October 28, 2009
Every other Wednesday the Regional ARRA Coordinating Council (RACC) sends an email with updates and analyses of select American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) programs, with a focus on region-wide and suburban initiatives. These emails, which will also be posted on CMAP's Recovery blog, are meant to provide useful information on funding announcements, collaboration efforts, and tracking of where and how stimulus funds are being spent in the region. Council members who are experts on energy, weatherization, job training, and housing programs (the RACC focus area), as well as the Governor's office, contribute to these updates, providing unique and timely information. In addition, the updates cover important developments and news on stimulus spending in other areas, such as transportation, health care, education, and activity at the state level.
We are interested in your stimulus news! The Economic Recovery Updates will feature local examples of the stimulus being put to work, so please contact Justine Reisinger (jreisinger@cmap.illinois.gov or 312-386-8802) with your news and examples.
Table of Contents
Regional ARRA Coordinating Council News and Progress
ARRA Implementation Spotlight: NSP money well-spent in Cicero. The Town of Cicero was awarded $2,078,351 in funds from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) to acquire and redevelop foreclosed properties. Though NSP funds were originally part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, a second round of NSP funds was made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). To see the Town of Cicero's full NSP plan, click here.
The first home sale by the Town of Cicero occurred on June 25, 2009. The foreclosed home was purchased for $70,000, and the new owner received $14,000 in Down Payment Assistance and $21,000 in Rehabilitation Assistance. The assistance comes in the form of a 0% interest, deferred-payment loan that will be forgiven if the owner lives in the property for more than 10 years. For this particular property, a grant for $30,000 was also awarded to address lead-based paint hazards. Renovations are now completed on the home.
Three other applicants purchased homes utilizing the town's NSP Down Payment Assistance Program. Two of the successful applicants who purchased homes were at or below 50% AMI (Area Median Income). Currently, Cicero is on track to meet all goals outlined in its action plan and plan to allocate 100% of their funds by the NSP deadline (each recipient has 18 months to obligate all funds). With NSP funds, the town is also purchasing and demolishing blighted structures to build new homes to be sold at affordable prices. Cicero hopes to give applicants from the NSP Down Payment Assistance Program's the first opportunity to purchase these new homes. For more information on the Town of Cicero's Neighborhood Stabilization Program, visit http://www.thetownofcicero.com/ or contact Tom M. Tomschin at ttomschin@thetownofcicero.com or 708-656-8223 ext. 13.
Recovery blog. Be sure to check our regularly updated Recovery blog. Recent posts include a description of the rollout of recipient reporting, a new ARRA tracking and evaluation resource guide, and a new pamphlet describing more about CMAP's work related to the stimulus. We've also added new categories to the blog, including Resources and CMAP Economic Recovery Updates for an easily accessible archive.
Needs assessment survey reminder. If you have applied or plan on applying for stimulus grants in the following categories, please fill out our needs assessment survey. The survey covers the ARRA program areas of Weatherization, NSP, Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants (EECBG), Homelessness Prevention and Rehousing Program (HPRP), Workforce training dollars (WIA formula or other eligible funds), Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), Community Service Block Grants (CSBG), and National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling.
Next steps and action updates: Meetings and Information Sharing. The RACC continues meeting to discuss program updates and opportunities for project-specific or geography-specific coordination or assistance. CMAP and the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) plan to collaborate on a Basecamp site for EECBG; this online tool will provide a way to make resources and best practices available to EECBG recipients, as well as provide a forum for asking questions and learning from each other and experts in the field. More information on how to become involved is forthcoming.
The Council and CMAP are reviewing the details of the newly announced national competitive grant for EECBG. This grant provides $454 million nationally and is focused in two areas: 1) Retrofit Ramp-up Program with an anticipated 8-20 awards and 2) General Innovation Fund with an anticipated 15-60 grants. This is a highly competitive program, and the RACC is evaluating opportunities for collaboration.
All recipient reporting for grants, loans, and contracts will be available on Recovery.gov on October 30. CMAP will begin to analyze reported data for the region, and findings will be included in our Recovery blog and in future Economic Recovery Updates. Recipient reporting is currently available at Recovery.gov for all ARRA contracts.
