Illinois announces first $24 million in ‘Back to Business’ grants
By PETER HANCOCK
Capitol News Illinois
phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com
SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration on Thursday announced the awarding of the first $24 million in “Back to Business” grants, a program funded with federal relief aid to help businesses recover and reopen from the pandemic.
The announcement took place at a Mexican restaurant in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago, Mi Tierra en la Villita, which was awarded a $150,000 grant.
“This is a tremendous blessing. Like many businesses in our community, we have faced hard times during the pandemic,” said Priscilla Fuentes, whose father owns the restaurant. “My dad, Ezequiel Fuentes, had cut into his personal savings when the pandemic first hit. At times, we barely broke even. But we always felt committed to delivering the food and service our community counts on.”
The Back to Business, or B2B grant program, administered through the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, will provide a total of $250 million in aid to small businesses that have experienced losses during the pandemic. The funds come from the federal American Rescue Plan Act and can be used for such things as rehiring staff and paying other operating expenses.
Grant amounts can range from $5,000 to $150,000, depending on the amount of losses a business experienced. Preference is given to businesses with $5 million or less in annual revenue as well as those that did not receive funding under the previous Business Interruption Grant, or BIG program.
“After the success of last year’s Business Interruption Grants, which provided $290 million in relief to over 9,000 small businesses across our state, it was clear that these investments have had a big impact,” Pritzker said.
Applications for the remaining funds will remain open through Oct. 13. More information about the program and a link to an online application form can be found on the DCEO website.
Of the grants announced Thursday, 81 percent went to businesses that applied to the BIG program but did not receive funding; 71 percent went to businesses in disproportionately impacted areas or low-income zip codes that experienced high rates of COVID-19; 66 percent went to hard-hit industries such as restaurants and taverns, hotels, arts organizations and salons; and just over half went to minority-owned businesses.
To encourage more businesses to apply, Sylvia Garcia, acting director of DCEO, said the agency has recruited a network of “navigators” to help steer businesses through the application process.
“We have teamed up with community groups like Little Village Chamber of Commerce and the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and over 100 other community partners to make sure that we’re going door-to-door providing one-on-one technical assistance and really getting the support to anyone who needs it to apply for this program,” she said.
She said the community navigators are “instrumental to our equity efforts and connecting with the people who need it most – people of color, rural communities and others that are hard to reach – and making sure this relief goes to those that were hardest hit and those that need the help the most.”
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government and distributed to more than 400 newspapers statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
Local News
Boys State Track Finals | St. Laurence’s Harley Rizzs wins 100m title, helps Vikings to 400m relay gold
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent St. Laurence junior Harley Rizzs was a member of the Vikings football team that earned a 2023 Class 4A state runner-up trophy the day after Thanksgiving. He bettered that two days before Memorial Day when he became the first St. Laurence track athlete to win an individual state championship.…
‘Curtis got it done’
Spread the love. Pete’s Fresh Market opens at 87/Kedzie . By Tim Hadac A grand opening that wasn’t supposed to happen…happened in Ashburn this month. For 18th Ward Ald. Derrick G. Curtis, architect of the development, it was a time of joy and nervous energy. “I didn’t get any sleep last night,” he told several…
Learning history is fun, honest
Spread the love Seventh and eighth graders from Our Lady of the Snows School clamor to rub the nose of a bust of President Abraham Lincoln during a field trip to Springfield earlier this month. Rubbing the nose of the famous bust of Honest Abe–a part of the tomb of the nation’s 16th President–is said…
Fight to save ShotSpotter is still alive
Spread the love. By Tim Hadac Editor Clear-Ridge Reporter & NewsHound (708)-496-0265 . As you have read several times in the Clear-Ridge Reporter & NewsHound, the people of Clearing and Garfield Ridge are clear in their support of keeping ShotSpotter technology deployed in Chicago, to help police fight crime. So I won’t go over old…
63rd Street getting a facelift
