Join Small Business Majority, Business Consortium Fund and U.S. Bank for a free virtual workshop on growing your network and growing your business. Discover how intentional networking can open doors to new customers, partners and resources for your business.
Illinois Small Business Owner Highlight
As Sylvie Hutchings approached 50, her professional growth began to stall at her corporate job. Feeling like there were fewer opportunities as she got older, the former fraud analyst decided it was finally time to realize her lifelong dream of becoming a small business owner. She searched for a franchise she could purchase so she could focus on running the business rather than worrying about creating her own marketing and building name recognition.
Illinois Events
miércoles, junio 10, 2026 |
11:00am PT / 2:00 pm ET
Workshop | National
Illinois Policy
Browse our latest state-based regulatory comments and legislative testimony in this area below, or click the button to view all records.
viernes, enero 9, 2026
Illinois is home to more than 1.4 million small businesses, employing 2.4 million people and accounting for 99.6% of all businesses in the state. They play a significant role in our state economy and workforce. However, national economic uncertainty coupled with an especially fast-changing business landscape has required small businesses to adapt, yet again.
jueves, julio 17, 2025
On July 17, Small Business Majority Senior Fellow Geri Sanchez Aglipay sent a letter to Illinois senators urging them to support SB 1784, legislation that automates the process of sealing criminal records to help our fellow Illinoisans get back to work and strengthen communities.
lunes, mayo 20, 2024
On May 20, Midwest Director Tasha Brown testified infront of the Illinois House Financial Institutions and Licensensing Committee on behalf of SB 2234, which would enact critical protections for small business borrowers in Illinois that are falling prey to predatory lending practices.
martes, marzo 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.
Illinois Research
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.
Published:
Wed, 01/25/2023
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. One viable solution to their persistent workforce challenges is the passing of Clean Slate policies, which seal and expunge certain criminal records and allow justice-impacted individuals to seek employment opportunities and entrepreneurship. Individual state analyses of small business responses in Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas found widespread support for Clean Slate policies at the state and federal level.
El programa de ahorros para la jubilación Illinois Secure Choice, que fue comulgado como ley en enero de 2015, ayuda a las pequeñas empresas que luchan por ofrecer beneficios de jubilación a sus empleados y brinda seguridad de jubilación a los 2.5 millones de habitantes de Illinois que no tienen acceso a un plan de jubilación en conexión con su empleo. A continuación se muestra una descripción general de lo que las pequeñas empresas deben saber sobre el programa.