Energy and Weatherization. CNT has released a new report, "Creating a Chicago Regional Building Energy Efficiency System." The report details short- and long-term opportunities for the metropolitan Chicago region to bring all commercial and residential buildings up to 21st Century energy efficiency standards to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save money. In the report, CNT details a two-track process of identifying funding and then creating/designing a network or institution to carry on energy efficiency work over the long term. ARRA funding can be wisely used to "jumpstart the creation of a market and infrastructure for accomplishing [energy efficiency]," and financing from utilities and others can help sustain this work over the long term, according to the report.
Through ARRA an additional $242 million in weatherization funds are now available through the Illinois Home Weatherization Assistance Program (IHWAP) for low-income homes over the next two years. Services that can be financed through this funding include insulation, furnace work, repairing windows and doors, weather-stripping and caulking, and replacing windows if needed. Individuals interested in having their homes weatherized should visit WeatherizationIllinois.com or call 877-411-9276. Additional program details are available in the Illinois' IHWAP State Plan.
Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) received a total $4 million in stimulus funds for a range of projects. Most recently, the City of Chicago provided ComEd with $1.5 of $15 million that the city received from the Department of Energy for its Clean Cities grant to purchase hybrid and plug-in electric hybrid vehicles over the next two years. The Clean Cities funding will also be used to "deploy 'smart charging' infrastructure at ComEd facilities... to [study] the impacts of vehicle charging while managing the electric load associated with these vehicles," according to ComEd. The company also received over $250,000 from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) to retrofit its larger vehicles to lower their emissions of greenhouse gases.
Workforce Development. Green for All, a national organization dedicated to the creation and development of a green economy, features a valuable Recovery Resource Center for anyone applying for competitive workforce grants (read more about competitive workforce grants on our blog). Resources include their A Green Recovery For All series of pamphlets and program-specific information on all recovery programs that deal with creating green jobs and a green economy.
The Recovery Act provided nearly $34 million for youth training in the northeastern Illinois region, and much of this has been disbursed in summer youth programs. The Workforce Boards of Metropolitan Chicago created a video showcasing several of the participating youth and employers. The video describes the program and the experience it provides, which would not have existed without the Recovery Act funding. Watch the video here.
Stimulus funding for dislocated workers is hitting the ground and $31 million is coming to the region to provide training and placement services for those who lost their jobs. Many colleges around the region are receiving funds and offering free tuition to those that meet eligibility criteria. For example, Triton College has received $1.6 million to provide training and placement in health, technology, hospitality, and green jobs.
Housing. The National Housing Conference recently hosted a four-part webinar series and online discussion called "Making it Work -- Practical Information on How to Implement a Stabilization Plan." This was a collaborative effort between Enterprises Community Partners, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, the National Housing Conference, the National Community Stabilization Trust, and NeighborWorks America; each webinar addressed a different aspect of implementing a stabilization plan. Topics covered program design, acquisition and disposition strategies, and performance measurement. Resources and a recording from each session are available here.
All counties in the seven-county region, with the exception of Kendall, are receiving ARRA funding for the Homeless Prevention and Rapid-Rehousing Program (HPRP). Click here to see funding awards and links to local plans. The following is a status update on the implementation of HPRP in two counties; status updates for Lake and Kane counties were featured in our last Economic Recovery Update.
ARRA Reception. Yesterday, October 27, Mercy Housing hosted its annual fundraising reception. This year the reception, "Moving Forward Together," commended partnerships that are leveraging stimulus funding and recognized collaborations around the Recovery Act, including the work of RACC. Click here for a powerpoint presentation from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago's Matt Feldman.
Transportation. Illinois is requesting more stimulus funding for a proposed high-speed rail line between Chicago and St. Louis, reports Crain's Chicago Business. The state originally requested $2.4 billion to improve the Chicago-St. Louis Amtrak route, but now it seeks an additional $3.2 billion to build a second, parallel track along the route for more freight and passenger trains.
Chicago reports for third fiscal quarter. The City of Chicago submitted its reports required by ARRA for the third fiscal quarter. For a detailed breakdown of individual grants, award values and job creations, click here. During the third quarter, Chicago and sister agencies received 31 grants. So far approximately 9,900 jobs have been created in Chicago thanks to ARRA spending, according to the report. The city's report covered the approximately $1 billion in stimulus funding Chicago has received so far, which is less than half of the $2.6 billion the city applied for. Jobs created and total funds awarded continue to increase for Chicago as more awards are announced.
