Illinois apartment blaze sparks SBA disaster loans for Cook County
Published Date: 4/8/2025
Notice
Summary
A big fire at an apartment complex in Illinois has led the government to declare a disaster for Cook County and nearby areas. This means homeowners, businesses, and nonprofits can now apply for low-interest disaster loans to help fix damage or recover lost income. Act fast—physical damage loans must be applied for by June 2, 2025, and economic injury loans by January 2, 2026!
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 4 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Low‑interest disaster loans for property damage
If your home, business, or nonprofit property in Cook County or the listed contiguous counties (DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Will in Illinois; Lake in Indiana) was damaged by the February 22, 2025 apartment‑complex fire, you can apply for SBA physical damage disaster loans. You must apply online or at locally announced locations by June 2, 2025.
Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) available
Businesses and small agricultural cooperatives in the declared area (EIDL declaration covers Illinois and Indiana) can apply for Economic Injury Disaster Loans to recover lost working capital. The deadline to apply for EIDL is January 2, 2026.
Specified loan interest rates for applicants
The SBA set interest rates for these disaster loans: Physical damage — Homeowners with credit available elsewhere: 5.500%; homeowners without credit: 2.750%; businesses with credit: 8.000%; businesses without credit: 4.000%; non‑profits with/without credit: 3.625%. Economic injury — Businesses and small agricultural cooperatives without credit available elsewhere: 4.000%; non‑profits without credit: 3.625%.
How and where to apply for SBA disaster loans
You can apply for the disaster assistance loans online at the MySBA Loan Portal (https://lending.sba.gov) or at other locally announced locations. For help, contact the SBA disaster assistance customer service center at 1-800-659-2955 or the Office of Disaster Recovery & Resilience (Alan Escobar) per the notice.
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