* Tribune…
Aurora may get a Small Business Development Center to help fledgling businesses succeed, according to Gov. Bruce Rauner. […]
He told an audience in the Arthur N. Bonifas Conference Center next to Alarm Detection Systems that there is money in the current budget proposal for a small business center in Aurora. While that budget is still in flux — he said the current projected $1.7 billion deficit is too much and must be cut — he said officials are looking for an Aurora location for the facility.
The SBDC, as it is called, would help small businesses develop a network of relationships, assisting them to find resources they might need to be succeed, Rauner said.
“The key to sustaining successful business is being in a network,” Rauner said. “You need a network of relationships.”
* Thirteen months ago…
Springfield’s fiscal mess continues to rack up victims: small-business development centers on college campuses around the state, which are shutting their doors or retrenching because of funding shortfalls.
About a quarter have closed, the latest at Governors State University in south suburban University Park, which is going the way of abandoned locations at Joliet Junior College, Illinois State University in Normal and Waubonsee Community College in Aurora.
For three decades, the centers have been a free resource for fledgling entrepreneurs starting companies or trying to keep them going. Juicy Luzy Sangria owner Luz Cavazos is opening a 1,500-square-foot plant in Oak Lawn with $20,000 from small-business lender Accion and said it wouldn’t have happened had Governors State’s SBDC not helped draft a business plan.
Once numbering 36 statewide, the centers typically serve a few hundred clients each and cost in the neighborhood of $200,000 annually to operate. They’re jointly funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration and matching state funds; some directors said schools chip in an amount equal to three-quarters of the state match through employee salaries and in-kind contributions.
…Adding… I missed this DGA press release yesterday…
Today, Governor Bruce Rauner visits Aurora to speak to announce the opening of a new Small Business Development Center, but perhaps he should explain why the previous center closed under his watch. Or why the state’s economy lags under his failed leadership.
Illinois Small Business Development Centers were hit hard in the two-year budget impasse. Crain’s Chicago estimated that a quarter of all SBDC’s on college campuses closed in Illinois including one located on Waubonsee Community College campus. The Aurora Beacon-News reported that the center closed in 2016 due to the budget impasse, and had served 400 businesses the year before.
WCC is about 20 minutes from Aurora.
* Pritzker campaign today…
Yesterday, Bruce Rauner announced an expansion of the Illinois Department of Economic Opportunity’s Small Business Development Center Network (SBDCs) – the same program he’s decimated as governor.
Under Rauner’s failed leadership and manufactured crisis SBDCs in Illinois were decimated, forcing almost one quarter to close and slashing the number of jobs created and retained by them.
“Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and Bruce Rauner destroyed many of the small business development centers needed to help them grow and thrive,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “With jobs leaving this state and businesses shutting their doors, Bruce Rauner’s damage is done.”
…Adding… Heh…
- DuPage - Friday, Oct 6, 17 @ 9:25 am:
Matching federal funds lost. An example of Rauner reverse leveraging money that would have added to Illinois economic activity.
- Chris Widger - Friday, Oct 6, 17 @ 9:25 am:
“Small businesses are the backbone of our economy” is a direct quote from President Obama in 2012. When will the Pritzker campaign apologize for appropriating messaging from other administrations?
- Norseman - Friday, Oct 6, 17 @ 9:26 am:
From a Rauner mind reader: “Despite all my efforts to prevent a budget from passing, Dems and insurgent GOP legislators have now made it possible for me to do initiatives to help my campaign.”
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Oct 6, 17 @ 9:33 am:
===in the current budget===
Rauner vetoed all budgetary numbers.
If this dies happen, it won’t be because of Rauner. Nope. It will be because of the override votes allowing a budget.
Good try, Rauner is a phony once again.
===The SBDC, as it is called, would help small businesses develop a network of relationships, assisting them to find resources they might need to be succeed, Rauner said.===
Yeah. “Rauner vetoed that.”
- DownstateKid - Friday, Oct 6, 17 @ 9:37 am:
Madigan raised your taxes.
Yeah. Rauner vetoed that.
I wonder what holds more weight in the electorate? Can’t wait to find out.
