28-0343-04 State Agency Racial Profiling (RP) Program

28-0343-04 State Agency Racial Profiling (RP) Program

NOTICE OF ELIGIBILITY: Only state agencies or constitutional offices outside the purview of the Illinois Office of the Governor with enforcement duties carried out by sworn law enforcement officers are eligible to receive funding for this grant (e.g., Illinois Secretary of State, Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, Illinois Department of Public Health, Illinois State Police).

I. INTRODUCTION

This grant program supports funding of racial profiling data and collection and evaluation within the State of Illinois, data analysis, and outreach under 23 CFR 1300.29. The funds in this program are only to be used for:

• Collecting and maintaining data on traffic stops;
• Evaluating the results of the data; or
• Developing and implementing programs, public outreach, and training to reduce the impact of traffic stops.

The data and evaluation part of this grant program is designed to help the State of Illinois maintain and allow public inspection of statistical information on the race and ethnicity of the driver for all motor vehicle stops made on all public roads except those classified as local or minor rural roads.

On July 18, 2003, Illinois Senate Bill 30, referred to as the Illinois Traffic and Pedestrian Stop Statistical Analysis, was signed into law to establish a four-year statewide study of data from traffic stops to identify racial bias. The study began on January 1, 2004, and was originally scheduled to end December 31, 2007. However, the legislature extended the data collection several times and also expanded the study to include data on pedestrian stops. Public Act 101-0024, which took effect on June 21, 2019, eliminated the study's scheduled end date of July 1, 2019, and extended the data collection effort.

More information and data on the Illinois Traffic Stop Study can be found at:

https://idot.illinois.gov/transportation-system/local-transportation-partners/law-enforcement/reporting/illinois-traffic-and-pedestrian-stop-study.html

Program applicants must also demonstrate how their request will help meet BSPE’s performance measures and targets. These performance measures and targets may be found in the Highway Safety Plan, now known as the Triennial Highway Safety Plan, (HSP or 3HSP) and, if necessary, the Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP). Additional supplemental materials to aid in the development of the application narrative and budget may be found on the updated IDOT website (listed below).

3HSP link: https://idot.illinois.gov/programs-and-projects/safety-programs/highway-safety/highway-safety-plan.html

SHSP link: https://idot.illinois.gov/programs-and-projects/safety-programs/highway-safety/strategic-highway-safety-plan.html

IDOT Safety Grants website: https://idot.illinois.gov/programs-and-projects/safety-programs/safety-grants.html

The grants funding opportunities under NOFO 28-0343-04 may be funded both by the State of Illinois and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The State of Illinois has designated the Illinois Department of Transportation’s (IDOT) Bureau of Safety Programs and Engineering (BSPE) the federally required State Highway Safety Office (SHSO) in Illinois.

The Grantee shall adhere to all Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) (P.L. 117-58, previously referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL)) rules and regulations under the criteria specific to their particular grant safety program. Any questions regarding the IIJA rules and regulations must be sent electronically to DOT.TSgrants@illinois.gov.

II. PROJECT GOAL

The goal of this program is to support the increasing of agency compliance and reducing racial profiling in traffic stops through collection and maintenance of data, evaluation of data, and programs and outreach to inform the public of ensuring safe traffic stops for all races.

III. GRANT PROPOSAL GUIDANCE

These grant funds are to be used in support of racial profiling data and collection and evaluation within the State of Illinois, data analysis, and outreach under 23 CFR 1300.29. The funds in this program are only to be used for:

• Collecting and maintaining data on traffic stops;
• Evaluating the results of the data; or
• Developing and implementing programs, public outreach, and training to reduce the impact of traffic stops.

Grant applicants should email DOT.TSgrants@illinois.gov to ensure the project proposal will meet one (1) or more of the three funding areas allowable under 1906 funds. When submitting an application, be specific regarding the proposed use of requested funds and how the project will address the above bullet points. Qualification for these funds is restrictive, and extensive details must be provided for application approval.

