File photo
File photo
Despite boasting reserves of $100 million, the City of Chicago’s Small Business Resiliency Fund has only had a limited impact in its early days.
According to Chicago Business, over the first 10 days of accepting applications during the economic shutdown stemming from the COVID-19 crisis, organizers had approved only 10 of the roughly 7,000 loan requests they’d received.
“We’re going through them as quickly as possible,” Department of Business Affairs & Consumer Protection spokesman Isaac Reichman told Chicago Business.
Through the program, small businesses are eligible for five-year loans of up $50,000 with interest rates of just 1 percent over the first 18 months and 5.75 percent thereafter. To apply, businesses must be located in Chicago and have been in operation for at least a year.
In addition, establishments must be able to show that revenues at their business dropped by at least 25 percent due to the coronavirus pandemic. To be considered a small business, establishments must have fewer than 50 employees and annual revenue of less than $3 million.
The statewide stay at home order enacted by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on March 20, has forced countless businesses to close and caused others to greatly limit operations.
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