COVID-19 Business Resources

Business Resources

If you need assistance email us to make a virtual appointment at helpdesk@rpba.org or
call us at 773-508-5885.

Rogers Park

• Alderwoman Maria Hadden 49th Ward: Visit her website for resources and community information here.
• GROW/PROGRESANDO: Is Rogers Park Business Alliance entrepreneurial training program. The program will help you develop a comprehensive and implementable business plan that’s right for your business. The program’s services and training are provided in both English and Spanish. Learn more here.
• Rogers Park Community Response Team: Find out about volunteer opportunities and services provided here.
• Small Business Development Center at Rogers Park Business Alliance: SBDC provides information, confidential business guidance, training and other resources to start-up and existing small businesses. Learn more here.

Chicago

• Be Safe Certification: If you want to ensure that your business meets or exceeds requirements to reopen during the different phases and help prevent the spread of COVID-19, the City of Chicago has created the “Be Safe” self-certification. If you are interested take the survey here.
• Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP): Has put together an FAQ document with answers to the many questions facing restaurants and bars.
  • Resources for businesses, consumers and employees, here.
  • Consumer fraud hotline has resources, especially for any COVID-19 related consumer fraud. Learn more here.
  • Guide for essential businesses operating during COVID 19. These steps must be taken to protect all workers, here.
  • On December 17, 2020 the Chicago City Council passed an important piece of legislation expanding regulatory relief for businesses that continue to be impacted by COVID-19.
    • Extension of License Expiration Dates: All licenses that expire between March 15, 2020 and June 15, 2021 will be considered active until July 15, 2021 and those businesses can operate during that time without renewing their license.
      Read the Industry Notice here.
      For licensing questions, call (312) 74-GOBIZ (46249) or email businesslicense@cityofchicago.org.
    • Extension of Sidewalk Café Permit Expiration Date and Extension of Reforms: All current Sidewalk Café Permits will be considered active through May 31, 2021 and businesses with a Sidewalk Café Permit can operate their current Sidewalk Cafes until that date without renewing. Additionally, all Sidewalk Café Permits issued for the 2021 season will benefit from the temporary reforms implemented earlier this year: permit fee reduction of 75%, the ability to extend in front of neighboring property, and an expedited permit issuance process.
      Read the Industry Notice here.
      Learn more about the Sidewalk Café Permit here.
      For Sidewalk Café Permit questions, email publicwayuse@cityofchicago.org.
    • Extension of Expanded Outdoor Dining Program: The Expanded Outdoor Dining Program, through which bars and restaurants can operate outside on private property or closed streets, has been extended to last through the end of 2021. Businesses that are interested in extending their permit past the end of 2020 must submit a request including the DOT number of their Permit and submit insurance covering the extended dates. Additionally, businesses that are operating their Expanded Outdoor Dining area during winter months need to submit an updated permit plan that includes any winterization plans and equipment.
      Questions and required documents can be submitted to SEPermits@cityofchicago.org.
      Learn more about the Expanded Outdoor Dining Program here.
• ChiBizHub: Provides access to local resources, access to tools that can help businesses grow, and access to expert guidance. You can find their small business portal, here.
• Chicago Be Safe Reopening Framework: Reopening Business Portal – Aligned with the State of Illinois but tailored to Chicago’s context, these guidelines advise employers and residents of Chicago on how to cautiously exit from shelter-in-place while continuing to prioritize the health of our most vulnerable residents. Please reference the materials on this page to help cautiously guide your businesses and employees during the reopening phases.
• Chicago Bilingual Landlord Association/Spanish Coalition for Housing: They provide assistance to both commercial and residential property owners. Information here.
• Chicago Community COVID-19 Response Fund: In collaboration with the City of Chicago, The Chicago Community Trust and United Way of Metro Chicago launched the Chicago Community COVID-19 Response Fund to unite the funds raised by Chicago’s philanthropies, corporations and individuals to be disbursed to nonprofit organizations across the region. Nonprofits who receive funds from the Response Fund will help provide access to emergency food and basic supplies, rent and mortgage assistance, utility assistance, direct financial assistance for household supplies, and nonprofit safety and operations assistance. Information here.
• Chicago COVID Resource Finder: This website is maintained by City Bureau, a nonprofit, nonpartisan journalism lab based on the South Side of Chicago. The website was created to help people access updated, verified information for Chicago and Cook County during the coronavirus pandemic. Visit here.
• Chicago Department of Public Health: DPH created the Guidance for Business and Employers to help prevent exposures to all acute respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19. The Guidance also provides planning considerations if there are more widespread, community outbreaks of COVID-19. Find Guidance, here.
• Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce: The Chamber curates events, programming and custom introductions that connect entrepreneurs to the largest network of business and civic leaders they won’t find anywhere else. The Chamber lobbies and ensures businesses have a seat at the table to protect and create pro-business policies. Their resource page is here.
  • On June 17, they laid out a vision and guidelines for reopening Chicagoland’s economy. An initiative of the Chamber’s COVID-19 Economic Recovery Task Force. Read the COVID-19 Economic Recovery Report here.
• Chicago – Cocktails To-Go: Cocktails to-go are now legal in Chicago. Under the new legislation, which passed City Council. Establishments with a Tavern or Consumption on Premises-Incidental Activity license may for the first time sell pre-mixed cocktails to-go. Based on the provisions of the State law, there are strict regulations in place to ensure safety and responsibility. Any alcohol sold to-go, including pre-mixed cocktails, cannot be consumed in the public way. Click here for more information.
• Chicago Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights: Formerly called the Community Law Project, offers pro bono legal services and created a resource page to help businesses and nonprofits during the COVID-19 crisis. Learn more here.
• Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky created a summary for the Coronaviurs Aid, Relief, And Economic Security (CARES) Act. You can read it here.
• Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events: Visit their page to find resources for the artists’ community, under their COVID-19 Arts Community Resources, here.
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Market: The City of Chicago created an online platform that will allow small-business owners in Chicagoland to connect directly with local suppliers to purchase a limited assortment of PPE to use when preparing to reopen. Gain access to fair-market prices from suppliers in the nearby community, avoiding price gouging. More information here.

