The Illinois Emergency Management Agency is getting a boost from the federal government. The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced this week that IEMA would be the recipient of two grants totaling just under $147 million for reimbursement for emergency protective measures as a result of COVID-19.
This grant funding is part of the recovery efforts in response to the federal disaster declaration of March 31st. IEMA was able to utilize contracts to purchase and distribute personal protective equipment statewide. IEMA oversaw storage and distribution of that PPE in response to requests made by Illinois hospitals, first responders, and health departments throughout the state. The procurement of PPE took an ominous turn in the early days of the pandemic as states throughout the country competed to receives shares of PPE from various countries and companies throughout the world, which caused short-term shortages in some areas.
FEMA’s Public Assistance Program provides funding to state and local government jurisdictions and eligible private non-profits for the repair, replacement, or restoration of disaster-damaged infrastructure as well as costs incurred for debris removal, disaster cleanup and emergency actions taken to protect lives or property.