This week's Illinois State Association of Counties (ISACo) News and Views e-newsletter includes a list of new public acts relevant to counties, shares news of the U.S. Senate's approval of an almost $1 trillion federal infrastructure bill, shares the State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2022 estimates for Personal Property Replacement Taxes (PPRT) allocated to local governments, reports on the $250 million Back to Business Grant Program to aid in accelerating small business recovery across the state, provides a link to the newly-released U.S. Treasury guide to assist with navigating the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds recipient reporting portal, informs about the recent release of federal census data in the "legacy" format, announces an upcoming National Association of Counties (NACo) webinar opportunity, spotlights ISACo corporate partner 2im Group and invites counties to join ISACo.

New Public Acts Relevant to Counties Signed into Law by the Governor

SB 58 - Retail Occupation Tax - Trailers and Other Vehicles (P.A. 102-0353)

SB 225 - SOS - Facial Recognition Information (P.A. 102 - 0354)

SB 583 - FOIA - Clerk of Court (P.A. 102-0356)

SB 1721 - Property Tax - Delinquent Property (P.A. 102-0363)

SB 1913 - Scotts Law - Community Service (P.A. 102-0338)

SB 1965 - State Holiday - Juneteenth (P.A. 102-0334)

SB 2278 - Counties Code - Mental Health Board Control of Sales Tax Revenue (P.A. 102-0379)

SB 2406 - Reorganization of Judicial Circuits (P.A. 102-0380)

ISACo's updated Bills Approved by Both Chambers report is available via this link.

U.S. Senate Approves Federal Infrastructure Bill

On Tuesday, August 10, 2021, the U.S. Senate approved an almost $1 trillion investment in infrastructure. The bill was approved 69-30 and will next be considered by the U.S. House of Representatives. The Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act (IIJA) would provide $973 billion over five years from FY 2022 through FY 2026, including $550 billion in new investments for all modes of transportation, water, power and energy, environmental remediation, public lands, broadband and resilience. The National Association of Counties (NACo) has prepared a summary of the legislation and how it would benefit counties.

State Fiscal Year 2022 Estimate for Replacement Taxes

In accordance with current statute, the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) is required to provide an estimated entitlement* of the amount of Personal Property Replacement Taxes (PPRT)** for State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2022.

The SFY2022 PPRT allocations are estimated at $2,107,045,517. This is an increase of 14.3% from SFY2021 PPRT allocations that totaled $1,843,544,405.

PPRT allocations are estimated to be higher for several reasons:

• Legislative changes affecting corporate taxpayers and continued improvement of economic conditions are expected to translate into strong deposits into the PPRT fund for SFY2022.
• There will be a transfer from the Income Tax Refund Fund to the Personal Property Tax Fund in September 2021 of approximately $121 million.  This statutory transfer is because the estimated deposits into the Income Tax Refund Fund exceeded the money paid out for PPRT refunds in SFY2021.
• The annual business income tax reconciliation of tax payments and returns will result in a transfer of approximately $66 million from corporate income tax to replacement tax. This reconciliation is needed because monies are disbursed based on a historical estimate and the actual tax-split calculation is not known until the returns are received much later.  This is a significant increase compared to last year's reconciliation, resulting in an additional $23.3 million in the PPRT fund.
• The anticipated year-over-year increase will be offset slightly due to the April 2020 payment deadline extension, which artificially increased SFY2021 deposits into the PPRT fund by approximately $120 million. No such extension was available to taxpayers in April 2021.
• The pandemic significantly affected cash flow patterns for SFY2021; accordingly, year-over-year comparisons will be distorted.

A detailed listing of the approximate 6,500 local taxing districts which are entitled to receive an allocation for SFY2022 (July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022) is available here (Excel spreadsheet download). The list contains the following information:

• District name
• District number
• SFY2022 estimated amount
• SFY2021 actual disbursement amount
• Vendor number

$250 Million Back To Business Grant Program To Accelerate Small Business Recovery Across Illinois

Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) announced on Wednesday, August 11, 2021, the $250 million Back to Business (B2B) grant program to support the continued recovery of small businesses across Illinois. The first in a series of economic recovery programs set to launch by the administration, B2B will offer small businesses access to funds that can help offset losses due to COVID-19, bring back workers and take continued steps to rebuild amid the fallout from the pandemic. The program builds on last year's Business Interruption grant program, which provided $580 million to small businesses and childcare providers across the state.

The state is also providing a $9 million investment to grow the Community Navigator Program, providing a robust network of community organizations to conduct outreach and provide technical assistance in the hardest-hit communities. DCEO and community navigators will immediately begin working to provide businesses with information on the required steps to apply, allowing them time to prepare before the application formally opens on August 18, 2021.

Click on this link to find a community navigator in your area.

Click on this link to view the full press release. 

U.S. Treasury Releases User Guide for State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Reporting Portal

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has released a user guide for the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds recipient reporting portal. The guide contains step-by-step guidance for submitting the required Recovery Fund reports using Treasury’s portal and should be used in conjunction with Treasury's Compliance and Reporting Guidance for satisfying reporting and compliance requirements. 

Federal Census Data Released in Legacy Format

On Thursday, August 12, 2021, the U.S. Census Bureau released initial 2020 Census results showing local population shifts along with racial and ethnic diversity changes. This information was released in the "legacy" format, with more user-friendly data expected to be released by September 30, 2021.

A press release from the U.S. Census Bureau about the data is available via this link.

Population counts for counties are accessible via the U.S. Census Bureau's Quick Facts website. To view data for your county, enter your county's name in the field at the top left-hand side of the page.

Illinois' "legacy" format data is available via this link.

Information about how "legacy" data can be used is available on the Decennial Census P.L. 94-171 Redistricting Data page.

Upcoming NACo Webinar

NACo has announced the following upcoming webinar opportunity:

Guiding County Decisions: An Overview of Key Census Bureau Programs for Administrators, Executives and Managers

(Wednesday, August 18, 2021, 12:00pm-1:00pm CST)

County administrators, executives and managers need reliable, accurate and unbiased information to guide economic development, emergency management and other decisions in their areas. The Census Bureau’s household and business programs can be a critical resource to meet this need. This session will provide an overview of key Census programs that provide data at the county level, including the American Community Survey, County Business Patterns and the Economic Census along with an update on the data coming from the 2020 Decennial Census and when users can expect this data. Census experts will provide actual cases of how the data can be used to guide decisions, including how counties can help their residents and businesses begin to recover from the Coronavirus pandemic.

Click on this link to register for this event.

Corporate Sponsor Spotlight

This week's corporate partner spotlight highlights ISACo's partnership with 2im Group. 

2im Group, LLC is a multi-disciplined civil engineering and environmental services firm, specializing in water resource management. Their experience includes working with transportation agencies and private sector clients. 2im Group, LLC strives to recognize their clients’ priorities to ensure project success!

​The project scopes include: Phase I studies, reports, and investigations; Phase II detailed plans, specifications, and engineer’s cost estimates; and Phase III construction engineering services.

​2im Group was established in July 2005 and has a combined personnel experience of over 100 years. Major clients include the Illinois Tollway and Illinois Department of Transportation.

More information about the services provided by 2im Group, LLC is available via this link.

Click on this link to learn more about the benefits and opportunities available through ISACo's Corporate Partner Program.

Become an ISACo Member!