With all the bad news coming in from the effects of the corona virus, I was relieved yesterday when I heard Chicago mayor, Lori Lightfoot, address our city with confidence, reassurance and a list of things her office is doing to help its residents. As a small business owner, who serves other small businesses, I was especially interested in learning about the new $100 million Chicago Small Business Resiliency Loan Fund they've created.
I wanted to share this with all those small businesses who might need help. The fund will provide "targeted, low-interest loans to severely impacted small businesses. . .to provide much needed cashflow relief for neighborhood entrepreneurs."
The fund will begin accepting applications on March 31. To be eligible, businesses must attest to a more than 25 percent revenue decrease due to COVID-19, employ fewer than 50 workers and have gross revenues of less than $3 million in 2019. Businesses will have to provide bank statements dating back to October 2019 and their most recent tax return.
It looks like you can't apply until March 31st but here's a link the city has provided if you're interested in applying at that time.