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Second Round of BIG Grants Offer Lifeline to Small Businesses

By Michelle Mitchell Nov 16, 2020 | 7:18 PM

November 16, 2020 – Illinois’ latest round of grants totaling $220 million will prioritize small businesses that have been affected by the recent restrictions. The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) is offering a lifeline to Illinois small businesses with the second round of Business Interruption Grants (BIG).  Combined with the first round, the grants will reach at least $540 million in total, according to the DECO website.  The state has pinpointed small businesses as the hardest hit economically, said state director of the National Federation of Independent Business Mark Grant.

“There are certain industries that have managed to survive this and do OK, but we’ve got, we have members, small business owners out there who’ve closed their doors and done it permanently,” Grant said.

The mitigation measures have a serious impact on restaurant and hospitality businesses.
“Given what’s happening again with the rise in COVID cases and the mitigation efforts that are underway, and the effect that has especially on your hospitality businesses like, you know, restaurants and other hospitality groups, really is going to have a major impact, and they’re going to need everything they can get to withstand this economic – well, it’s already an economic catastrophe for many of those businesses, but definitely if they want to keep their doors open and keep people employed they’re going to need as much help from both the federal and state government as they can get,” Grant said.
The balancing act between mitigation efforts and how far the state can push small businesses to close or diminish revenue is a difficult one, said Grant.  “It’s really difficult for the decision-makers as well as business owners – small businesses that are really the ones getting absolutely hurt the most by this,” he said.
Grant stated that while the state is helping, the federal government is not doing its part.