Online LIHEAP Application and Information

Here at Community Contacts Inc., we strive to reach as many of our customers in need that we can. This program year, we are offering online applications for our customers that live in Kane and DeKalb County Illinois to offer more access to our Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

While we are now offering online applications, we will still be offering our phone and in-person appointments in our offices in Elgin, Aurora and DeKalb. If you would be more comfortable meeting with an intake worker to submit your application, you can call us at (847) 697-4400 to schedule an appointment, or visit www.liheap.as.me!

The state-implemented priority periods will still apply to all online applications that are submitted. Households must meet at least one of the eligibility requirements to fit into the priority periods. The priority periods are as follows:

October:

• Households with at least one member who is 60 or over
• Households with at least one member who is legally disabled, and receiving a federally issued disability check.
• Households with at least one member who is 5 or under.

November

• Households with at least one member who meets the October period requirements.
• Households that have a current disconnection notice for one or more of their utilities, or are physically disconnected from one or more of their utilities.

December – End of Program:

• Open Enrollment

Before you begin your online application, please view the Universal Signature Page (Left) and either print and sign it, or download it and sign it on your device. You may then complete your online application.

Once you submit the application, you will be prompted to upload your supporting documents into our secure online portal. You must submit your completed Universal Signature Page here as well.

• What if I am not in the priority period?
  • Your application will be held until you are eligible, and it will be processed by a CCI staff member as soon as possible. Your status letter will arrive 45 days after the application is entered. 

• What should I do if my application is denied for not being in the priority period?
  • You will not need to reapply unless there is a separate, unrelated issue with your application– we will be reprocessing applications submitted in the wrong priority period when open enrollment begins on December 1st.

• What should I do if my application is denied?
  • If your application is denied, you can call us at (847) 697-4400 and we’d be happy to help you understand our decision and, if possible, overturn the denial on your application.

• What if I don’t feel comfortable or don’t know how to submit an online application?
  • We understand that this application process will not work for all of our customers. That is why we are still offering in-person appointments. If you cannot or don’t want to submit an online application, you are welcome to call us at (847) 697-4400 or visit www.liheap.as.me (when available) to schedule an appointment in one of our intake sites.

• How will my application be processed?
  • Your application and documents will be received by a Community Contacts employee and entered. If we will require any additional documentation, we will contact you by phone or email. Applications take about 30 days to process on average.

• How will I know the status of my application?
  • You will receive a letter in the mail in about 45 days after your application is entered.

• Why have I not heard anything from you about my application?
  • We sincerely appreciate your patience as we process yours, and the rest of our customers applications. We are currently short staffed and are doing our best to serve our customers in a timely manner. If your application has been entered and processing for more than 45 days, feel free to call us at (847) 697-4400 and we can investigate the matter further.

• How long will it take to see a payment on the bill?
  • After processing, it can take up to 1 or 2 billing cycles for our payment to show up on your bill.

• What should I do if I get a disconnection notice/get disconnected after I’ve submitted my application?
  • We recommend that you notify the utility that you’ve applied for LIHEAP. We also recommend contacting the utility and trying to set up some type of payment plan (our benefit will not change due to a payment plan). After you have done those things, please call us at (847) 697-4400 so we can process your application as an emergency re-connection assistance application.

• What should I do if I’m planning to move very soon?
  • We suggest that you wait to apply until you are moved into your new home. Once you are moved in, call your county’s LIHEAP office and schedule an appointment. If you’ve already submitted your application with us, please notify us immediately and we can withdraw it.
  • Why?
    • It can take up to 90 days for your benefit to be completely paid to the utility. A customer can only receive a benefit once per program year. If you are approved and your benefit is paid to a closed account, it will be refunded to the original grant it was paid from and you will have to wait to reapply until the next program year.

• What should I do if I have already moved?
  • If your application has not been completely processed and paid, you can call and notify us of the situation and we can work to a solution together. If the benefit has already been paid, it is between you and the utility to transfer funds if it is a possibility.

• Why is my benefit amount so much less than before?
  • The following is direct wording from the state regarding this matter:

If the customer isn’t satisfied with that response from the LAA [Local Administering Agency] staff, then it is within the customer’s appeal rights to appeal the amount of benefit they have received.  The LAA [Local Administering Agency] would need to review the customer’s file and set up an Informal Conference with the customer to explain the same thing.  The Informal Conference is the first step of a formal appeal.

Additionally, some customers have complained the LIHEAP benefit is split 50/50 between the natural gas and electric accounts (which is a change from last year where it was 2/3s gas and 1/3 electric); that change was made to reflect current price ratios throughout the state.