Lisa Mersinger

Madison County will distribute $1.7 million to small businesses that were hit especially hard by stay-at-home orders earlier this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. The main goal of the funding is to help small businesses cover existing or new costs that were caused by the pandemic.

BELLEVILLE — The actions Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker took to curb the spread of the coronavirus are having an impact on local organizations trying to…