Francheska Dills (L) received a PPP loan from Eric Donnelly (R), CEO of Capital Plus Financial | Chicago Police Dept./Capital Plus Financial
Francheska Dills (L) received a PPP loan from Eric Donnelly (R), CEO of Capital Plus Financial | Chicago Police Dept./Capital Plus Financial
On Chicago's South Side, the Auburn Gresham neighborhood has one of the city's highest unemployment rates-- 16.5 percent-- and is best known for its drive by shootings.
It also has the most small businesses in Chicago, according to an analysis of Paycheck Protection Program loan reporting by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
Chicago City Wire reviewed data on all loans of $25,000 and under and found residents of Auburn Gresham received more of them than any other community in Illinois-- some 10,126 totaling $187,700,977 in U.S. taxpayer cash.
In fact, Auburn Gresham, pop. 68,761, received 13 times as many loans as it has licensed businesses (744), according to the City of Chicago.
Most of the loans, which averaged $18,537, were to individuals, borrowing as sole proprietors or independent contractors, presumably protecting their own paychecks.
PPP loans are forgiven if the PPP lender concludes the borrower fulfilled the loan terms.
Auburn Gresham wasn't alone in its PPP loan prominence.
Ten Chicago communities received more than ten times as many PPP loans as they have licensed businesses, including Roseland (9,323 loans/$172M), Chatham (9,169/$168M), Austin (7,470/$143M) and South Chicago (6,750/$121M).
All told, communities on Chicago's South Side with a collective 15,409 active business licenses received 89,734 PPP loans totaling $1,589,228,401.
Chicago West Side Communities with 9,167 total business licenses received 37,221 PPP loans totaling $670,504,336.
Those numbers dwarfed the small business PPP loan money received by residents of Chicago's North Side ($429,902,419) and Chicago's Loop ($84,940,342), which have more licensed businesses than the the south and west sides.
The largest under $25,000 lender in Auburn Gresham and Chicago was Capital Plus Financial LLC of Bedford, Tx. near Dallas, according to the SBA.
City-wide, it made 58,687 loans totaling $1.099 billion. Nearly all of them-- 99.8 percent-- were under $25,000.
The SBA fee schedule paid lenders a flat fee of $2,500 for every loan made under $50,000, earning Capital Plus $146,717,500 on its Chicago loans.
All Chicago lenders collectively earned $413,370,000 on their under $25,000 loans in the city of Chicago.
Payroll Protection?
In Auburn-Gresham, Capital Plus made 2,308 loans totaling $44.5 million, or 23 percent of the community's total.
One of them was to Ankwanique Hill, 33, who lives in the 1300 block of West 72nd Place. He received $20,832, according to the SBA.
City of Chicago records show Hill is a full-time tree trimmer with the Department of Streets and Sanitation, earning $77,376 per year.
Another Capital Plus loan was to Francheska Dills, 35, of the 8000 block of South Wood. She received $20,415 for her "carpet and upholstery cleaning services" business, according to the SBA.
Chicago Police records show Dills was arrested twice this year-- once in January for possession of a controlled substance, and again in June for possession of a firearm without a valid FOID card. A native of Bloomington, Ill., in 2013 Dills was arrested on charges of felony delivery of marijuana, sentenced to 24 months probation and 30 hours of community service.
SBA records show LaNiyah Murphy was 19, a recent graduate of Perspectives H.S. and a freshman at Governors State University in University Park when she received a $20,000 loan from Capital Plus, reporting she was running a "tax preparation services" business.
Murphy was shot and killed in January after an argument in West Pullman.
According to U.S. government payroll data, Alvaro A. Reasnover, 38, is a customer service manager with the U.S. Postal Service, earning $95,218 per year. State voter registration records show he lives in the basement apartment of a two flat in the 7800 block of South Bishop, six blocks west of St. Sabina's Catholic Church.
Last year, Reasnover received a PPP loan of $20,251, according to SBA records, for his "residential property managers" business..His lender was American Lending Center of Long Beach, Calif, which made 16 loans in Auburn Gresham under $25,000, totaling $321,706.
----
Which Chicago communities received the most PPP loans?
The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loaned U.S. taxpayer money to business owners who promised not to lay off their employees during the government's COVID-19 lockdowns. Where did this money go in Chicago?
