Local Grant Opportunities- Available Every Year
Gaslight Art Colony 2021 Show Schedule
March 20th - April 10th – Colony Members’ Show
April 17th - May 8th – Children’s Art Show
May 15th - June 12th – “SISTERS” Jane Isenberg & the late Kay Woodard
June 19th - July 10th – Side by Side Show
July 17th - August 14th – Sangamon County Water Color Society
August 21st - September 11th – Fiber Art Show
September 18th - October 9th – Colony Members’ Show
October 16th - November 13th – Scott Payne
November 20 th- December 11 th – Linda Miller
Gaslight Art Colony is a non profit organization dedicated in promoting awareness, participation and understanding of the arts. We appreciate all of our members and wish to thank the community for their support.
Longview Bank & Trust Grand Opening
From the Director's Desk:
Businesses need employees who are job-ready, team-capable, and well-prepared. Most families require both parents to work, therefore relying on access to childcare. When childcare is not readily available, workers' time, productivity, and careers are diminished.
Childcare has been an ongoing workforce issue in Clark County with MANY instances where people have not been able to work due to the lack of childcare. Daycare providers receive multiple calls daily in search of child care, especially the 0-2yrs of age care. I am working on pulling resources together for individuals that are interested in opening a childcare facility. Should you know someone that has expressed an interest, please have them contact the Chamber.
Happy Spring,
Jennifer Bishop
Calendar of Events Import
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PC’s for People
Through a first-of-its-kind collaboration by the State of Illinois, PCs for People and various community partners, Illinois has launched a statewide network that will receive, refurbish and redistribute used computers to those in need. This initiative responds to the 1.1 million Illinois households currently without computers and aims to bridge the digital divide for those without internet access to help improve connectivity essential for remote learning, work from home, telemedicine, and other requirements of everyday life. To source the network with newly refurbished computer devices, the State of Illinois is working with private and philanthropic partners to build a pipeline for Illinois households in need. For more information, click here.
If you are interested in donating equipment to this program, PCs for People will accept any and all used computer equipment, redistributing what it can refurbish and recycling what it cannot refurbish. PCs for People is NAID AAA and R2 certified, requiring the non-for-profit to practice the highest standards of information destruction, hard drive sanitization, and environmental computer device recycling along with a zero-landfill policy.
If your entity is undertaking a pc refresh or you know of an entity that is looking to undertake one and would be interested in donating to this program, please contact Kala Lambert, Southeast Region Manager for ILDCEO’s Office of Regional Economic Development at Kala.lambert@illinois.gov, and she will help make the connection to PC’s for People.
Small Business Administration Program
Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program (EIDL) The SBA is offering low-interest federal disaster loans for working capital to small businesses and non-profit organizations that are suffering substantial economic injury as a result of COVID-19. These loans may be used to pay debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that can’t be paid because of the disaster’s impact, and that are not already covered by a Paycheck Protection Program loan. The interest rate is 3.75% for small businesses and 2.75% for non-profits. The first payment is deferred for one year. Applicants must be physically located in the U.S. or designated territory and suffered working capital losses due to the coronavirus pandemic, not due to a downturn in the economy or other reasons. Eligible applicants include the following: • Businesses with 500 or fewer employees or defined as small per SBA.gov/SizeStandards • Cooperatives with 500 or fewer employees • Agricultural enterprises with 500 or fewer employees • Most private nonprofits • Faith-based organizations • Sole proprietorships and independent contractors The deadline to apply for this program has been extended to December 31, 2021. For more information and the application, please click here to go to the SBA’s website.
Income Tax Filing Extension
The individual income tax filing and payment deadline from April 15 to May 17. The Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) will continue to process tax refunds for those filing ahead of the deadline. The filing extension does not apply to estimated tax payments that are due on April 15, 2021. These payments are still due on April 15 and can be based on either 100% of estimated or 90% of actual liability for 2021, or 100% of actual liabilities for 2019 or 2020.
According to IDOR, 2.4 million taxpayers have already filed their individual income tax returns to date. Over 79% of the taxpayers that have already filed are expecting a refund this year. Last year, over 6.4 million income tax returns were filed, and 87% of people filed electronically.
“The fastest, most secure way to receive a refund is to file tax returns electronically and request a direct deposit into a checking or savings account,” said David Harris, Director of the Illinois Department of Revenue. “The filing extension for individual income tax takes effect automatically, so no further action is required by taxpayers to take advantage. For taxpayers awaiting a refund, utilize IDOR’s Where’s My Refund? to locate specific information about the status of any refund due.”
Free filing of Form IL-1040 is available through MyTax Illinois. Individuals may also utilize MyTax Illinois to make payments, respond to department inquiries, and check the status of their Illinois Individual Income Tax refunds using the Where's My Refund? link. Taxpayers may also look up IL-PINs, amounts of any estimated tax payments made, and (when necessary) amounts reported on Form 1099-G with MyTax Illinois.
For the most up-to-date information, forms, schedules, and instructions for the 2020 tax year, please visit IDOR's website at: tax.illinois.gov.
SBA Increases Lending Limit for COVID-19
The U.S. Small Business Administration is increasing the maximum amount small businesses and non-profit organizations can borrow through its COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. Starting the week of April 6, 2021, the SBA is raising the loan limit for the COVID-19 EIDL program from 6-months of economic injury with a maximum loan amount of $150,000 to up to 24-months of economic injury with a maximum loan amount of $500,000.
“More than 3.7 million businesses employing more than 20 million people have found financial relief through SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans, which provide low-interest emergency working capital to help save their businesses. However, the pandemic has lasted longer than expected, and they need larger loans. Many have called on SBA to remove the $150,000 cap. We are here to help our small businesses and that is why I’m proud to more than triple the amount of funding they can access,” said SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman.
Learn more
COVID-19 Tax Releif for Employers and Business Owners
Employee Retention Credit... A fully refundable tax credit for employers equal to 50 percent of qualified wages (including allocable qualified health plan expenses) that Eligible Employers pay their employees.
Employment Tax Deferral • Defer deposit and payment of the employer’s share of Social Security taxes without penalty (6.2% of employee wages) • Payroll tax deferral period: March 27, 2020 thru December 31, 2020 & extended for all of 2021
Families First Coronaviraus Response Act ... The COVID-Related Tax Relief Act of 2020, enacted December 27, 2020, amended and extended the tax credits for paid sick and family leave under sections 7001-7005 of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.
The Paycheck Protection Program has been extended through May 31, 2021
President Joe Biden signed the PPP Extension Act of 2021 into law today, extending the Paycheck Protection Program an additional two months to May 31, 2021, and then providing an additional 30-day period for the SBA to process applications that are still pending. Read more here.
About the Paycheck Protection Program
The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is a loan designed to provide direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on payroll. Additionally, borrowers may be eligible for PPP loan forgiveness.
Find a PPP lender
Applicants must apply to a participating PPP lender to be considered for the Paycheck Protection Program. Find a lender through Lender Match or by searching for lenders near you here.
First Draw and Second Draw PPP loans
If you have not received a PPP loan before, you can apply for a First Draw PPP loan through a participating PPP lender. If you have received a PPP loan and meet further eligibility requirements, you can apply for a Second Draw PPP loan.
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