U.S. Small Business Administration to Provide Cook County and City of Chicago Residents and Businesses Impacted by Severe Storms July 27 with Low-Interest Loans
Disaster Loan Outreach Centers in the County and City open through September 4
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) will establish Disaster Loan Outreach Centers (DLOC) for residents and businesses impacted by the July 27, 2026, severe storms to apply for low-interest loans. The disaster declaration includes the Illinois counties of Cook and Will, the contiguous counties of DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake and McHenry as well as Lake Conty in the state of Indiana.
There will be two DLOC locations – one in the City of Chicago and one in suburban Cook County in Hazel Crest. The County location will be open Friday, August 21 through Friday, September 4; and the City of Chicago location will be open Thursday, August 20 through Thursday, September 3.
SUBURBAN COOK COUNTY DLOC LOCATION
| Village of Hazel Crest 3601 W. 183rd St. Hazel Crest, IL 60429 | |
| Monday - Friday | 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. |
| Saturday | 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. |
| Sunday | CLOSED |
CITY OF CHICAGO DLOC LOCATION
| Chicago Public Library - Pullman Branch 11001 S. Indiana Ave. Chicago, IL 60628 | |
| Monday | 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. |
| Tuesday | 12 p.m. - 8 p.m. |
| Wednesday | 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. |
| Thursday | 12 p.m. - 8 p.m. |
| Friday | 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. |
| Saturday | 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. |
| Sunday | Closed |
Customer service representatives will be on hand at each DLOC to answer questions about SBA’s disaster loan program, explain the application process and help individuals complete their application. Walk-ins are accepted, but you can schedule an in-person appointment in advance at appointment.sba.gov.
Online Applications
To apply online, visit sba.gov/disaster. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.
The Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security (IEMA-OHS), Cook County Department of Emergency Management and Regional Security (EMRS) and the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC) are working with the SBA to provide assistance to residents impacted by the July storm with disaster loan assistance. The loans will provide qualifying homeowners, renters, businesses and certain nonprofit organizations with assistance for damages not covered by insurance.
Homeowners and renters can apply for up to $500,000 in low-interest loans to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate. Homeowners or renters can apply for up to $100,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property such as appliances and furniture. Businesses and some not-for-profits can borrow up to $2 million for physical damages.
The SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program is available to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives and private nonprofit organizations that have suffered financial losses as a direct result of the disaster. However, the SBA cannot offer disaster loans to agricultural producers, farmers or ranchers, except for those operating small aquaculture enterprises.
The filing deadline to return applications for physical property damage is October 19, 2026. The deadline to return economic injury applications is May 18, 2027.
Note: All impacted residents, regardless of where they live can go to any DLOC site, even if it is not their county or municipality. Each location will have a Spanish translator available.