September 11th License Plate Grant Program

The September 11th Fund was created by the Illinois General Assembly as a repository for license plate fees generated by the America Remembers license plate. The director of IEMA is authorized to utilize the fund to give grants to victims of terrorism and to local governments to cover the costs of training, equipment and other items related to public safety initiatives to prevent further acts of terrorism or to respond to acts of terrorism or other disasters or emergency situations in Illinois.

IEMA administers the September 11th License Plate Grant Program pursuant to P.A. 97-409, eff. 1-1-12. Appropriations to IEMA for compensation to local governments shall not exceed $500,000 for state fiscal year 2021.

IEMA shall provide grants to sub-award recipients for expenses relating to implementation of training, equipment, and other items related to public safety initiatives intended to prevent further acts of terrorism, or to respond to further acts of terrorism, other disasters, or emergency situations in Illinois.

A grant agreement is to be executed by both IEMA and the head of the entity to which the grant is awarded. Payment of funds in reimbursement form shall be made in accordance with the executed grant agreement.

1. Eligibility Information
   
   

   Local governments identified by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) that incur expenses to cover the costs of training, equipment, and other items related to public safety initiatives intended to prevent further acts of terrorism, or to respond to further acts of terrorism, other disasters, or emergency situations in Illinois. 

   
   
   
   
2. Application and Submission Information
   
   

   1. Application:

      
      
      

      Local governments must submit an application to the agency. The grant application shall contain all information pursuant to P.A. 97-409, eff. 1-1-12.

      
      
      

      Applicants for the September 11th License Plate Fund Grant Program will not receive a grant agreement until their application has been reviewed, approved and funding for the grant has been allocated. Grant agreements are distributed after the beginning of the state fiscal year, July 1, due to the need to determine obligation amounts and the release of state funding figures.

      
      
      

      IEMA shall execute a grant agreement with each grantee to whom a grant is awarded. The grant agreement shall specify the parties to the grant, the term of the grant, the amount of the grant, method of payment of the grant funds, permissible use of the grant funds and the documentation of expenditures to be maintained by grantee as authorized by the Act and pursuant to P.A. 97-409, eff. 1-1-12.

      
      
      

      The September 11th License Plate Fund grant agreement should be signed and dated by the principal executive officer. For county governments, the principal executive officer is the county board chairperson. For municipalities, the principal executive officer is either the mayor or the village president.

      
      
      

   2. Submission Timeframe for Quarterly Claims:

      
      
      

      All entities who have received a September 11th License Plate Fund Grant are required to submit claims, which detail grant expenditures. Sub-award recipients must submit claims on a quarterly basis. Sub-Award Recipients claims are due 30 days following the end of each quarter. 1st Quarter (July-September) is due September 30; 2nd Quarter (October-December) is due January 30; 3rd Quarter (January-March) is due April 30; and 4th Quarter (April-June) is due July 30. Unclaimed funds are considered by the agency to be unspent funds. The agency will account for unspent funds by offsetting the next fiscal year grant by the amount of the unspent funds.

      
      
      
3. Application Review Information
   
   

   IEMA will award the amount of each grant, based on the applicant’s approved request to the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA).

   
   
   
4. Award Administration Information
   
   

   Participating applicants shall submit to IEMA a grant application for the purpose of approving the amount of the grant award. The grant application shall be submitted on forms provided by IEMA.

   
   
   
5. State Awarding Agency Contact
   
   

   For more information on the September 11th License Plate Grant, please contact Tammy Porter, Bureau of Preparedness and Grants Administration, 2200 South Dirksen Parkway, Springfield, IL 62703, Phone (217) 557-4831, 

   Tammy.D.Porter@illinois.gov