a) An eligible applicant for financial assistance under the Program is a business operating within the State of Illinois that:

1. 1) annually earns a gross income of $20 million or less except for hotels, which may annually earn a gross income of $35 million or less;
2. 2) for purposes of determining loss, was in operation as of December 2019;
3. 3) earned less gross income during the 2020 calendar year than the 2019 calendar year due to the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that total loss exceeds $5,000;
4. 4) temporarily closed, had reduced operations, or experienced depressed consumer demand during the COVID-19 pandemic; and
5. 5) is not excluded due to select funding rounds providing financial assistance for prioritized industries.

c) The following businesses are ineligible to participate in the Program:

1. 1) independent contractors or freelance workers that do not operate a sole proprietorship;
2. 2) child care providers that have received and/or are registered for Child Care Restoration Grants;
3. 3) a private club or business that limits membership for reasons other than capacity;
4. 4) a business primarily engaged in speculative activities that develop profits from fluctuations in price rather than through normal course of trade;
5. 5) a business that earns more than a quarter of its annual net revenue from lending activities, unless the business is a non-bank or non-bank holding company certified as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI);
6. 6) a business that derives at least 33% of its gross annual revenue from legal gambling activities;
7. 7) a business engaged in pyramid sales, where a participant's primary incentive is based on the sales made by an ever-increasing number of participants;
8. 8) a business engaged in activities that are prohibited by federal law or applicable law in the jurisdiction where the business is located or conducted;
9. 9) a business that derives a majority of its income as an owner of real property that leases that property to a tenant or tenants under a lease agreement;
10. 10) a business principally engaged in teaching, instructing, counseling, or indoctrinating religion or religious beliefs, whether in a religious or secular setting;
11. 11) a government-owned business entity (except for businesses owned or controlled by a Native American tribe);
12. 12) a business primarily engaged in political or lobbying activities;
13. 13) a business that manufactures or sells at wholesale tobacco products or, liquor or that manufactures or sells firearms at wholesale or retail;
14. 14) a night club or strip club;
15. 15) an employment agency;
16. 16) a pawn shop;
17. 17) a liquor store;
18. 18) a storage facility, trailer-storage yard or junk yard;
19. 19) an establishment similar to any enumerated above;
20. 20) a business in which a majority owner has a financial or familial connection to a director, principal shareholder or leadership member of the Department or Department's partner under the program; or
21. 21) a business on the federal System for Award Management excluded parties list (https://sam/gov/content/exclusions).

d) In addition to the exclusions listed in subsection (c), a business will be excluded from participating under this Program or required to return funds received if that business does not adequately address any of the following deficiencies within a reasonable time, not to exceed 30 days:

1. 1) Noncompliant with COVID-19 Prevention Directives;
2. 2) Delinquent on payment of any State of Illinois tax obligation;
3. 3) On the Illinois Stop Payment List or in default of any contractual obligation to the Department; or
4. 4) Does not meet any other eligibility criteria established in a financial assistance application, which for this point, must be completed prior to the closing of the application window or within 30 days, whichever comes first.