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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
COOK COUNTY LEGAL AID FOR HOUSING AND DEBT PROGRAM
WHEREAS, on March 13, 2020, the President of the United States issued a Proclamation on Declaring a National Public Health Emergency as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak; and
WHEREAS, on March 27, 2020, the President of the United States signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the "CARES Act"); and
WHEREAS, the CARES Act established the Coronavirus Relief Fund ("CRF"), which provides aid to certain eligible local governments to address necessary expenditures due to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency; and
WHEREAS, Cook County qualified as an eligible local government and received CRF funding from the U.S Department of Treasury; and
WHEREAS, federal guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Treasury indicates that a unit of local government may transfer, grant or contract a portion of its CRF funding to organizations suffering additional expenses due to the pandemic provided that such transfer qualifies as a "necessary expenditure" to the Public Health Emergency and meets the criteria of Section 601 (d) of the Social Security Act as added by Section 5001 of the CARES Act; and
WHEREAS, Section 601(d) of the Social Security Act, as added by section 5001 of the CARES Act requires that the funds received to cover only those costs that (1) are necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency with respect to the COVID-19; (2) were not accounted for in the budget most recently approved as of March 27, 2020, (the date of enactment of the CARES Act) for the state or local government; and (3) were incurred during the period that begins on March 1, 2020, and ends on December 30, 2020; and
WHEREAS, on July 30, 2020, the Cook County Board of Commissioners approved the use of $82 million in CRF to support various initiatives of the Bureau of Economic Development, including the Legal Aid, Housing Counseling and Foreclosure Mediation Program, to...
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