Letters, Notices, Resolutions, Agreements or other communication provided by the unit of local government as part of the application must be of the exact verbiage contained in the Guidebook, be on the applicant community’s official letterhead and have original signatures where required. All application forms and certifications requiring signature must be signed by the Chief Elected Official of the applicant community, unless otherwise noted. A standard application package must be submitted to and reviewed by DCEO. Each package must contain the following items: 1. Uniform Grant Application in fillable PDF format. 2. Uniform Budget utilizing the template provided by DCEO for this project. 3. Conflict of Interest Disclosure 4. Mandatory Disclosures 5. Letter of Transmittal 6. Project Summary 7. Project Readiness Summary 8. Project Maps 9. Engineer’s Cost Estimate . 10. Fair Housing Resolution NO ELECRONIC SUBMISSIONS OF ANY KIND WILL BE ALLOWED !

N/A

The Department will review all applications as follows: • Applications that do not clearly demonstrate and document 51.0 percent low-to-moderate income benefit to persons in the project area will not be reviewed further nor considered for funding. • Applications that do not clearly demonstrate and document a threat to health and safety will not be reviewed further nor considered for funding. • For projects that appear to primarily benefit a business/commercial district the application will be automatically designated as DO NOT FUND, and not reviewed further. • Applications will be evaluated according to the Ranking Criteria described in this section of the application guide. • In cases where projects have identical overall ratings, applications benefiting the highest number of LMI persons will be considered first for funding. • The Department reserves the right to perform a site visit. All recommendations are forwarded to the Director of the Department who makes the final funding decisions. However, all decisions will be based on the general distribution of funds in Section I of the CDBG Guidebook. Projects will be evaluated according to the criteria noted below. 1. Opportunity Zones: three (3) points if project is in Opportunity Zone 2. DCEO Underserved Area: Applicant communities within a designated underserved area will receive two (2) points. 3. Project Impact/Per Capita Cost: In order to maximize the number of beneficiaries, points will be assigned according to the grant funds requested per person served. A maximum of ten points will be assigned to projects requesting $1,000 or less per person served. No points will be assigned to projects requesting $5,000 or more per person. 4. Additional Funding: A maximum of 10 additional points will be assessed for communities contributing other funding toward the completion of the proposed project. 5. Threat to Health & Safety/Urgency (25 percent of overall score): The degree to which present conditions affect public health and safety, and the severity and immediacy of the problem must be demonstrated in the documentation. 6. Project Readiness (50 percent of overall score): Each application must demonstrate that the proposed project is appropriate and achievable and that all actions required have been completed to ensure timely implementation of the project. If the application is funded, any action not completed at the time of application will be included in the Notice of State Award Finalist (NOSAF) as a special grant condition. Successful applicants will receive a Notice of State Award Finalist (NOSAF) specifying terms and conditions of the grant. This will include completion of Environmentals, and clearance of special conditions resulting from the application review. Grantees are expected to meet all special conditions within 90 days of the NOSAF date or the Department may withdraw the Notice of State Award Finalist (NOSAF). DCEO will hold a mandatory Grant Administration Workshop after Awards are announced. Once terms are accepted, and the conditions met, the Grantee will receive a Notice of State Award (NOSA) which includes information regarding your entity, grant funding, grant terms and conditions, and specific conditions assigned to the grant based on the risk assessments. In order to receive the formal Grant Agreement, the Grantee must indicate agreement to the contents of the NOSA by remitting Funds are disbursed on a reimbursement basis once demonstration of viable and approved incurred costs has been received.

Wednesday, December 4, 2024 by 5:00 p.m.

60-90 days

The Merit Based Review process is subject to appeal. However, competitive grant appeals are limited to the evaluation process. Evaluation scores may not be protested. Only the evaluation process is subject to appeal. The appeal must be submitted in writing to the Department within 14 calendar days from the date of the denial letter. The written appeal shall include the name and address of the appealing party, the identification of the grant and a statement of reasons for the appeal. To file an appeal, applicants must submit the appeal in writing and in accordance with the Merit-Based Application Review Appeals Process listed on the Grant Opportunities page of the DCEO website: https://www2.illinois.gov/dceo/AboutDCEO/GrantOpportunities/Pages/MeritAppReview.aspx.

