KEWANEE, Ill. — FEMA has opened a Disaster Recovery Center to help victims of July storms that struck Kewanee and elsewhere in Illinois.
The center opened on Wednesday, Oct. 2 and is available to held residents start recovery efforts related to the storms and tornadoes that hit between July 13-16. FEMA officials said specialists will be able to help residents apply for federal assistance, answer questions and prepare their homes for future disasters.
The center is located at 4424 Walter Payton Memorial Highway in Kewanee and is open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day of the week.
Prior to the center's opening, President Joe Biden signed a disaster declaration for Illinois that authorized FEMA's Individual Assistance program for residents of Cook, Fulton, Henry, St. Clair, Washington, Will and Winnebago Counties. The program can provide grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to help pay for uninsured losses and more. Anyone interested in applying for assistance can call FEMA at 800-621-3362 or apply online here.
Finally, residents of the same counties are also eligible for tax relief from the IRS. Anyone residing or operating a business in the above-listed counties can delay some of their tax filings through Feb. 3, 2025.
According to a press release from the IRS, that filing deadline extension applies to:
- Individuals who had a valid extension to file their 2023 return due to run out on Oct. 15, 2024. The IRS noted, however, that because tax payments related to these 2023 returns were due on April 15, 2024, those payments are not eligible for this relief.
- Businesses with an original or extended due date including, among others, calendar-year partnerships and calendar-year S corporations whose extensions ran out on Sept. 16 and and calendar-year corporations whose 2023 extensions run out on Oct. 15, 2024.
Anyone receiving tax relief who still receives a late filing or penalty notice is advised to call the number on the notice to have the IRS abate the penalty.