IV. EXAMPLE PROJECTS

• Data analysis
• Data collection tools
• Law enforcement training for data collection
• Public outreach events

V. PROJECT FUNDING GUIDANCE

Program applicants must provide clear data supporting need and specific ways this program and funding will improve problem areas. Program applicants must also demonstrate how their request will help meet BSPE’s performance measures and targets.

Funding for these programs is limited. Prior funding does not guarantee future awards. Applicants must:

• Demonstrate clear community need with supporting data.
• Explain how funding will meaningfully improve identified problems.
• Show alignment with IDOT’s performance goals.

Funding Restrictions and Requirements:

1. Paid media (e.g., radio/TV ads, PSA development) is NOT reimbursable.
2. Projects should strive for meaningful public engagement, especially in overrepresented and underserved communities.
3. Teaching tools are allowable.
4. No equipment-only grants allowed.

Allowable Conference

• Traffic Records Forum
o Airfare
o Hotel
o Uber/Lyft
o Per-Deim
o Registration fees

VI. INDIRECT COSTS

Indirect Costs are allowable if the applicant has a negotiated (finalized) indirect cost rate. However, the applicant must select the reimbursement method of payment to receive indirect costs (see VIII. SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT GRANT PAYMENTS).

VII. AMOUNT THRESHOLD FOR SUPPLIES vs. EQUIPMENT

While the federally and state- recognized threshold for determining if an item is a supply or equipment, more restrictive amounts may be implemented. The BSPE has historically and will continue to uphold the $1,000.00 threshold in determining supplies versus equipment. Therefore, items listed as supplies cannot exceed $999.99. Anything $1,000.00 or more is defined as equipment.

Note that there may be some variations to the rule. For example, office furniture, regardless of cost, is still recognized as equipment. Grantees are encouraged to email DOT.TSgrants@illinois.gov for any questions or concerns.

VIII. SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT GRANT PAYMENTS

State Agency applicants will need to elect a method of payment for grant-related expenditures as part of the application process. Applicants must choose either REIMBURSEMENT, where the applicant will pay for grant-related expenditures themselves and then request reimbursement from the DEPARTMENT, or INVOICE/PAYROLL, where the applicant will submit invoices directly to the DEPARTMENT for payment and/or run grant-related payrolls against the designated DEPARTMENT appropriation. A combination of the two options will not be allowed.

IX. REIMBURSEMENT/INVOICES/PAYROLLS

A. Claims for reimbursement or invoices submitted by the Grantee will be for expenses that have been incurred to complete the scope of services/responsibilities in the Agreement. If the Grantee’s claims for reimbursement or invoices are deemed by the Grantor or auditors to not be sufficiently documented for supplies and equipment purchased or other services rendered, the Grantor may require further records and supporting documents to verify the amounts, recipients and uses of all funds invoiced pursuant to the Agreement. Furthermore, if any of the deliverables or milestones in the Agreement are not satisfactorily completed, the Grantee will refund payments made under the Agreement to the extent that such payments were made for any such incomplete or unsatisfactory deliverable.

The Grantee shall submit all claims for reimbursement or invoices for payment on Grantor-approved forms and include any required supporting documentation. Claims for reimbursement and invoices are due within thirty (30) days of the end of the service period being reimbursed or within thirty (30) days of the invoice date. The Grantee may request an extension of time to submit claims for reimbursement or invoices, along with required supporting documentation. Extension requests must be submitted to the Grantor in writing. The Grantor must provide a written approval or denial of a time extension.

If the Grant includes Grantee payrolls being paid directly by the Grantor instead of being reimbursed, payroll schedules, payroll voucher reports, and timecards or or spreadsheets detailing employee names, dates and hours worked during the payroll period are due to the Grantor within thirty (30) days of the end of the pay period. The Grantee may request an extension of time to submit any required payroll documentation. Extension requests must be submitted to the Grantor in writing. The Grantor must provide a written approval or denial of a time extension.