- Anon123 - Friday, Oct 6, 17 @ 9:39 am:
Wait- these are competitive grants. How can anyone know who is successful before a submission and competitive review/ s
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Oct 6, 17 @ 9:41 am:
Oh - DownstateKid -
LOL
Rauner can’t claim a single thing like this without a taint of
“Rauner vetoed that”
If you want to point out, like Bret Baier that Rauner is a miserable failure, so much of a failure he couldn’t get a single budget to his signature and couldn’t stop a tax hike… LOL
Have at it.
- We'll See - Friday, Oct 6, 17 @ 9:42 am:
-Norseman- “From a Rauner mind reader”
I shudder to think of the torture and pain you must endure.
- DownstateKid - Friday, Oct 6, 17 @ 9:45 am:
Signed historic school funding overhaul and passed tax credits for the first time.
As you say OW, Governors own vetos, but they also own new laws.
LOL
- Saluki - Friday, Oct 6, 17 @ 9:45 am:
Best not to hold your breath on political promises. Just ask the folks in Murphysboro who are still waiting on the IDOC facility to re-open.
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Oct 6, 17 @ 9:47 am:
===Signed historic school funding overhaul and passed tax credits for the first time.===
LOL
I thought we were talking about the state budget.
Rauner also owns in that school funding the “Chicago bailout” and it appears Rauner owns the praise of Sen. Manar.
You’re not too good at this, but you keep trying.
- Anon221 - Friday, Oct 6, 17 @ 9:49 am:
“The key to sustaining successful business is being in a network,” Rauner said. “You need a network of relationships.”
Don’t ever forget how many of those “keys” Rauner intentionally melted down and the GA members who truly cared about this state helped reforge.
There is an SBDC within 12 miles of Aurora at the College of DuPage: https://tinyurl.com/y72yor6c
I have a feeling this has more to do with Amazon and Aurora, and trying to play the “look at me, I’m your economic savior” role Rauner is trying to “wear” for his campaignin’.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/aurora-beacon-news/news/ct-abn-aurora-amazon-st-1005-20171004-story.html
- DownstateKid - Friday, Oct 6, 17 @ 9:52 am:
People don’t care about budgets if taxes are raised. People want cuts, not higher taxes.
Rauner will run on that, just like Preckwinkle will lose on that.
- Skeptic - Friday, Oct 6, 17 @ 9:54 am:
“Crisis creates opportunity.” So if you set the house on fire, you’re the hero when you build it back up again?
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Oct 6, 17 @ 9:55 am:
It’s events like these a savvy campaign could throttle Rauner.
Get B-roll of Rauner there… Underneath “Governor Rauner vetoed this”
Get B-roll of another Rauner phony claim… “Governor Rauner vetoed this”
Get B-roll of a third… same as above..,
“Bruce Rauner vetoed the state’s budget that funds these programs, a bipartisan General Assembly made all these things come to pass.”
Cut to Bret Baier… “What would be different in a second term?”
Nothing would. Bruce Rauner fails Illinois.
Can’t claim whatcha vetoed Governor.
- DownstateKid - Friday, Oct 6, 17 @ 10:00 am:
Pritzker ad.
B-roll on Obama..”We will have to wait and see”
B roll on Blago…Yeah,” Pritzker answered, “that’s the one I would want.”
B roll on unions…Hyatt hotels union boycott
B Roll on Madigan…Supports higher taxes…End roll.
Negative ads work both ways, big boy.
- Torda - Friday, Oct 6, 17 @ 10:01 am:
That’s odd,
No staffing up at DCEO
Only one Regional Economic Development person per region
Oops actually several RED team members are covering multiple regions. My bad
They don’t even have someone in the grants management position anyway.
Nobody in Policy Development, planning and research
Nobody in urban assistsnce
It’s almost as if they were set up to fail
That’s odd for a successful business man governor
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Oct 6, 17 @ 10:01 am:
===People don’t care about budgets if taxes are raised. People want cuts, not higher taxes.
Rauner will run on that, just like Preckwinkle will lose on that.===
Again, you’re not very good at this at all.
The soda pot tax is one tax.
Destroying social services, higher education, refusing to sign a whole budget for a whole year, Bret Baier, with a confused look on hus face while Rauner giggled like a 9-year old…
“What would be different in a second term?”
It’s much more than Rauner failing to stop an income tax increase… oh yeah, he failed at that. It’s still there.
