Half the money goes to a parking garage and plaza — not to the small businesses paying more just to keep their doors open.
Chicago counts nearly 100,000 small businesses as a cornerstone of its tax base — then turns around and hits them with stacking fees, surprise rate hikes, and licensing costs that treat a neighborhood burger joint the same as a corporate chain. That's the quiet contradiction at the heart of the city's annual budget cycle, and local owners are tired of absorbing the bill.
54,000 new businesses started in Illinois, and the overwhelming majority are small businesses just like yours. Here's why that number deserves more than a headline — and why the Chicago Small Business Bill of Rights is the follow-up story no one is covering.
Email marketing is one of the few channels you actually own — no algorithm decides who sees your message. But most small business owners don't realize their platform is charging them for the full list, not just the people they're actively reaching. Here's what's quietly driving that bill up.
Relying on Linktree as your primary digital home may be holding your small business back. Learn how to use it strategically alongside a dedicated website to own your traffic, your data, and your brand.
Confused by website tech terms? Think of your domain as your street address and your hosting as your physical building. Here is a plain-English guide to understanding your digital real estate and scaling it as your business grows.