Final claims for reimbursement, invoices, payrolls and final reports, are due to the Grantor by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, August 1, 2028. Claims and invoices submitted to the Grantor by the August 1, 2028 due date will be reviewed and processed immediately for payment. Due to lapse period restraints, if the Grantee cannot meet the August 1, 2028 deadline for submitting any final claims for reimbursement or invoices, the Grantee will be responsible for any unreimbursed expenditures and/or unpaid invoices.

Any expenditure made prior to the Agreement start date is the responsibility of the Grantee.

The Grantee must submit the claim form and supporting documentation to the Grantor pursuant to the Agreement via email at:

DOT.BSPE.Claims@illinois.gov

If issues arise in submitting the claim form and/or supporting documents, please contact the Grantor Contact listed in the Agreement or the assigned BSPE staff as assigned by BSPE.

B. All claims and supporting documents shall be signed and dated electronically by either the project director or the authorized representative of the Grantee. The claim must include:

1. The Agreement Number.
2. Requests for reimbursement must be requested on the Grantor’s designated claim form.
3. Back up documentation, which may include invoices and receipts for expenditures, must be submitted with each claim.

C. Review and Approval

1. Upon submittal of a claim, the assigned Grantor Contact listed in the Agreement or the assigned BSPE staff as assigned by BSPE reviews and checks:

a. Mathematical accuracy of the claim.
b. That requested reimbursement is consistent with items included in the approved budget.
c. That total amount requested for reimbursement is proportional to the total amount budgeted.
d. That expenditures for each line item are less than or equal to the budgeted amounts and are allowable.
e. Completion of the work.

2. Failure to provide a complete claim may delay or prevent reimbursement. If there are problems with the claim, the assigned Grantor Contact listed in the Agreement or the assigned BSPE staff as assigned by BSPE will contact the Grantee to resolve the issue so that payment can be made, assuming all expenses are allowable. This may include submission of a new or corrected claim by the Grantee.

3. The assigned Grantor Contact listed in the Agreement or the assigned BSPE staff as assigned by BSPE will review and approve or reject the claim within thirty (30) days of the Grantee’s submittal. If rejected, the claim will not be processed for payment until revisions are approved by the Grantee.

D. Manager Approval

Once a claim is approved for payment, the Grantor’s Finance Unit processes the claim for payment by the Comptroller.

E. Send Payment

Once approved, the Comptroller forwards payment either via Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) or by mailing a check to the Grantee’s Remittance Address listed on the Agreement.

X. CERTS AND ASSURANCES

Grantees shall also follow the NHTSA Certs and Assurances that will be included in the Agreement. The 2027 NHTSA Certs and Assurances document is also attached under the Question Submission Information section in this NOFO posting. While these should remain the same during 2028, they may differ. The most up-to-date NHTSA Certs and Assurances shall be included in the Agreement.

Any agency that issues a sub-award via grant, contract, or any other means of distributing the funds in order to assist the agency receiving funds directly from IDOT are required to have all such sub-awardees sign the NHTSA Certs and Assurances. The signed certs and assurances must then be submitted to the Grantor Contact listed in Exhibit C of the Agreement.

XI. APPLICATION SCORING CRITERIA

The grant applicant agency’s risk levels and project proposal information. There are 100 points in total. The grant applications will be scored as follows:

• Risk Level – 30 points
• Application Agency Information – 2 points
• Agency Experience and Qualifications – 20 points
• Problem Statement – 15 points
• History or Background Impact on Problem Statement – 5 points
• Data and Method of Evaluation – 10 points
• IDOT Planning and Assessment Documents – 6 points
• Objective(s) – 5 points
• Performance Measures – 5 points
• Deliverables – 2 points

XII. ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE AND REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL STATE FISCAL YEAR 2028 OPPORTUNITIES

NOTE: Some of these funding line-items may be unallowable for this specific grant program NOFO. Rather, this is guidance regarding all BSPE-issued SFY 2028 NHTSA program grants.