Spread the love. Quinn hails federally funded resurfacing project . By Tim Hadac The old joke about there being not four seasons, but just two in Chicago each year—winter and construction—was apparent late last week as heavy equipment arrived in Clearing. As 13th Ward Ald. Marty Quinn and other city officials gathered for an outdoor…
Tabares blasts Foxx over ‘no seizure’ idea
Spread the love. Brands State’s Attorney as ‘pro-criminal’ . By Tim Hadac Twenty-third Ward Ald. Silvana Tabares this week blasted outgoing Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx over a possible change in how crimes are—or are not–prosecuted.Foxx recently said she is considering a plan to decline to prosecute weapons and drug crimes detected by routine…
School can get messy
Spread the love Second grader Weronika Kozielec squirts ketchup on the head of Our Lady of the Snows School Principal Christina Avis at a recent gathering in the parking lot of the school, 4810 S. Leamington. But the condiment was not all that was dumped on the principal. Students, faculty and staff laughed and cheered…
Brother, what a day today is
Spread the love. By Peggy Zabicki Your correspondent in West Lawn 3633 W. 60th Place • (773) 504-9327 . May 24 is National Brothers Day. The word “brother” comes from the Latin root for “frater” and the Proto-Germanic word “brothar” which itself comes from the Proto-Indo-European root “bhrater.” I’m sure everyone already knows that, but…
Neighbors
Riot Fest abandons Chicago park for SeatGeek Stadium
Spread the loveBy Bob Bong Last year, Lyrical Lemonade moved its Summer Smash hip-hop music festival from Chicago’s Douglass Park to Bridgeview’s SeatGeek Stadium. Thousands of fans poured into the stadium at 7100 S. Harlem Ave. over the course of three days and, by most accounts, enjoyed the experience. Summer Smash returned to SeatGeek this…
Comings & Goings: Orland Park Summerfest returns this weekend
Spread the loveBy Bob Bong Back for a second go round this weekend is the Orland Park Area Chamber of Commerce’s Summerfest. The event combines a carnival, live music, an array of dining options and a car show, at the 153rd Street Metra Station location in Orland Park and will run from Friday, June 14,…
Repair Cafe this Saturday at Township of Lyons HQ
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch Repair cafes have become quite the thing for the Township of Lyons. So much so that another repair cafe will be offered from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. this Saturday, June 15, at the township office, 6404 Joliet Road in Countryside. A repair café held in May was a smashing…
‘They didn’t have to kill my brother’ – sister of slain Bridgeview man
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch Arturo Cantu should be celebrating two big events this weekend. He would have celebrated his 40th birthday on June 14. And, a sister said, he would have enjoyed Father’s Day on Sunday, spending time with family and his two young children. Instead, 10 family members and friends gathered in a…
‘You just learn to live with the pain’
Spread the loveStatus hearing in July for McCook murder By Steve Metsch The attorney representing a Chicago man charged with murdering a Blue Island man in McCook in February told a judge Wednesday there’s been “a significant and outstanding discovery in this matter.” Attorney Damon Cheronis made his comment before Cook County Circuit Court Judge…
Man shot in La Grange; suspect arrested in Stickney
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch A man was shot Tuesday afternoon in La Grange, according to a news release received Wednesday from the police department. A suspect has been apprehended, the release said. The shooting victim remains in stable condition at a local hospital, the release said. La Grange Police, working with the Major Case…
Softball | Marist will play for state title for fourth straight season
Spread the loveBy Randy Whalen Correspondent Marist returned to the state title game for the fourth straight season with a 7-1 victory over Mundelein in the semifinals, held June 7 at Louisville Slugger Sports Complex in Peoria. The Mustangs (36-2) were making their first appearance at state since 1996. “We have a core group of returners,”…
McCook building inspector retires after 18 years
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch After 18 years of inspecting buildings, be it a modest bi-level house or a sprawling multi-million-dollar warehouse, Terrence Hickey is retiring from the village of McCook. His retirement takes effect June 28, Mayor Terrance Carr said during the June 3 meeting of the village board. “I’m jealous,” Carr said. “(He’s…
New Summit Girl Scout troop off and running
Spread the loveBy Carol McGowan There’s a new Girl Scout Troop in Summit, and they have been busy. Troop 56615 is made up of girls from Summit School District 104 from first-grade to third-grade, and between 7-9 years old, making them Brownies in the scouting world. They have 10 girls so far, and Troop Leader…