Supporting Struggling Small Businesses
The pandemic and Covid-19 mitigations began inflicting immense damage to many small businesses in March of 2020. Thousands of small businesses initially applied for Illinois Business Interruption Grants. While these grants helped some small businesses, approximately 80% of eligible small businesses which applied were not awarded a grant.
Subsequently, Illinois received over 8 billion dollars in American Rescue Plan Act funds. However, only $250 million were allocated for Back to Business grant program. These funds will likely be exhausted before many struggling and eligible businesses receive grants.
Illinois still has billions of federal funds and should replenish the Back to Business grant program with an additional $300 million. Our policymakers should not pick winners and loses when there is adequate funding to support the struggling small businesses.
House Bill HB5489 will allocate an additional $300 million for the Back to Business grant program. Please ask your legislators to support this legislation so that struggling small businesses can receive the support they need to recover from a pandemic, and associated mitigations, which they could not control.
SUPPORT NEIGHBORHOOD BUSINESS DISTRICTS
SUPPORT NEIGHBORHOOD BUSINESS DISTRICTS BY REDUCING COMMERCIAL VACANCIES Struggling neighborhood business districts are often plagued by vacant properties. These commercial vacancies impact local economies, foster criminal activity and devastate communities. Local governments can reduce the property taxes owed by commercial property owners when their properties, or a portion of those properties, are vacant. While most…
SBAC Business Buzz – January 2022
SBAC Business Buzz – January 2022 Welcome to the inaugural episode of our new video series, SBAC Business Buzz, featuring Elliot Richardson’s update on SBAC initiatives impacting the Illinois small business community. Today’s 3-minute recap focuses on Back to Business Grants, Workforce, Occupational SPONSORS Fifth Third Bank Saul Ewing Arnstein Lehr Inland Bank Ntiva Daily…
Press Release: Illinois Legislative Leaders Support a Small Business Agenda
JANUARY 18, 2022 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Patti Zikmund // 773-459-3301 // patti@sbacil.org The Small Business Advocacy Council (SBAC), and a coalition of 50 state-wide business organizations, is working with Illinois political leadership on multiple pieces of legislation supporting small business for the upcoming General Assembly. The legislation will foster the recovery of small businesses,…