A. EMPLOYEES PERCENTAGE OF WORK

Full-time employees that work a percentage of their time on a grant, shall be paid on an hourly rate instead of a percentage of the overall salary. Percentages of time is not acceptable.

B. EMPLOYEES WITH MONTHLY OR ANNUAL SALARIES

Full-time employees that work on this grant cannot be paid their monthly or annual salaries. NHTSA requires all salaries to be broken down by hourly rates.

C. PART-TIME EMPLOYEES

Part-time employees shall be paid on an hourly rate. Percentages of time is not acceptable. Part-time grant funded personnel will not be eligible for leave time reimbursement.

D. FRINGE FOR NON-ENFORCEMENT PART-TIME EMPLOYEES

Fringe can be paid for non-enforcement staff members based on their hours of work associated with the specific grant. Example: If a staff member works five hours for the grant, IDOT will reimburse up to the fringe rate for the five hours worked at the hourly rate.

E. TRAVEL

All Grantee travel shall adhere to the Illinois Central Management Services (CMS) Travel Guide. The Travel Guide may be found at: https://cms.illinois.gov/employees/travel.html.

F. PROGRAMMATIC INCOME/IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS

Program Income will no longer be collected unless the grant applicant submits a proposal to BSPE and then received written approval for the collection and use of program income/in-kind contributions.

If approved, program income/in-kind contributions funds must be treated as federal dollars and must abide by all state and federal guidelines. These funds are to be expended in the grant year they were collected.

G. INVENTORY CONTROL

1. Any items purchased over $999.99, are required to be tracked and monitored by both the Grantee's agency and IDOT. This inventory will be monitored throughout the grant program. This inventory list must contain name of item, location of item, and unique identifier number for each item. How this is established is up to the Grantee's discretion but must have the required information described above.

2. If equipment above $999.99 is replaced with a new item and the previous was purchased with federal funds, the previous item will need to be turned into IDOT or, if it has reached its end of life, it must disposed of properly by the grantee agency. IDOT must be informed of what was disposed of and when. Then inventory control lists must reflect this change. If it is not returned or disposed of properly the new item will not be reimbursed.

3. The Safety Grant Administrator, Safety Grant Specialist, Grantor Contact listed in Exhibit C of the Agreement, or any other appropriate Grantor employee may inspect annually any item purchased more than $999.99.
4. Equipment purchased with grant funds of $10,000.00 or more will have the BSPE 36 Major Equipment Inventory Inspection form completed and put in the project file. The Safety Grant Administrator, Safety Grant Specialist, Grantor Contact listed in Exhibit C of the Agreement, or any other appropriate Grantor employee will inspect annually any item purchased more than $10,000.00.

4. Equipment Monitoring:

a. All pieces of equipment will be monitored until disposed of. Grantees are required to keep detailed information on where the equipment is and must present it when requested by IDOT. Equipment is only to be disposed of when it is no longer useful and IDOT must be informed of the disposal.

b. Grantees are tasked with the disposal of the equipment following notification and approval by the Grantor.

H. TECHNOLOGY GUIDELINES FOR GRANTEES

1. Personal/Home Internet:

a. IDOT will not provide salary stipends, expense reimbursements, payments on behalf of grantees, or any reimbursement (via Purchasing Card or direct bill) to cover costs associated with use of personal/home internet services used while performing business-related activities.

2. Computers/Laptop/Tablet Purchases:

a. If computers/laptops/tablets are approved in the Grantee's budget, prior approval from the Grantor Contact listed in Exhibit C of the Agreement is required before making the purchase. Computing devices/laptops/computers have a limit of $999.99 dollars.

b. If the Grantee is replacing a computing device and the previous computing device was purchased with federal funds, it must be returned to the Grantor after the new computing device is received.

c. Any purchase request over $999.99 requires justification with required documentation submitted to their Safety Grant Administrator, Safety Grant Specialist, Grantor Contact Listed in Exhibit C of the Agreement, or another identified BSPE representative prior to purchase. After reviewing, BSPE will deem it allowable or denied.
 
d. Computing device/laptop/computer charges must meet the same fundamental standards as all other charges to federal awards. Criteria for approval determination of a computing device include:

i. They must be reasonable.
ii. There must be an informed, prudent decision regarding the cost, utility, and value to the project.
iii. They must be allowable.
iv. They must be directly allocable.
v. The primary/principal use of the computer and related costs must be directly allocable to the purpose, goals, and activities of the funded projects.
vi. They must be necessary for the project.
vii. Computers must be essential for project activities and use should be sufficiently tracked to be adequately justified in the event of audit.

