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!
PRESS RELEASE: BIG Legislation for Small Businesses
Illinois Small Business Advocates Call For Funding and an Improved Business Interruption Grant Program Illinois small businesses are fighting to recover from the pandemic. However, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity reports that out of the 40,000 businesses that applied for a Business Interruption Grant, only about 9,000 received funding. Business owners hanging on…
Black And African American Owned Businesses Should Receive Their Fair Share Of State Contracts
Black And African American Owned Businesses Should Receive Their Fair Share Of State Contracts Illinois has failed many Black and African American owned small businesses because they have been unable to procure their fair share of state contracts or receive a fair share of the revenue associated with state contracts. Indeed, the failure of Black…
BIG Legislation for Small Businesses
READ H.B 1860 HERE READ S.B 1982 HERE BIG LEGISLATION FOR SMALL BUSINESSES President Biden has signed The American Rescue Plan Act (H.R 1319) into law. Accordingly, the State of Illinois is expected to receive $7.549 billion in funds to foster recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. A robust coalition of small business advocates are asking that…