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Oct 6, 17 @ 10:03 am:
- DownstateKid -
At least you’re admitting now Rauner is an utter failure and can’t run on the General Assembly successes.
“Big boy” … lol
Good on you, knowing that Rauner must go negative.
Rauner has no successes.
- Ducky LaMoore - Friday, Oct 6, 17 @ 10:04 am:
===People don’t care about budgets if taxes are raised. People want cuts, not higher taxes.===
If only the governor offered a single cut (that he didn’t restore later). He is in charge of the executive branch. And a budget gives the executive branch authority to spend money. There is nothing that says all the money appropriated has to be spent. He has a lot of control over spending now that there is a budget, but instead he plays victim to Mike Madigan. Come on.
- Anon221 - Friday, Oct 6, 17 @ 10:07 am:
OW- “soda pot tax”
There are commenters on this site who might actually back that one (banned punctuation).
- DownstateKid - Friday, Oct 6, 17 @ 10:08 am:
I admitted Rauner is a failure by suggesting negative ads work both ways? Wowzers, that’s a doozy even for you ole boy.
You’re not very good at this. Keep up.
Those chemicals are really starting to distort your neural connections there, big boy.
Time to hit QuikTrip and reload on the jet fuel because those chemtrails are wearing off.
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Oct 6, 17 @ 10:09 am:
- Anon221-
I know exactly what I meant.
It appears my phone thinks it 4:20
:)
- We'll See - Friday, Oct 6, 17 @ 10:10 am:
“People don’t care about budgets if taxes are raised.”
Generally this is true, but this Gov went out of his way to show how important a budget really is — so all those teachers, social service workers, trades people, contractors, etc, etc, are recognizing a tax increase can be a good thing.
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Oct 6, 17 @ 10:12 am:
===I admitted Rauner is a failure by suggesting negative ads work both ways===
He’s a failure here.
The example I used, was pertinent to the post Rich has up…
===Wowzers, that’s a doozy even for you ole boy.
You’re not very good at this. Keep up.===
I dunno what you’re saying “here”, since you have yet to refute my points with, again, pertinent retorts. I can’t help you don’t understand.
===Those chemicals are really starting to distort your neural connections there, big boy.
Time to hit QuikTrip and reload on the jet fuel because those chemtrails are wearing off.===
This is you not helping Governor Rauner.
Do better.
- Grandson of Man - Friday, Oct 6, 17 @ 10:13 am:
Rauner’s messianic reverse Robin Hood, right wing governance has been bad for business. How ironic. When you break the state you actually break it. A lot sadder and more harmful in real life than in the right wing propaganda labs of the super-privileged.
“Rauner vetoed that.”
Not much of a veto. After all that fighting Madigan and budget damage, Rauner caved and quickly vetoed the budget and revenue bills, for quick overrides. He didn’t even try to stop them. That should not please many conservatives.
- don the legend - Friday, Oct 6, 17 @ 10:37 am:
Downstate Kid. Raising the State’s payables to $16,000,000,000 and having something like 13 credit downgrades on his watch is tough to paint any other way than “Rauner failed”.
- wordslinger - Friday, Oct 6, 17 @ 10:40 am:
The deliberate sabotage of community colleges as regional business resources and vocational and continuing education centers is just another Rauner diss to Downstate.
He gives you that “corrupt Chicago” sweet talk, but how’s he doing on infrastructure and higher ed, the foundations for growth Downstate? How’s about all those trade deals for beans, corn and pork he signed in China and Japan?
You want your kids to stick around? They need the tools to make something happen, to build something in your community, to attract private investment. A guy named Lincoln knew that with that socialistic land-grant college idea.
Saluki, if you think a prison is “economic development,” then you’re part of the problem. That’s the worst form of state welfare.
- DeseDemDose - Friday, Oct 6, 17 @ 10:56 am:
Rauner constantly failed and Lies. At least people are used to that. Rauner taking credit for other peoples hard work on everything he tried to Veto is a new low.
- illini - Friday, Oct 6, 17 @ 11:34 am:
But wouldn’t it have been great of all those centers housed at Community Colleges had not been forced to close in the first place?
- Jocko - Friday, Oct 6, 17 @ 12:09 pm:
==he said the current projected $1.7 billion deficit is too much and must be cut==
Nice analysis Einstein. Care to give us a single example of “where”?