State-submitted healthcare grant. On October 16, 2009, the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) submitted an application to the Department of Health and Human Services for funding under the Health Information Exchange Cooperative Agreement Program, authorized under the HITECH Act, and part of ARRA. The purpose of the program is to advance the exchange of secure health information across the health care system, and to continuously improve and expand Health Information Exchange (HIE) services to reach all health care providers in an effort to improve the quality and efficiency of health care as well as reduce costs. A total of $564 million will be awarded nationwide to State Designated Entities (HFS is that entity for Illinois) over four years, and the maximum a state can receive is $40 million.
This program will build from existing efforts to advance regional and state level HIE while moving toward nationwide interoperability. Illinois began its HIE planning process in March 2009 with the release of a request for grant applications to distribute $3 million appropriated by the Illinois General Assembly through Public Act 95-1030. Grantees from 16 Medical Trading Areas throughout Illinois, representing every area of the state, were announced in June, and the HIE planning year began on July 1, 2009. Through the first quarter of the year, grantees are making significant progress in planning for the meaningful use of electronic health records. This much-needed funding from the federal government will supplement Illinois current HIE planning and move the state closer to the implementation of a state-level HIE by 2014.
Broadband recommendations. Illinois released its first round of recommendations for broadband stimulus funding in a letter sent to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) on October 14. Illinois narrowed down a pool of 140 applicants for broadband projects to 31 recommended projects. Read more at BroadbandCensus.com.
Smart grid money for Naperville. Naperville's municipal electric utility was the only project in Illinois awarded funding from a $3.4 billion investment in smart grid technology. Naperville will receive nearly $11 million to deploy more than 57,000 smart meters and more. For a full list of smart grid investment grant awards by state, click here.
Child care funding. Changes of policy in the Illinois Department of Human Services were made to provide more assistance to low-income working parents and their families enrolled in the Child Care Assistance Program thanks to $74 million in stimulus funds. These child care funds will extend the job search time for parents, reduce their co-payment by 15 percent, keep enrollment open to avoid waiting lists for families needing child care, and will improve the quality of programs for young children be creating a statewide network of Infant Toddler Specialists.
Other funding opportunities. Check out the previous Economic Recovery Update (10-14-09) for a list of upcoming funding opportunities for both competitive ARRA grants and other grants, such as $1.43 billion for FY09 funding for Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance Grant Programs (closing date: 11/9/09).
- More than 250,000 education jobs were created or saved thanks to stimulus funds, according to the Obama administration. A story by the Washington Post reports that even after tens of billions of dollars in stimulus funds, many states and school systems to "face enormous fiscal pressures." The full report issued by the Department of Education and White House, "Educational Impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act," does not include jobs lost during the recession or how many of those jobs may be in jeopardy.
- TV station WIFR reported on the growing business of wind energy in Illinois and nationally. The stimulus has been a major factor in the growing popularity, according to the American Wind Energy Association. For more on the growing popularity of wind power, read this post from The Wall Street Journal's Environmental Capital blog.
- There was a very interesting article in The New York Times regarding the stimulus and the positive and negative long-term benefits of prioritizing shovel-ready projects that can take a longer time to help the economy when compared to "programs intended to keep people afloat." One of the stimulus projects spotlighted in the article was for the construction of a minor league baseball park to be completed by Lake County-based EquityOne Sports Development. The business owner was able to apply for $15 million in low-interest bonds from McHenry County, which can now issue $27 million in low-interest bonds for private projects from stimulus funds.
- While a second stimulus package isn't on the immediate horizon, The Wall Street Journal reports that "individual job-create measures" are being considered, according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The White House is also considering tax credits and additional measures to help the economy, as detailed on Time.com.
- In a first since October 2008, U.S. companies expect to hire and invest more in the next six months, according to a report released by the National Association for Business Economics. William Strauss of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago tells The Wall Street Journal's Real Time Economics blog that this is evidence that a U.S. recovery is underway.
Please contact Justine Reisinger (jreisinger@cmap.illinois.gov or 312-386-8802) with your stimulus news and examples.