Du Quoin and West Frankfort to Access $1 Million in Lending Power
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[A room full of happy officials looked on proudly as representatives from the United States Department of Agriculture and the Southern Illinois Coal Belt Champion Community signed the paperwork that locked in $1 million in new low-interest business loan money. The Intermediary Relending Program (IRP) through USDA's Rural Development is designed to assist new and expanding small to medium sized businesses develop and grow.
Du Quoin is supplying a $33,333 match for $700,000 in earmarked loan funds for the community. West Frankfort is supplying a $16,667 match for its $300,000-plus share.
The IRP loan fund is a joint effort between the cities of West Frankfort and Du Quoin. West Frankfort Mayor Marion Presley and Economic Development Director Don Gass joined Du Quoin Commissioner Kathy West in celebrating the signing. Mayor Presley said he was very pleased with the funding and already had a tire business in West Frankfort that is interested in using the money to expand. Commissioner West indicated that the money in Du Quoin is being used to fuel commercial activity in the downtown business district, where the signing occurred. "If we come back to downtown Du Quoin in a year, I think it will look completely different here," she said. "We are using this loan fund in partnership with TIF proceeds to drive new and expanded growth here."
Funds from each are being used as a catalyst to bring Ace Hardware back to Du Quoin, to fund feasibility studies for Alongi's, Two Raggedy Sisters and the St. Nicholas Hotel and to renovate the London Place building for a new Kabinets USA business.
The results of the closing were almost immediate. With the ink barely dry on the paper, USDA's Matt Harris made a quick phone call to his Champaign office that released nearly $200,000 in deposits to SICBCC that will fund two Du Quoin loans. Harris said the Intermediary Relending Program is popular because it encourages partnerships with banks and other lending institutions, sometimes being able to fill in financial gaps between business needs and bank limitations. He commended SICBCC for working closely with local banking institutions to accomplish numerous successful loans that have led to business growth.
According to SICBCC President Rex Duncan, the IRP project couldn't have happened if Du Quoin and West Frankfort hadn't collaborated. Duncan said good things happen when communities work together. "We have to leave what happens on the basketball courts and footballs fields behind us and work together," Duncan said. "Because West Frankfort and Du Quoin will grow as a result of this cooperation, that's good for the entire region."
Mayor Presley agreed, observing how closely West Frankfort and Benton now work together through the Franklin County Economic Development Corporation, or FREDCO. "We were always rivals with Benton, but now we don't think twice about working together. That's good for the whole region," Presley said.
With the inclusion of the new IRP loan money, SICBCC lending assets now total nearly $1.5 million. Duncan said that once this round of IRP funding is responsibly lent SICBCC hopes to be able to seek a new round of IRP funding. He pointed out that SICBCC has to repay the loans to USDA and that IRP loans are only for those business entities who have the ability and willingness to securely collateralize loans. SICBCC is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation that provides economic and community development assistance in parts of Franklin, Perry, and Williamson Counties, including the communities of Du Quoin, Benton, West Frankfort, Zeigler, Royalton, Hurst, Bush, Cambria, and Colp. Operational since 2002, the Champion Community has assisted in acquiring infrastructure, public safety, housing, and economic development assistance through USDA and other federal agencies. For more information about the IRP loan program, contact SICBCC treasurer Jeff Ashauer at (618) 357-2940.
Our appreciation to Rex Duncan