The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan passed through Congress along party lines and signed into law by President Joe Biden last week is welcome assistance for many in Peoria-area local government. In addition to $1,400 stimulus payments for many Americans and boosted unemployment benefits, the bill includes $7.5 billion for The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention to combat the coronavirus. The bill also includes $140 million in relief funding for Peoria, Tazewell, and Woodford counties. For the City of Peoria, the one-time relief funds are welcome to blunt the blow of a painful budget readjustment cycle sparked by reduced revenues as the COVID-19 pandemic set in last spring.