CHICAGO– On Friday, Sept. 23, Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and voice for America’s 33 million small businesses in President Biden’s Cabinet, visited Chicago during Hispanic Heritage Month and joined Senator Tammy Duckworth and Congressman Bill Foster for a series of small business visits and business roundtables focused on equitable access to resources and capital.
Administrator Guzman started the morning with a visit to Diamond Envelope Corporation, where she and Congressman Foster met with business owner and CEO Susan Jania-Foley. Diamond Enterprise is a woman-owned and led family entrepreneurial business that manufactures and coordinates direct mail marketing products, and has received SBA loans through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the 7(a) loan program. The group toured the manufacturing facility, meeting some of the 80 workers the company employs.
Next, Administrator Guzman and Congressman Foster hosted a roundtable in Bolingbrook, Ill., where they heard firsthand from local Hispanic small business owners and other business leaders and discussed the challenges and successes they have faced. Administrator Guzman spoke of the SBA’s strong commitment to equity in its programs, and highlighted the SBA’s Community Navigators network, which is working to make it easier for entrepreneurs from every zip code to access patient affordable capital, access digital resources, and find technical training and other opportunities.
"I was proud to welcome Administrator Guzman to Illinois' 11th District and introduce her to some of the diverse small businesses that make up the backbone of our local economy,” stated Rep. Bill Foster (IL-11). “As a former small businessman myself, I'm proud of the work that Congress and the SBA have put in over the past two years to support small businesses as they weathered the economic repercussions of the pandemic. Our joint efforts to ensure minority and women-owned businesses receive their fair share of relief have been especially important. There’s still work to be done, and I’m committed to fighting for the entrepreneurs and small business owners who are vital to the economic health of our communities."
Later, Administrator Guzman joined Senator Tammy Duckworth for lunch at 5 Rabanitos in Chicago, where the two met with restaurant owner Chef Alfonso Sotelo. 5 Rabanitos received a PPP loan, which helped him to keep the restaurant open despite the challenges he and many other restaurant owners faced during the pandemic.
After lunch, Administrator Guzman and Senator Duckworth hosted a roundtable at the National Museum of Mexican Art, where they spoke with organizations that serve the Hispanic community in Chicago and Chicago Hispanic small business owners. They spoke about the Biden Administration’s commitment to equity and highlighted new prospects on the horizon for small business owners thanks to President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act. Through these policies and others, the Biden Harris Administration is working overtime to lower costs for families, create new jobs and open opportunities for small businesses to contract with the government, and promote stable and consistent economic growth.
“Small businesses are more than just places to visit and shop, they are part of the glue that holds communities together and for every small business that we work to keep open, that’s at least one job saved, and that’s a community keeping an important piece of economic development and culture,” said Duckworth. “As we support small businesses, I’ll keep working to level the playing field for entrepreneurs of color, women, and Veterans while working to strengthen local economies marked by social and economic disadvantage. I’m so glad to be in Pilsen today and see how resilient so many Latino-owned businesses have been, and I know my work in supporting Illinois’ entrepreneurs is not done.”
Following the roundtable, Administrator Guzman toured the museum and learned more about its mission to grow knowledge and appreciation of Mexican art and culture from both sides of the border. She viewed some of the museum’s large collection of Mexican art and heard more about the museum’s arts education programs and resources, and professional development for Mexican artists. The museum received two PPP loans that helped them retain their employees during the pandemic.
About the U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow, expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.