Chi Biz Strong Ordinance Passes City Council
We’re excited to announce that Mayor Lightfoot’s Chi Biz Strong ordinance passed City Council on Friday, June 25th with support from the Lakeview Roscoe Village Chamber of Commerce.
The Mayor’s Chi Biz Strong ordinance will reimagine the way we do business in Chicago. This ambitious ordinance will implement lessons learned from the pandemic to deliver far-reaching and meaningful support to businesses and workers in three ways:
Immediate Financial Relief to support businesses as we continue our recovery
Overhaul of City Business Policies to reduce red tape and be more business-friendly
Targeted Worker Protections to ensure that the rights and safety of workers are central to the recovery
IMMEDIATE FINANCIAL RELIEF
Licensee Relief: To support small businesses as we continue to recover, the City will provide over $10M in targeted grants for businesses citywide that have been particularly impacted by the pandemic.
Debt Relief: Businesses are unable to renew licenses if they owe City debt. To get businesses back in operation quickly, this ordinance enables all businesses to enter into payment plans with affordable down payments.
Third-Party Delivery Fees: Restaurants have relied on third-party delivery services during the pandemic but have often faced per-order fees of up to 30%. This temporary policy caps the fees that third-party delivery services can charge restaurants at 15% as the city continues to recover – extending an essential lifeline to the City’s approximately 8,000 restaurants.
OVERHAUL OF CITY BUSINESS POLICIES
Expedited Restaurant Licensing: With several restaurants closing their doors during the pandemic, this ordinance creates an expedited food licensing process to help fill our empty restaurant spaces and enable an estimated 1,000+ new restaurants to open up to 14 days sooner.
Legalized Sidewalk Signs: Sidewalk signs (e.g., A-frame signs) help businesses draw in foot traffic from the street, providing an essential boost in revenue and source of customers. This ordinance legalizes Sidewalk Signs in certain circumstances as of March 1, 2022 and only with the appropriate permits.
Hospitality Reforms: This ordinance will support the struggling hospitality industry with a series of actions to align City and State license terms, allow cocktails to go, and refine security requirements on charter &sightseeing buses to maintain safety and make it easier to operate.
Consumer Protection: This ordinance will improve quality of life and support public safety and health by limiting the nighttime sale of packaged goods and aligning regulations on flavored tobacco products.
Fair Marketplace Reforms: Innovative business models connecting consumers with services have increased during the pandemic. This ordinance ensures these models continue to thrive while ensuring businesses are adequately licensed – protecting the public, venues, and vendors.
Taxicab Reforms: The taxicab industry has been hit particularly hard by COVID-19, compounding pre-pandemic challenges. This ordinance provides more flexibility by keeping existing cars on the road longer while maintaining safety standards and streamlining regulations – expanding the pool of eligible taxicabs by 20% and saving the industry up to $20M in 2021 alone.
Expanded Workforce Opportunities: This ordinance opens new opportunities to thousands of returning residents every year in the public vehicles and hospitality industries by lowering employment barriers for non-violent offenders and providing pathways to rehabilitation.
WORKER PROTECTIONS
Wage Theft Protection: Almost $400 million in wages are stolen from Chicagoland workers by bad-faith employers every year. Chicago’s first wage theft ordinance will grant the City more remarkable ability to protect and recoup stolen wages for its workers.
Domestic Workers: Care workers have been hard-hit by the pandemic and face high rates of exploitation. This ordinance supports domestic workers with a written contract requirement for employers and place 8,000 domestic workers on the path to a $15 minimum wage in 2021.
Chain Business Workers: This ordinance ensures that chain business workers are paid the correct minimum wage by clarifying how employers count their employees.
Paid Sick Leave Enhancements: This ordinance covers and clarifies additional uses, such as caring for a family member with a closed school or place of care, compliance with public health orders, and mental and behavioral health.
ADDITIONAL MATERIALS