Nov. 13--City officials will start reaching out to small-business owners starting Thursday with a series of events to try to increase participation in a microloan program.
The city will host four small-business lending events over the next month to make business owners aware that organizations have money available "needed to help them grow or to keep their doors open."
Two nonprofit organizations, the Women's Business Development Center and Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives Microfinance Group, have about $700,000 available for small loans. Mayor Rahm Emanuel is set to make an appearance Thursday at an Ethiopian restaurant in Uptown where representatives of city departments will be on hand to answer questions, and business owners can apply for the loans. Emanuel launched the business microloan program in late 2011.
Heading into his re-election campaign, Emanuel has worked to position himself as a champion of small-business growth in Chicago -- even as the city has increased costs to apply for some business permits and the mayor has put in place higher taxes on cigarettes and tougher tobacco sales rules that small-business owners complain make it tougher for them to compete with neighboring suburbs.
Emanuel has also faced resistance from business groups on his endorsement of a minimum wage increase in Chicago.
jebyrne@tribpub.com
