This week's Illinois State Association of Counties (ISACo) News and Views e-newsletter includes a new episode of ISACo's Counties Count! Podcast along with a companion article with an update about the advancement of the FEMA Act of 2025, highlights the Open Space Land Acquisition and Development Grants available for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), makes counties aware of funding opportunities from the Illinois Department of Transportation's (IDOT) Safe Routes to School Program, announces funding opportunities for the Small Equipment Program on behalf of the Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM), shares ISACo's 2025 Public Acts Report, links to articles ISACo staff is reading to stay informed, congratulates Illinois graduates of NACo's High Performance Leadership Academy, shares information about upcoming National Association of Counties (NACo) webinar opportunities, makes counties aware of the services provided by IPRIME, highlights ISACo corporate partner Ascendant App, Inc. and invites counties to join ISACo.

New Episode of ISACo's Counties Count! Podcast 

The U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has overwhelmingly approved the bipartisan FEMA Act of 2025, sending it to the full House for consideration. The legislation would elevate FEMA to cabinet-level status, speed disaster funding through a grant-based system, streamline survivor aid, expand mitigation resources, and improve transparency with new public dashboards. For counties, the Act promises faster recovery, reduced red tape, and a stronger voice in shaping federal disaster policy. Click on the image to listen to the podcast.

Bipartisan FEMA Act Approved by Congressional Committee

In addition to the podcast, ISACo has prepared an article about the United States House of Representatives' Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approval of the FEMA Act of 2025. The Act will next be considered by the full House. Both the National Association of Counties (NACo) and the Illinois State Association of Counties (ISACo) support the FEMA Act. The article is available via this link.

Open Space Land Acquisition and Development Grants

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) has released a Notice of Funding Opportunity (available via this link) for the next round of Open Space Land Acquisition and Development (OSLAD) grants. OSLAD is a matching grant program that provides state-financed funding assistance to local government agencies for the acquisition and development of land for public parks and outdoor recreation areas. IDNR will provide funding to cover 90 percent of costs of eligible projects located in qualified economically distressed communities. IDNR has released a list (available via this link) of communities considered economically distressed.
 
Grant awards up to $1,725,000 are available for acquisition projects, and development projects are eligible for grants of up to $600,000 each. A total of $35 million is available statewide for this round of OSLAD grants. The deadline to apply is Tuesday, September 30, 2025, by 5:00 p.m. CST. More information about the OSLAD grant program can be found on IDNR’s website (available via this link).
 
Safe Routes to School Program
 
The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) has released a Notice of Funding Opportunity (available via this link) for its Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program. The program supports projects and programs that encourage and facilitate walking, bicycling or other, non-vehicular methods of getting to and from school. Individual awards range from $2,500 to $250,000, and a total of $12 million is available statewide. The deadline to submit an application is Wednesday, October 15, 2025, by 4:30 p.m. CST. More information about SRTS can be found on IDOT’s website (available via this link).

Funding Available for The Small Equipment Grant Program

The Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) announced on Friday, September 5, that the application period is now open for the Small Equipment Grant Program. A total of $6 million will be awarded to eligible fire departments and ambulance services to assist with the purchase of small firefighting and ambulance equipment. This year, departments will be required to apply online only with applications due no later than November 14, 2025.

The press release is available via this link. 

ISACo 2025 Public Acts Report

ISACo has published a report of tracked bills enacted into law in 2025. As of today, all ISACo-tracked bills have been enacted into law by the Governor and are now public acts. The report will be updated to reflect any additional legislation approved during the fall Veto Session (October 14–16 and 28–30) that is subsequently signed into law. The report is available by clicking on the image below.

*An ISACo tracked bill includes bills that directly or tangentially impact county finances and operations, bills that may be of interest to county officials for the performance of their duties and legislation presented "for your information."  

What We're Reading

Illinois Climate Education Hub Gives Teachers Head Start on Climate Curriculum (CBSNews) 

Illinois’ Tourism Push Includes Millions for NASCAR Events (CapitolNewsIllinois)

Chicago in ICE Crosshairs (Politico)

National Association of Counties Leadership Development: Learn from the best!

ISACo would like to acknowledge and congratulate the Illinois graduates who participated in the April cohort of NACo's High Performance Leadership Academy:

• Dawn Bullock, County Board Member, Will County
• Jackie Mathias, Jail RESET Director, McLean County
• Tjuana Williams, Director of Revenue Collections and Recovery, Cook County

Join over 10,000 county leaders already benefiting from the effectiveness of the NACo Leadership Academy, the 12-week, online leadership program founded by General Colin Powell. Scholarships are still available for you and your team. 

Click here to learn more and enroll!

Developed by General Colin Powell, the Professional Development Academy and NACo, the High Performance Leadership Academy is an online 12-week program that helps your workforce develop fundamental, practical leadership skills to deliver results for counties and our residents.

Upcoming NACo Webinars

NACo has announced the following upcoming webinar opportunities. ISACo is a proud partner with NACo and encourages counties to participate in NACo membership and activities.     

Legal Considerations for Federal Funding Challenges

(Monday, September 8, 2025, 1:00pm-2:00pm CST)

​​​​​​The second Trump administration has ushered in significant shifts in policy and agency level actions relating to federal funding for local governments. This webinar will provide an overview of the most pressing federal funding challenges faced by local governments. Discussion will include agency level actions impacting local government grants, including grant terminations and conditions on grants. The presentation will provide a high-level overview of legal principles local government officials and attorneys should understand when interpreting these actions as well as a discussion of the lawsuits impacting local government grants and federal funding. 

