(20 ILCS 605/605-416)
Sec. 605-416. Loans to qualified ex-offenders.
(a) The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity may establish an ex-offender business ownership grant and loan program. Funding for this program shall come from the Ex-Offender Fund. The Department shall provide grants to organizations and entities that work with ex-offenders and facilitate the reentry of ex-offenders into society. Organizations wishing to participate in the program must present an application to the Department in order to receive funding.
(b) Funding distributed from the Ex-Offender Fund may be used only for the following purposes:
(1) For the awarding of grants to organizations
and entities to provide low interest loans to ex-offenders so that these individuals may start and operate their own businesses that have a positive impact on society. The maximum amount of a loan funded by a grant under this Section that an ex-offender may receive is $5,000.
(2) For the awarding of grants to entities or
organizations assisting ex-offenders, so that individual ex-offenders may develop business plans to start up their own businesses. These grants are to be used for the sole purpose of acquiring a business plan developed by a credible source. In order to receive these grants, qualified ex-offenders must submit an application and provide 50% of the cost to develop the business plan.
(3) For the administration costs of the program.
(c) For purposes of this Section, "qualified ex-offender" means any person who:
(1) is an eligible offender, as defined under
Section 5-5.5-5 of the Unified Code of Corrections;
(2) was sentenced to a period of incarceration in
an Illinois adult correctional center; and
(3) presents an application and a professional
business plan to the organization or entity that is making the loan.
(Source: P.A. 96-656, eff. 1-1-10.)
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Last modified: February 18, 2015