No

Cost sharing is not required, however up to 10 points may be added to the score when communities contribute other funding toward the completion of the proposed project

The funding priority for the PI component is for water and sanitary systems and storm sewer construction projects. Activity Delivery for administrative activities up to $35,000 is eligible for funding. All grant funds must relate to one of the following HUD-defined activity codes: 03I Flood and Drainage Improvements to be used for the acquisition, construction, or rehabilitation of flood drainage facilities, such as retention ponds or catch basins. Do not use 03I for construction/ rehabilitation of storm sewers, street drains, or storm drains. 03Jw Water Improvements to be used for the installation or replacement of water lines and fire hydrants (when part of a larger project). Costs of street repairs (usually repaving) made necessary by water improvement activities are included. 03Js Sewer Improvements to be used for the installation or replacement of sanitary sewers and storm sewers. Costs of street repairs (usually repaving) made necessary by sewer improvement activities are included. In addition, activities must be germane, connected in purpose, address the same threat to health and safety, and have the same LMI benefit (project outcome). The Department will not accept applications for projects that have both a community-wide and a service-area benefit (water tower/water line replacement). For infrastructure projects involving alterations of streets, roads or highways which have pedestrian walkways, grantees must factor in the costs of adding and/or replacing curb ramps at all intersections having curbs or other barriers to entry from a street level or pedestrian walkway. Funds may be used to finance costs associated with the connection of residential structures to public facility improvements. Residential structures which are ""occupied"" by eligible low-to-moderate income persons must be connected. A Connection is a privately-owned and maintained line on privatelyowned property between a service lead/connection and a structure. The limit that CDBG will pay for each individual water or sewer LMI household connection is $6,000 per household. If the Connection cost exceeds $6,000 per household, the difference must be paid by other sources, but cannot be assessed against the low-tomoderate income occupant. Applications for the sole purpose of connecting low-to-moderate income persons to public facility improvements will not be accepted. The following are specifically identified as ineligible. 1. All Engineering costs associated with the planning, design or management of construction activities. 2. Construction of buildings, or portions thereof, used predominantly for the general conduct of government (e.g., city halls, courthouses, jails, police stations). 3.General government expenses. Costs of operating and maintaining public infrastructure and services (e.g., mowing parks, replacing street light bulbs). 4. Servicing or refinancing of existing debt. 5. Activities that do not address the threat to health & safety, including but not limited to: a. projects designed for the sole purpose of replacing water meters; b. projects designed for the sole purpose of addressing water loss; c. portable generators; d. permanently-affixed generators that are not part of a larger project; e. telemetry systems and similar equipment that are not part of a larger project. 6. Projects needed as a result of deferred maintenance

Quarterly Reporting using PPR and PFR; Notice of Contract Award; Section 3 Report

N/A

N/A

875-42075-4900-1000 CDBG PROGRAM ADMIN, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND GRANTS

$17,000,000 (PY2023) $19,500,000 (PY2024); $19,500,000 (2025)

Minimum Grant Award: $300,000 Grant Ceiling: $1,000,000 Average of 35 awards/year

Water and Sewer related activities to serve primarily low-to-moderate income persons

https://dceo.illinois.gov/communitydevelopment.html

Statewide in local governments that do not receive direct entitlement funding from HUD.

500 East Monroe Springfield, IL 62701 and 555 W Monroe St, 12th Floor Chicago, IL 60661

https://dceo.illinois.gov/communitydevelopment.html

Community Development Block Grants Housing Rehabilitation Program, Community Development Block Grants Economic Development Program

Extension of water lines, Replacement of sewer lines.

10/12/2023

FY 2019 : $15,000,000
FY 2022 : $18,000,000
FY 2023 : $17,500,000
FY 2024 : $19,500,000
FY 2025 : $30,000,000