Click on this link to register for the webinar. 

From Public Lands to Local Budgets: How Federal Revenue Sharing Flows from the Federal Government

(Wednesday, September 10, 2025, 7:00am-9:00am CST)

​​​​​​This session will explore key revenue-sharing programs that impact public lands counties and their communities. Oil & gas and timber county revenue sharing are critical for sustaining county budgets, funding essential public services and supporting infrastructure in resource-dependent communities. These revenues help counties offset the costs of maintaining roads, providing public safety and delivering community programs, especially in public lands counties where local tax bases are limited. Revenue-sharing programs strengthen local economies, promote long-term community resilience and uphold the partnership between local governments, state governments, the federal government and natural resource industries by ensuring that counties can utilize proceeds from natural resource production to offset impacts from public land development and industry within their jurisdictions.

Click on this link to register for the webinar. 

Unity in Uncertainty: Partnership-Powered Resilience

(Thursday, September 11, 2025, 12:00pm-1:00pm CST)

​​​​​​In today’s rapidly changing operating environment, local government leaders face unprecedented challenges. This training equips local government leaders with collaborative strategies and partnership frameworks to navigate uncertainty and complexity, emerging stronger and more resilient. Comprehensive partnerships and diverse perspectives can solidify and fortify operations during uncertain times.

Click on this link to register for the webinar. 

Robert's Rules 102: Advancing Your Meeting Mastery for Effective Governance

(Tuesday, September 16, 2025, 1:00pm-2:00pm CST)

​​​​​​Robert’s Rules can help you run effective meetings. Don’t forget to attend “Roberts Rules 101 – Mastering the Basics” being held at the NACo Annual Conference in Philadelphia, Pa.Whether you're a newbie or an experienced leader, Robert's Rules 102 goes beyond the basics to equip you with the skills needed to orchestrate meetings that truly make an impact. Learn to minimize disruptions, establish proper procedures and apply Robert's Rules to real-life parliamentary examples.

Click on this link to register for the webinar. 

Enhancing Child Welfare: Best Practices for Measuring and Improving Outcomes

(Tuesday, September 23, 2025, 1:00pm-2:00pm CST)

​​​​​​Join NACo for an insightful webinar focusing on child welfare specifically designed for county governments. We will delve into evidence-based practices, informed funding decisions, cost efficiencies, and effective program management. Key areas of discussion will include out-of-home placements, prevention services, and reunification services.

During the webinar, NACo panel of county leaders will share the latest methodologies for outcomes monitoring and discuss the importance of translating these outcomes into actionable practices. Attendees will gain valuable insights into identifying service gaps, leveraging data for increased service utilization, and supporting fiscal efficiencies. This session will empower county executives and department leaders with strategies to measure outcomes effectively and implement best practices for continuous quality improvement. 

Key takeaways:
1.    Understanding the importance of outcomes monitoring
2.    Measuring and reporting best practices to enhance accountability and transparency
3.    Improving preventative and early intervention services
4.    Optimizing resource allocation and enhancing collaboration
5.    Implementing standardized assessments and continuous quality improvement initiatives

Click on this link to register for the webinar.

Unity in Uncertainty: Thriving Through Turbulence

(Tuesday, October 9, 2025, 2:00pm-3:00pm CST)

​​​​​​This training will focus on the current operating environment and emphasize core partnerships to identify opportunities and strengthen infrastructure security and resilience. Comprehensive partnerships and diverse perspectives can solidify and fortify operations during uncertain times. 

Click on this link to register for the webinar.   

Get to Know IPRIME!

Founded in 2019, the Illinois Public Reserves Investment Management Trust™ (IPRIME™) referred to as “the Fund” is an investment pool for Municipal Treasurers acting on behalf of counties, townships, cities, towns, villages, libraries, park districts, water supply districts, fire protection districts, sanitary districts, housing authorities and other subdivisions of the State of Illinois.

The IPRIME Investment Shares Series is rated AAAm by Standard & Poor’s.

The Investment Shares Series is comprised of money market instruments having a maximum remaining maturity of one year (except U.S. government obligations that may have remaining maturities of up to two years).

The primary objectives of the Investment Shares Series are to offer the highest possible investment yield, protect principal, preserve liquidity and maintain Standard & Poor’s highest local government investment pool rating of AAAm. In addition, the Fund offers access to PMA Financial Network, LLC’s Fixed Income and Deposit Programs. With the experience and expertise of PMA, the Investment Shares Series grants investors access to a powerful investment management team that functions with a high standard of vision, synergy, and quality.

 

CORPORATE PARTNER SPOTLIGHT   

Ascendant App, Inc.

Ascendant App's GovText AI uses SMS-based technology to empower government agencies with real-time, two-way communication, enhancing citizen engagement and streamlining operations. Our platform simplifies complex processes and improves service delivery by enabling seamless communication across departments. This integration helps governments deliver timely support and vital information, from emergency notifications to community outreach, building more connected communities. By driving digital transformation and prioritizing accessibility, GovText makes public services more efficient and citizen-focused, paving the way for communities to thrive in the digital age.

Become an ISACo Member! 

Is your county a member of ISACo? If not, why not?