The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has approved a disaster declaration for the severe storms and flooding that impacted six counties in northeastern Illinois from Aug. 16–18, 2025. The declaration includes the Illinois counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties. These areas qualify for both physical disaster loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) through the SBA. Businesses and some not-for-profits can borrow up to $2 million for physical damages. The filing deadline to return applications for physical property damage is Friday, May 15. The deadline to return economic injury applications is Wednesday, December 16. Residents can apply for the disaster assistance online at sba.gov/funding-programs/disaster-assistance. 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.