Disaster loans offered in tornado-stricken areas of Addison
Three months after a nighttime tornado and damaging winds swept through DuPage County, the U.S. Small Business Administration is setting up a disaster loan outreach center in Addison to help storm victims apply for federal aid.
The agency provides low-interest, long-term loans to eligible small businesses and nonprofit organizations.
County officials say the outreach center will open at 11 a.m. Wednesday in the Addison village hall to help storm survivors request Economic Injury Disaster Loans from the SBA.
Severe weather produced 37 tornadoes in Illinois on March 31, making it the state's second-largest tornado outbreak on record, according to the National Weather Service.
The SBA made the loans available in response to a letter from Gov. J.B. Pritzker requesting a disaster declaration. In Illinois, the declaration covers Boone, DuPage, Lee and Sangamon counties as well as the adjacent counties of Bureau, Cass, Christian, Cook, DeKalb, Kane, Kendall, LaSalle, Logan, Macon, Macoupin, McHenry, Menard, Montgomery, Morgan, Ogle, Whiteside, Will and Winnebago.
The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado touched down on the north side of Lombard the night of March 31, before churning into Addison. The tornado packed estimated peak winds of 95 miles per hour, traveled 1.6 miles and had a rating of EF-1 on the six-level Enhanced Fujita scale.
Security camera footage from an Addison fire station captured the tornado causing roof damage to nearby office buildings.
To the south and east of the tornado's path, the weather service noted a wider swath of damage caused by strong straight-line winds of up to roughly 85 miles per hour. The weather service found roofing material peeled off office buildings and an apartment complex, a semitrailer truck blown over on I-290, and damage to brick sound barriers along the tollway.
Loan amounts and terms are set by the SBA and are based on each applicant's financial condition. Interest rates are 4% for businesses and 2.375% for nonprofits.
"We're committed to providing federal disaster loans swiftly and efficiently, with a customer-centric approach to help businesses and communities recover and rebuild," SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman said in a statement.
Online loan applications can be completed at DisasterLoanAssistance.sba.gov/ela/s. The deadline to apply is April 3, 2024.
Applications also may be downloaded at sba.gov/disaster and returned to the Addison outreach center or mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.
The center's hours of operation will be 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays. The center will close permanently at 4 p.m. July 26.