Illinois

• Illinois Department of Commerce Essential Businesses & Operations FAQ: This FAQ provides information on what is considered an essential business and how it should operate. Read here.
• Illinois Department of Employment Securities (IDES): The new federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program provides benefits for many individuals who have been determined ineligible for state unemployment benefits, including self-employed workers and 1099 tax filers. Read more here. FAQ for unemployment questions here.
• Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) Taxpayer Information: Created resources for taxpayers to use while their offices are closed, here.
  • Qualified taxpayers will not be charged penalties or interest on late payments for Sales Tax liabilities reported on Form ST-1, Sales and Use Tax and E911 Surcharge Return, that are due for the February, March, and April 2020 reporting periods. More information here.
  • The City of Chicago will defer tax payment due dates to June 1 for businesses. The extension of tax payment remittance provides relief for businesses and those hit hardest by COVID-19. More information here.
• Illinois Liquor Control Commission (ILCC): Ensures that licensees comply with the provisions of the Illinois Liquor Control Act of 1934 and its Rules and Regulations.
  • Liquor licenses expire on the last day of each month. Due to the hardships on liquor license holders as a result of the COVID-19 virus outbreak, all licenses with a renewal date of March 31, 2020 or after are automatically extended to June 30, 2021. More information here.
    • No late fees will be charged until after July 1, 2021
    • License renewal fees are due at the time of renewal. This extension does not change the fee for renewal nor prorate any fees paid for the renewal of a license, nor change the future renewal date of a license.
    • License fees are not refundable.

• Illinois Restaurant Association: Protects, promotes, educates and improves the restaurant industry in Illinois. Find their COVID-19 resource page here.
• Restore Illinois: This five-phased plan will reopen our state, guided by health metrics and with distinct business, education, and recreation activities characterizing each phase. This is an initial framework that will likely be updated as research and science develop and as the potential for treatments or vaccines is realized. The plan is based upon regional healthcare availability, and it recognizes the distinct impact COVID-19 has had on different regions of our state as well as regional variations in hospital capacity. The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has 11 Emergency Medical Services Regions that have traditionally guided its statewide public health work and will continue to inform this reopening plan. You can read the plan here.
  • Find an FAQ with information on the Stay at Home Order here.
  • On July 15th, Governor Pritzker announced a new mitigation plan to prevent the resurgence of COVID-19 in Illinois as the State surpasses two million tests. Read the plan here.
  • The Governor’s website can be found here.
• Small Business Advocacy Council (SBAC): The SBAC is a non-partisan, member-driven organization that promotes the success of small businesses through political advocacy, support services and educational programs. More information here.
• State of Illinois: This website provides the latest news releases related to COVID-19, video archives of press conferences and tips from leading experts to keep you and your family safe. Learn more here.

National

• Summary of CARES Act: Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky created a summary for the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, And Economic Security (CARES) Act. You can read it here.
• Small Business Owner’s Guide to the CARES Act: The guide provides information about the major programs and initiatives that will soon be available from the Small Business Administration (SBA) to address these needs, as well as some additional tax provisions that are outside the scope of SBA. You can find the guide here.
• Center for Disease Control: The CDC works 24/7 to protect America from health, safety and security threats, both foreign and in the U.S. Whether diseases start at home or abroad, are chronic or acute, curable or preventable, human error or deliberate attack, CDC fights disease and supports communities and citizens to do the same. The CDC is one of the major operating components of the Department of Health and Human Services.
  • Stop the spread of disease PDF here.
  • COVID-19 updates and resources here.
• ComEd: To help families and communities recover from economic challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic, ComEd is offering a comprehensive customer support package. Learn more here.
• Federal Trade Commission: The Commission has created a page to help avoid COVID-19 related fraud. Learn more here.
• GoFundMe: This website has relevant information to assist you in setting up a GoFundMe campaign to help raise money for your businesses. More information here.
• Goldman Sachs: Created the US Small Business Resource Center. You can find resources here.
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA): OSHA ensures safe and healthful working conditions for working individuals by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education and assistance. OSHA is part of the United States Department of Labor. You can read the Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19 here.
• Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA): PUA was launched on May 11, 2020. The new federal PUA program will provide 39 weeks of benefits for individuals who have been determined ineligible for state unemployment benefits, including self-employed workers and independent contractors affected by COVID-19. Learn more here.
  • Individuals can file a claim for PUA only after they have applied for regular unemployment insurance benefits and have been denied. File for regular unemployment benefits here.
• Small Business Administration (SBA): The SBA is the only cabinet-level federal agency fully dedicated to small business and provides counseling, capital and contracting expertise as the nation’s only go-to resource and voice for small businesses. Learn more here.
• Small Business Borrowers´Bill or Rights: Learn your rights before applying for a loan to avoid predatory lenders. Learn more here.