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Illinois Policymakers Should Support Small Businesses

The pandemic and COVID-19 mitigations began inflicting immense damage to small businesses in March 2020.  Thousands of small businesses initially applied for Illinois Business Interruption Grants.  While these grants helped some small businesses, approximately 80% of applicants were not awarded a grant.

Illinois then received over $8 billion in American Rescue Plan Act funds.  However, only $250 million was allocated to the new grant program for struggling small businesses.  These funds will likely be exhausted before many eligible businesses receive grants.  With billions of ARPA funds remaining, policymakers should allocate an additional $300 million for grants to struggling small businesses.

Illinois politicians should finish what they started.  They should replenish the Back to Business grant program and promptly get funds to struggling small businesses, some of whom have waited almost two years for a grant to help offset the damage caused by the pandemic and mitigations established to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Please fill out the call to action below and ask your legislators to support struggling small businesses.  Thank you for supporting the small business community!

Insights Archive

Chicago’s Cut Red Tape Agenda

By growthzone | January 3, 2021

CHICAGO’S CUT RED TAPE AGENDA PUBLIC WAY USE SIGN PERMITS Small and local businesses need City Council approval to display a simple sign that protrudes over the sidewalk by less than an inch. The fight to allow small businesses to display signs that protrude over the public way without City Council approval has been ongoing…

Main Street Lending Proposal

By growthzone | January 2, 2021

 SUMMARY   The Federal Reserve established the Main Street Lending Program (the “Program“) to help aid small and medium-sized for-profit businesses and nonprofit organizations who were in sound financial condition before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and who were unable to get aid under any of the other COVID-19 related relief programs (e.g. under…

PPP Funding for Businesses and Non-Profits Webinar

By growthzone | January 1, 2021

WATCH: Congressman Brad Schneider from Illinois’ 10th district, Bo Steiner from the Small Business Administration, and Elliot Richardson President of the SBAC spend one hour answering questions about the second round of PPP relief. The SBAC is grateful to have had the chance to participate in this webinar on PPP Funding for Businesses and Non-Profits.…

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