I. LINE-ITEM/BUDGET REVISIONS/AMENDMENTS TRANSFERS

Grantor requires the Grantee to provide prior written notification of any intended line-item transfers or other updates to the Agreement budget, regardless of dollar amount. Grantees must submit the intended updates to the Grantor Contact listed in Exhibit C of the Agreement using the Budget Revision Request & Approval BSPE 02 form. No changes to the budget are allowed without prior approval from the Grantor. Non-approved changes will not be eligible for reimbursement.

Details

• Awarding Agency: Transportation
• CSFA Number: 494-10-0343
• CSFA Popular Name: NHTSA Section 402, Section 405, and 1906 funds and State of Illinois funds
• Funding Opportunity Number: 28-0343-04
• Assistance Listings Number: 20.600, 20.611, 20.616
• Announcement Type: Initial Announcement
• Award Type: Competitive
• Total Funding Available: $1,500,000.00
• Expected Number of Awards: 3
• Funding Sources: Federal Or Federal Pass Through, State
• Indirect Costs Allowed: No
• Posted Date: 2026-04-27
• Award Period: 2027-07-01 – 2028-06-30

Funding Source Description

State Funds, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), or current funding bill if IIJA is replaced. State Funds, and IIJA federal funding Sections 402, 405, and 1906 sections depending on the specific grant objectives.

Allowable Budget Items: Personnel, Fringe, Travel, Equipment, Supplies, Contractual Services and Sub Awards, Consultant, Occupancy, Research and Development, Telecommunications, Training and Education, Direct Administrative Costs, and Miscellaneous Costs.

Funding Restrictions

See Funding Source Description.

State Award Notices

Awards should be issued prior to the grant start date.

Administrative and National Policy Requirements

This NOFO is restricted by policies set forth in the IIJA (P.L. 177-58), 2 CFR 200, and GATA.

Reporting

The Periodic Financial Report is required at a minimum of four (4) times per year but may be required more frequently. Each Grantee's final reporting frequency shall be in the Agreement.

Performance Plan Reports are due monthly within Euna (previously referred to as Amplifund).

Additional Information

https://idot.illinois.gov/programs-and-projects/safety-programs/safety-grants.html

2 CFR 200- https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200

23 CFR 1300- https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-23/chapter-III/part-1300

3HSP- https://idot.illinois.gov/programs-and-projects/safety-programs/highway-safety/highway-safety-plan.html

General Traffic Safety Grants- https://idot.illinois.gov/programs-and-projects/safety-programs/safety-grants.html

Cycle Rider Safety- https://idot.illinois.gov/travel-and-maps/safety/campaigns/start-seeing-motorcycles.html

Evaluations- https://idot.illinois.gov/form-and-reports/safety-reports.html

Impaired Driving (General)- https://idot.illinois.gov/travel-and-maps/safety/campaigns/drive-sober.html

Impaired Driving Task Force- https://idot.illinois.gov/travel-and-maps/safety/campaigns/drive-sober/impaired-driving-task-force.html

Occupant Protection- https://idot.illinois.gov/travel-and-maps/safety/campaigns/buckle-up-illinois.html

Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP)- https://idot.illinois.gov/programs-and-projects/safety-programs/highway-safety/strategic-highway-safety-plan.html

TRCC (traffic records)- https://idot.illinois.gov/programs-and-projects/safety-programs/illinois-traffic-records-safety-coordinating-committee.html