Region | Pop. | % of Pop | Biz Lic. | % of BL | Loans | $$$ | % of $$ |
Chicago Loop/Central | 93,218 | 3% | 7,258 | 14% | 5,795 | $84,940,342 | 3% |
Chicago North Side | 1,026,917 | 38% | 20,376 | 39% | 32,598 | $429,902,419 | 15% |
Chicago South Side | 1,078,674 | 40% | 15,409 | 30% | 89,734 | $1,589,228,401 | 57% |
Chicago West Side | 481,754 | 18% | 9,167 | 18% | 37,221 | $670,504,336 | 24% |
TOTALS | 2,680,563 | 100% | 52,210 | 100% | 165,348 | $2,774,575,498 | 100% |
Zip | Community | Pop. | Biz Lic. | Loans | $$$ |
60620 | Auburn Gresham | 68,761 | 744 | 10,126 | $187,700,977 |
60628 | Roseland/West Pullman | 65,008 | 699 | 9,323 | $172,060,336 |
60619 | Chatham | 61,372 | 912 | 9,169 | $167,555,352 |
60644 | Austin | 45,919 | 555 | 7,470 | $142,718,864 |
60617 | East Side/Calumet Heights/South Chicago | 82,101 | 851 | 6,750 | $120,724,699 |
60624 | West Garfield Park | 35,054 | 437 | 6,282 | $120,106,207 |
60651 | Humboldt Park | 63,679 | 833 | 6,260 | $116,413,815 |
60649 | South Shore | 47,084 | 530 | 6,131 | $111,361,779 |
60637 | Hyde Park | 46,621 | 498 | 5,811 | $105,907,889 |
60623 | North Lawndale/Little Village | 77,732 | 985 | 5,398 | $100,512,280 |
60643 | Beverly/Washington Heights | 48,572 | 642 | 5,167 | $91,864,273 |
60636 | West Englewood | 30,039 | 495 | 4,939 | $92,816,546 |
60621 | Englewood | 26,736 | 289 | 4,509 | $84,437,494 |
60653 | Oakland/Grand Boulevard | 33,574 | 383 | 4,319 | $77,354,930 |
60629 | Chicago Lawn/West Lawn/Marquette Park | 107,930 | 980 | 4,178 | $73,909,814 |
60612 | East Garfield Park | 32,240 | 1,041 | 4,124 | $75,034,789 |
60616 | Douglas/Chinatown | 52,557 | 1,167 | 3,624 | $47,396,111 |
60615 | Kenwood | 41,198 | 489 | 3,485 | $60,465,416 |
60639 | Hermosa/North Austin | 88,515 | 1,661 | 3,225 | $53,944,223 |
60609 | Back of the Yards/Canaryville | 60,551 | 2,049 | 3,099 | $52,334,384 |
60652 | Ashburn | 42,296 | 511 | 2,750 | $48,853,362 |
60608 | Bridgeport/Pilsen/McKinley Park | 80,011 | 1,684 | 2,698 | $38,713,313 |
60640 | Uptown | 69,726 | 1,191 | 2,574 | $32,916,781 |
60645 | West Ridge | 46,924 | 312 | 2,538 | $34,779,680 |
60647 | Logan Square | 85,658 | 1,981 | 2,512 | $34,411,491 |
60659 | West Ridge | 43,843 | 797 | 2,468 | $31,673,563 |
60618 | Avondale/Bricktown | 94,646 | 1,917 | 2,300 | $30,297,366 |
60626 | Rogers Park | 51,017 | 682 | 2,099 | $29,374,466 |
60622 | Wicker Park/Ukranian Village | 52,957 | 1,674 | 1,950 | $27,362,667 |
60641 | Old Irving Park/Portage Park | 70,163 | 1,116 | 1,874 | $23,860,075 |
60625 | Albany Park/Bowmanville | 78,820 | 1,204 | 1,832 | $22,614,087 |
60614 | Lincoln Park/Old Town | 72,391 | 1,790 | 1,790 | $25,126,505 |
60634 | Dunning/Portage Park | 75,604 | 1,010 | 1,753 | $21,273,546 |
60610 | Near North/Gold Coast | 40,954 | 1,072 | 1,729 | $27,516,401 |
60660 | Edgewater | 45,131 | 567 | 1,538 | $19,631,785 |
60613 | Wrigleyville/Buena Park | 51,399 | 1,068 | 1,523 | $19,256,347 |
60657 | Lake View | 70,489 | 1,493 | 1,492 | $18,947,165 |
60630 | Jefferson Park/Mayfair | 55,692 | 902 | 1,435 | $17,010,497 |
60632 | Archer Heights/Brighton Park | 86,715 | 1,411 | 1,415 | $20,249,642 |
60607 | West Loop/Greektown | 30,306 | 1,489 | 1,408 | $21,523,124 |
60611 | Mag Mile/Streeterville | 33,937 | 1,926 | 1,242 | $18,238,109 |
60605 | South Loop/Dearborn Park | 30,950 | 942 | 1,085 | $15,632,436 |
60638 | Clearing | 57,057 | 728 | 1,064 | $15,893,080 |
60642 | Goose Island/River West | 18,480 | 821 | 1,042 | $15,055,333 |
60656 | Oriole Park/Union Ridge/Big Oaks | 28,982 | 230 | 1,039 | $11,519,711 |
60654 | River North | 20,812 | 1,427 | 973 | $14,478,119 |
60601 | Loop/Randolph-Lake | 14,513 | 1,306 | 800 | $11,691,616 |
60646 | Sauganash | 29,043 | 434 | 782 | $9,400,311 |
60602 | Loop/Washington-Madison | 1,596 | 546 | 737 | $10,288,506 |
60633 | Hegewisch/South Deering | 12,720 | 99 | 728 | $12,863,774 |
60631 | Edison Park/Norwood Park | 28,864 | 417 | 575 | $6,932,572 |
60606 | Loop-Wacker Drive | 3,204 | 1,330 | 572 | $8,753,101 |
60655 | Mt. Greenwood | 27,771 | 248 | 449 | $6,765,230 |
60661 | West Loop- Clinton/Jefferson | 10,734 | 627 | 436 | $6,054,955 |
60603 | Loop/Monroe-Adams | 1,186 | 688 | 418 | $5,936,143 |
60604 | Loop/Jackson-Van Buren | 729 | 330 | 339 | $5,060,461 |
Sources: City of Chicago; U.S. Small Business Administration