South Central Reporter

Rep. David Friess shared information on the Illinois Back to Business (B2B) grants in a Facebook post on Apr. 6.

"The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity has announced $175 million in Back to Business Grants for restaurants, hotels, and creative arts organizations will soon be available," Friess wrote. "The application period opened on April 5 and will run through May 10. Information on how to apply is available here: https://dceo.illinois.gov/smallbizassistance/b2b.html."

Friess is a resident of Red Bud, Ill., and has lived in Illinois for most of his life. He was an aircraft mechanic in the Air Force, and later for Delta Airlines in Atlanta, GA. He represents the people of the 115th District.

The Back to Business (B2B) grant program provides programs for numerous industries. They have also supported thousands of businesses by funding millions of dollars.

The sectors of creative arts, hotels and restaurants are part of an effort by Illinois' Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) that also includes the state’s Business Interruption Grant (BIG) program. Between these two, since the start of the pandemic, DCEO has provided more than $535 million to more than 15,000 businesses.

The business funding is split among the industries that Back to Business supports. For some, the funding must be allocated toward specific business expenses. For this year, there is a total budget of $175 million.

There is $50 million available for restaurants, $75 million for hotels, and $50 million for creative arts. Of the three industries, hotels are the only one that has limits on how the money must be spent: 80% of the funds must be spent on payroll and the remaining 20% is flexible.

According to the Department of Commerce, applications are accepted through May 10. Applications are reviewed as submitted through May 15, and the grantees should receive notification of awards and funding disbursement in June and July.