Baking Good Legislation
On August 27, Governor Pritzker signed into law the Home-to-Market Act. The Home-to-Market Act allows producers of home-based food products to sell their goods directly to customers. This new law goes into effect on January 1, 2022. This will foster the growth of home-based entrepreneurs, known as the cottage food businesses.
Prior to the passage of the Home-to-Market Act, cottage food producers were only allowed to sell their products at farmer's markets. They were prohibited from selling at fairs or festivals, and online. Compared to other states, Illinois has one of the most restrictive regulations governing the cottage food industry. This new act will open the door for a vast increase in sales and provide cottage producers the opportunity to start or grow their businesses. The Home-to-Market Act comes at the perfect time as many of these home-based food businesses and farms were hit hard by the pandemic. During the pandemic, many farmer's markets delayed their openings, leaving cottage food producers unable to sell their products. The new bill will especially benefit women-owned businesses, as 77% of cottage food businesses are owned by women.
The SBAC is a strong advocate for home-based businesses. Check out our most recent win regarding HBBs.
Illinois Announces Back To Business Grant Program – SBAC Testifies at Joint Committee Hearing
Back to Business Grant Program AUG 13th – The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity launched the Back to Business grant program for struggling small businesses on Wednesday. On August 12th, the SBAC participated in a joint Illinois Senate hearing to learn more about the program. We explained how important it is for the…
How small businesses are being impacted by the rise in COVID-19 cases
Elliot Richardson, co-founder and president of the Small Business Advocacy Council, joins Anna Davlantes to talk about how small businesses are being impacted by the Delta variant and COVID-19 cases rising around the country. Has there been enough support to keep our small businesses running throughout the pandemic? Please translate this page to the language of…
IACCE Chamber Call with Senate President Harmon
IACCE Chamber Call with Senate President Harmon The SBAC and Illinois Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives hosted Senate President Harmon, Senator Castro and Senator Sims for a broad discussion about how the small business community and Illinois Senate can work together. There has never been a more important time to advocate for the small…
