The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce opposes Mayor Brandon Johnson’s 2027 budget. In this video, Chamber President and CEO Jack Lavin explains why the Chamber is against his plan, what the proposed taxes would mean for jobs in Chicago, and how the city could find savings before asking taxpayers for more. Lavin calls the head tax “a direct disincentive for people to hire and retain jobs in Chicago.” He describes the personal property lease tax as […]

Charles So Andrean has spent more than 15 years working with people who are burned out, exhausted, and disengaged. Through his business, Charles Andrean Integration Coaching, he helps teams and individuals slow down, stay present, and connect with their most important resource: themselves. He has worked in Chicago for much of that time. He calls it one of the most grounded, honest places he has ever been, with a lot of heart. Over the years, […]

Since 2007, Sugar Bliss has brought joy to the local community — one cupcake, macaron, cookie, and brownie at a time. Founder Teresa Ging has seen the ups and downs. But she is not pulling back. In fact, Sugar Bliss plans to open a new manufacturing facility to expand catering, corporate gifts, and food service. She is one of the 54 percent of small business owners in Chicago who plan to grow in the next […]

Chicago knows how to take on challenges and come out stronger on the other side. This is the city that reversed a river and fought through a great fire, a great recession, and a pandemic. That resolve is showing up again in new data. The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and the University of Illinois Chicago recently polled small business owners about the direction of the economy, and two themes emerged from the results. The first […]

In a July 9 Chicago Tribune op-ed, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Jack Lavin urged Chicago’s city leaders to focus on economic growth ahead of this summer’s budget discussions. In the piece, Lavin wrote that the coming budget debate “will follow a familiar script of cuts on one side and new taxes on the other.” But that debate, he continued, “will miss a central issue: growth.” According to Lavin, “Chicago must make growth […]

Recent sentiment data from the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce points to a marked shift in mood across the region’s small business community. In a poll of small business owners conducted with the University of Illinois Chicago late last year, 70% said they expect the local economy to get worse over the coming year — a dramatic rise from the 43% who felt that way the year before. The concern extends to owners’ own books. Fewer […]

The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce is partnering with University of Illinois Chicago’s College of Business to launch a survey to uncover crucial trends among Chicagoland’s small business community. The Chamber’s annual State of Chicago Small Business Outlook provides a thorough, forward-looking source of information regarding the future of a crucial sector of our economy. “Small businesses play a vital role in creating jobs and anchoring communities in Chicagoland,” said Jack Lavin, President & Chief Executive Officer, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. […]