Heights businesses, here’s where to go for help

Across America, the coronavirus is punishing local economies. Some 3 million laid-off workers signed up for unemployment last week, more than quadrupling the previous record. The stock market has been on a roller coaster. Congress is preparing a $2 trillion stimulus package.

And central Illinois is not immune to any of that.

The Greater Peoria Economic Development Council has taken a leadership role, establishing a central clearinghouse for information regarding the resources available to help us get through this. If you’re a Heights business owner, a good place to start is www.gpcovid.com. Specific, additional questions can be answered at bizinfo@greaterpeoriaedc.org

Below are a few items that may be of particular interest for those doing business in the Heights:

  • The Illinois Small Business Emergency Loan Fund is offering low-interest, five-year loans up to $50,000 for businesses of fewer than 50 employees and less than $3 million in revenue in 2019. Payments will be deferred for the first six months. The Fund is targeted at businesses outside Chicago, with applications accepted beginning on April 1, though you can express an initial interest starting on Friday, March 27. Go here: https://www2.illinois.gov/dceo/SmallBizAssistance/Pages/EmergencySBAIntiatives.aspx

  • The Small Business Administration is offering low-interest loans – 3.75 percent for small businesses, 2.75 percent for non-profits – for up to $2 million through its Disaster Loan Assistance program. The Illinois Small Business Development Center at Bradley University’s Turner Center for Entrepreneurship stands ready to walk you through the process and answer other questions. Contact them at illinoissbdc@bradley.edu or at 309-677-2992. Meanwhile, you can try your hand with the SBA directly at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/. All loan payments for the first 11 months will be deferred with only interest accruing. We are told that you will likely have more success filing on the SBA portal after normal business hours.

  • Both state and federal tax deadlines have been pushed back to July 15, 2020, so you’ll have three more months to file without penalty. Illinois Gov. Pritzker also has directed the Illinois Department of Revenue to defer sales tax payments for bars and restaurants with under $75,000 in sales tax liabilities. This affects nearly 80 percent of the state’s bars and restaurants, which still must file their returns.

“This is a time of real challenge,” said Peoria Heights Mayor Mike Phelan. “Ultimately, our goal here is that every business in the Heights that was open and operating before COVID-19 will remain open and operating after this is all behind us. We in the Village of Peoria Heights will do everything in our power to help make that possible.”

Village Hall Closed To The Public

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For the safety and protection of our residents and staff, Village Hall has closed to the public to help fight the spread of COVID-19.  We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused.

Village business will continue during this closure, and Peoria Heights staff will still be working throughout the pandemic.  We encourage you to reach out to us with problems and questions by phone or email.

Administration

Licenses & permits, general inquires

309-686-2385 Ext 3

admin@peoriaheights.org 

Waterworks

Water utility, public works

309-686-2375 Ext 1

water@peoriaheights.org

Water payments may be left in our silver drop box in the parking lot, online at our website at www.peoriaheights.org, or by mail.

We’re proud to serve the community of Peoria Heights, and we appreciate your cooperation.

Apprenticeship Tours

Heights officials tour apprenticeship programs

Village officials toured the apprenticeship training programs of three area trade groups on Jan. 14. 

They witnessed firsthand the commitment of local unions to equipping a new generation of carpenters, electricians, heavy equipment operators, etc., with the educational tools they need to perform their jobs at a high level.

The visits came in the wake of the Peoria Heights Village Board’s recent passage of “responsible bidder” and “prevailing wage” measures aimed at reassuring residents that work on all public projects will be done by well-trained, skilled workers earning a fair income.

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Peoria Heights Mayor Mike Phelan, Village Board members Elizabeth Khazzam and Brandon Wisenburg, and Village Streets Superintendent Mike Casey visited the training offices of the Mid-Central Illinois Regional Council of Carpenters, the International Union of Operating Engineers, and the Joint Apprenticeship & Training Committee of IBEW-NECA in Pekin, Peoria and Bartonville, respectively.

At each stop, participants learned about the quality and quantity of training that local laborers get not just at the beginning of but throughout their careers, sometimes amounting to thousands of hours learning the latest technologies over many years.

A consistent refrain was that “we want to mess everything up here so it doesn’t happen out there.” 

These training programs are 100 percent privately funded, with no obligation on taxpayers despite these industries being among the most heavily regulated in the nation. That is a point of pride for the unions.

The trades should be more attractive to young people, said union officials, because these jobs pay well and these students don’t have to go into debt to get the education they need.

In many cases, the graduates of these apprenticeship programs are among the best of the best in their respective fields, said union leaders. “It’s a real education equivalent to any four-year university,” said Paul Flynn, business manager for IBEW Local 34. “You have to be Tom Brady to make the team.”