On Thursday, Nov. 20, the Cook County Board of Commissioners took a step intended to accelerate economic opportunity across the region by approving new funding to expand small business lending through several local community financial institutions. 

The Board also renewed its support for the Greater Chicagoland Economic Partnership, which is designed to support a regional approach to economic development.  

County officials hope the moves will help entrepreneurs overcome long-standing barriers to capital, while fueling job creation and broad-based economic growth.  

“Cook County is committed to closing long-standing gaps in the access-to-capital landscape for small businesses, while strengthening regional economic growth,” said Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. “Now more than ever, local governments must step up to protect and expand opportunity for all. We will continue investing in strategies that drive our local economy forward and keep Cook County a vibrant, competitive place to do business.”

Community financial institutions 

The Board approved $2.4 million to support a grant program to provide funds to community financial institutions (CFIs) and increase available financing for small businesses.​ The five selected CFIs are Allies for Community Business, SomerCor, Pursuit, Greenwood Archer Capital and Jewish Free Loan Chicago.  

Each CFI will be awarded up to $500,000. Based on projections in applications from the five selected CFIs, it is estimated that the $2.4 million in funding from Cook County will ultimately support more than 1,000 businesses and leverage $27.3 million in investment. 

All five CFIs are nonprofit lending organizations, and each has at least two years of lending experience. Grantees may use funds to enhance their lending capacity for small businesses and/or their operational capacity, including investments in staff, technology, marketing and more. ​ 

Access to capital is the most frequently sought-after service at the Cook County Small Business Source, which supports growth of small businesses across the County through no-cost business advising, resources and access to events.  

Based on an analysis of the capital landscape, Cook County determined that Chicago area CFIs have a relatively small amount of capital dedicated to supporting small businesses, particularly in comparison to peer cities around the country. ​To address this gap, Cook County is strengthening local CFIs’ capacity to deliver loans and financial assistance to businesses located in historically excluded communities that often do not qualify for conventional financing, which often leads businesses to resort to high-cost sources of capital.  

Collectively the selected grant recipients offer a mix of innovative and traditional lending products: 

• Allies for Community Business will use grant funds to establish a dedicated loan loss reserve pool designed to unlock additional capital for small business lending in Cook County.  
• SomerCor will create a new down payment assistance program to help support business owners’ purchase real estate for their own occupancy.  
• Pursuit will expand its footprint in Cook County with a new financial product tailored for startups and early-stage businesses. 
• Greenwood Archer will expand both financial and operational capacity, increasing accessible and flexible capital for early-stage and higher-risk entrepreneurs. 
• Jewish Free Loan Chicago will create and operate new small business zero-interest funds for loans up to $20,000. 

This award also includes grant funding for the Cameo Network, a nonprofit that will provide individualized consulting and training support for the five selected grant recipients and other advisory services.  

The Cook County Bureau of Economic Development developed this program with Next Street, its program coordinator, to complement the Cook County Small Business Source program, which provides a bevy of resources to entrepreneurs at no cost. 

Greater Chicagoland Economic Partnership 

The board also approved continued funding for the Greater Chicagoland Economic Partnership (GCEP), a regional economic collaboration between Cook County, the city of Chicago, and DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will counties. Launched in 2023 as a three-year pilot program​, GCEP is managed by World Business Chicago (WBC), the city’s public-private economic development agency.  

All parties agreed to continue funding for GCEP for an additional year while developing a long-term plan​. Annual participation costs are shared proportionally among the seven counties and the City of Chicago, based on population and employment data.​ Cook County’s annual contribution of $290,462 remains the same as previous years​.  

Continued participation in GCEP ensures that Cook County remains an active partner in advancing regional collaboration, attracting investment and promoting equitable economic development across northeastern Illinois.​ 

WBC estimates that GCEP-supported activities contributed to the creation of more than 18,000 jobs and $1.57 billion in regional earnings​ over the past three years. Cook County alone accounts for 7,600 of those jobs and $622 million in earnings.  

To learn more about the Cook County Bureau of Economic Development, visit: cookcountyil.gov/agency/bureau-economic-development.