Project NOW is receiving an increase in this year’s Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, funding as the Rock Island nonprofit claims this year will also see an increase in need.
LIHEAP Director Jackie Bennett said the funding, totaling $8.8 million, up from $7.1 million last year, is vital as energy costs continue to rise.
“A lot of our families are making decisions between paying for prescription or possibly paying another bill, and this program helps assist them during those higher cost months to…sometimes it's also coming down to putting food on the table and making those decisions,” Bennett said in a phone interview with WVIK. “So if this program were to go away, it would be very detrimental to a lot of families.”
Last year the program, which is administered by Project NOW to residents in Henry, Mercer and Rock Island counties, assisted 7,705 households, an increase of 200 households from 2024.
Bennett said adults aged 60 or older, persons with a disability, families with children under the age of five, and households that are disconnected from their utilities or have less than 25% left in their propane tank can apply in the first month. Those with propane are especially urged to seek relief early.
“Typically, those demands increase in the winter, and so those prices kind of drive up,” Bennett said. “So we increase— we encourage people that if they're 25% or below to apply early to also benefit from a lower cost, so their dollar will go farther.”
Bennett said that anyone interested in applying needs to provide proof of household income for the last 30 days and proof of Social Security numbers for all household members. If residents applied last year, the nonprofit will already have those numbers on file. Finally, the nonprofit will need to see current utility bills.
After November 1, the eligibility will expand to those whose income is below 60% of the state median income. If households are customers of Ameren Illinois, ComEd, Nicor Gas, North Shore Gas, and Peoples Gas, then their income must be below 300% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines to receive a benefit from LIHEAP. More information is available on the nonprofit’s website.
Bennett said the nonprofit receives a high volume of calls in the first few days of administering funds. Therefore, she recommends that people go online and upload documentation, which will reduce the nonprofit’s time responding to applicants.
“And we are encouraging people to just go ahead and go to our website and complete our pre-screening, our online application, and let us determine income eligibility, and then also screen across different programs that we may have available for them,” Bennett said.
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump, for a sixth time, proposedeliminating the program entirely, claiming it is “unnecessary.” A House committee in June approved the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, 2027. That boosts LIHEAP funding by $10 million for a total budget of $4.055 billion.
However, passage of the fiscal year 2027 budget remains in limbo as the House adjourned until after the November midterm elections. The Senate committee responsible for appropriating LIEHAP funding has not yet met to mark up a draft bill. A stopgap funding bill was signed in September to fund the government through early December.
