The Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) provided a technical assistance briefing outlining mandatory prequalification and pre-award steps for organizations seeking Illinois state grants.

The presenter said the session is intended to “equip you with the necessary tools, insights, and resources to streamline the grant application process” and emphasized compliance with the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act, commonly known as GATA. “The primary purpose of GATA is to significantly enhance transparency and accountability across all Illinois state grants,” the presenter said.

Why it matters: GATA establishes consistent standards that align state and federal guidelines for grant costs, audits and procedures. ICJIA told applicants that meeting these requirements reduces administrative burden and is a precondition for state funding.

Key steps and requirements: ICJIA laid out seven essential steps applicants must complete before applying for state grants. The presenter listed obtaining a FEIN/EIN; registering that FEIN with the State of Illinois; signing up for and registering with SAM.gov to obtain a unique entity identifier; creating and linking an Illinois.gov account; and completing the required internal controls questionnaire.

On FEIN/EINs, the presenter explained that a FEIN is a nine-digit number issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) used to identify organizations for tax and grant eligibility. The session advised most applicants to apply online through the IRS website, noting that “you must complete the entire online application in just 1 continuous session since there is no save and resume feature.” The presenter also stated that applicants receive their EIN instantly after successful verification and provided an IRS contact number given during the session.

Applicants were instructed to confirm their organization’s good-standing status on the Secretary of State website (stated in the session as isos.gov) and to verify they are not on Illinois’ stop-payment list before beginning an application.

Registration with the federal System for Award Management (SAM.gov) was described as a required step to obtain a permanent unique entity identifier used for federal and state compliance. ICJIA emphasized that the SAM-issued identifier is a permanent organizational identifier used across grant systems.

Finally, ICJIA walked through the State of Illinois grantee registration process on the grants portal, advising applicants to select the grantee create option, follow on-screen prompts, and submit accurate organization details. The presenter said the portal automatically initiates a prequalification verification process upon submission and that the system reviews eligibility in detail as part of the pre-award process.

What ICJIA recommends next: Complete the seven registration and verification steps before submitting grant applications; ensure organization names match state records exactly; and follow the grants portal prompts carefully to avoid delays in prequalification.

The session closed with the presenter thanking attendees and wishing applicants success in their grant efforts and potential partnership with the Criminal Justice Information Authority.