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.
What 2021 Could Mean for Small Businesses
January 20, 2021 By Elliot Richardson Small Business Advisory Council SBAC President Elliot Richardson’s column discusses the Business and Economic Outlook Forum hosted by the Daily Herald Business Ledger. The piece highlights the need for legislation that provides financial resources for small businesses to retrain and hire Illinoisans who have lost their jobs or businesses…
2020 to 2021 The Changing Landscape for Employment, Insurance and Lending
While mental health issues in the workplace have been a concern for some time, this past year, COVID-19 has shown the challenges employees are facing have spiked dramatically. Hear from Jason Tremblay on how this will impact both employers and their employees in the video. Stephen Ball from Fifth Third discusses automatic forgiveness for PPP…
Univision entrevista a Neli Vasquez-Rowland
Muchas gracias a univision para su reportaje sobre nuestra campaña conjunta con a Safe Haven Foundation para mantener a las pequenas empresas aflote y para prestar asistencia a las personas mas necesitadas durante este periodo tan dificil.
