Learn about business resources that are available to start or grow your business in the City of Chicago. Topics will include obtaining a business license, connecting with a neighborhood business development center and utilizing business education programs.
Illinois Small Business Owner Highlight
Leslie Allison-Seei is the president of Robust Promotions LLC, an award-winning turnkey service provider offering prize consulting, legal documents and support, microsite infrastructure, graphic design and much more, in Villa Park, Ill. Together with her husband Greg, they’ve worked with restaurant chains and global brands such as Popeyes and Häagen Dazs, among others.
Illinois Events
Wednesday, April 24, 2024 |
10:00am CT
Workshop | IL
Thursday, April 25, 2024 |
3:00pm ET
Workshop | National
Entrepreneurs and small business owners drive economic innovation through the invention of new products, technologies and ideas, which are all commonly referred to as intellectual property (IP).
Thursday, May 2, 2024 |
10:00am CT
Workshop | IL
Are you trapped in the cycle of predatory loans, struggling to break free from the financial burden they bring? You aren't alone.
Thursday, May 2, 2024 |
2:00pm ET
Workshop | National
To help prevent and combat money laundering, tax fraud and other financial crimes, a recent bipartisan law requires many companies and small businesses to report beneficial ownership information (BOI) to the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
Illinois Policy
Browse our latest state-based regulatory comments and legislative testimony in this area below, or click the button to view all records.
Friday, March 1, 2024
Small Business Majority’s Illinois policy agenda outlines policies that advance and promote equitable pathways for entrepreneurship while centering small businesses as the key to a thriving and inclusive economy. The state’s 1.3 million small businesses employ 2.4 million people (about 44.1% of the private workforce), with firms without employees making up 80% of all owned businesses.
Tuesday, March 28, 2023
On March 28, Johnathon Bush, owner of Not Just Cookies provided testimony before the Illinois House Financial Institutions and Licensing Committee on HB 2234, legislation that would extend consumer protections for small business borrowers.
Tuesday, March 28, 2023
On March 28, Small Business Majority's Illinois Director Tasha Brown testified before the Illinois House Financial Institutions and Licensing Committee on behalf of HB 2234, legislation that would enact critical protections for small business borrowers in Illinois.
Friday, June 25, 2021
Small Business Majority wrote to Illinois Governor Pritzker in support of HB117, a measure that would expand Illinois Secure Choice so that employers with at least five or more employees may participate and auto-enroll their employees. This is an important step to supporting very small businesses and their employees who are unable to access traditional retirement programs, particularly those who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Illinois Research
Published:
Wed, 04/03/2024
While small businesses employ nearly half (46.4%) of the private workforce in the United States, many are struggling to hire and retain a ready workforce. Our poll of Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas small business owners reveals strong support for legislative solutions that would remove barriers for justice-impacted individuals by making reforms to occupational licensing and debt-based driver’s license suspensions. These politically diverse small business owners believe these measures would enable employers to tap into an underutilized workforce and open up opportunities for entrepreneurship.
Published:
Wed, 04/03/2024
Small Business Majority’s new poll of Illinois small business owners reveals strong support for legislative solutions that would remove barriers for justice-impacted individuals by making reforms to occupational licensing and debt-based driver’s license suspensions. These politically diverse small business owners believe these measures would enable employers to tap into an underutilized workforce and open up opportunities for entrepreneurship.
Published:
Wed, 01/25/2023
Small businesses in Illinois are still struggling to hire and retain a ready workforce, persistent challenges in the wake of the pandemic.
