“I see a lot of people supporting the bars and restaurants to help keep the small-town businesses alive, and I’m happy for them. But they forget about people like us. I’m not getting promotion from anyone but myself."
“In Illinois, I feel like I’m just swimming upstream constantly. Delaying property tax collections later on would absolutely help, especially because we don’t know where we’re going to be in October."
“Anything you can do to reduce the regulatory and taxation environment in this state would help.
“Nurses are scared because we’ve got to come back home to our kids. We had my son stop his job because we don’t need multiple risks coming in and out of the house."
Unemployment is hitting record levels in Illinois with weeks to go until the COVID-19 stay-at-home order expires. Federal action made self-employed workers eligible, but Illinois could be months away from handling their claims.
“Anything that’s delayed at this point [taxes or other business expenses] I think would be beneficial. Our property taxes are not inexpensive. So, if that’s money we can keep in our accounts to pay to vendors or pay the staff, every dollar would help."
The federal government authorized a financial aid program for small businesses that have closed their doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but state and local government also offer assistance.
“In our country we should not have children who don’t have three meals a day. And we have a lot of that. We just picked up a family of seven that hasn’t eaten for two or three days."
Business sectors directly affected by the coronavirus and mitigation employ 1.5 million Illinoisans. The longer the shutdown, the more industries and jobs face cuts.
“I really like the story of how we started this business. “My husband, Ben, and I started out 12 years ago. At the time, I really wasn’t expecting that we’d become full-time landlords. For me, it was a way for us to buy a house with the space we needed, plus cash flow. I come...
A quarter of Illinois’ workers are staring down the economic impacts of a global pandemic.
Our team wanted to give you a look at the harsh reality of life in downtown Chicago during the COVID-19 crisis.
“I had just built up a savings account for the first time. Now I’m fighting to keep everything."
“Before the health crisis, we were growing at such a rapid pace and scale that we were looking to expand either our space or to a second location this year. Now with the coronavirus, everything has come to a screeching halt."