Effingham County Chamber Part of State Coalition Seeking Legislation to Support Local Businesses

The Effingham County Chamber of Commerce has joined with a coalition of Chambers across Illinois to propose a series of legislative actions in support of our local businesses affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Governor’s Executive Order.

The chamber coalition has proposed:

• Shift of the Minimum Wage Increase Schedule

On July 1, Illinois’ minimum wage is scheduled to increase to $10/hour. The chambers propose that the date of the increase be shifted to January 1, 2021 and then on January 1 annually until reaching $15/hour in the year 2026.

• Exempt Unemployment Insurance Benefit Claims from Affecting a Business’ Contribution Rate

For unemployment claims resulting from the termination or suspension of employment due to COVID-19, the chambers propose that these do not influence a business’ contribution rate. This guideline would maintain an accurate image of unemployment benefits paid to former employees and keep contribution costs lower for businesses.

• Sales Tax Payment Deferral

While the Governor has directed deferral of these payments for restaurants and bars, the chamber coalition is asking that tax payments are deferred for all small businesses.

• Reallocation of Cannabis Sales Tax Revenue for new Micro-Loan Program

With the new revenue stream coming into the state from the legalization of adult recreational use of cannabis, the chamber coalition is asking that a portion of the funds be used to create a new, temporary fund to provide a micro loan program to Illinois businesses. The proposed fund allocations would see a 27% shift of tax revenues to the micro loan program.

“Many businesses in Effingham County are struggling to maintain operations during the extended Shelter-in-Place order. The Effingham County Chamber of Commerce is proud to join with our fellow Chambers spread across Illinois who have banded together to create these strategies to help mitigate the risk to our local businesses and the overall risk to our state’s economy,” stated Chamber President & CEO Norma Lansing.

The Effingham County Chamber has created a COVID-19 Resource Page on the Chamber website at effinghamcountychamber.com that is frequently updated with the latest information.

“We want people to have a place where they can find trusted resources of information during the time. Unfortunately, this is a time when scammers are working just as hard to provide false information to consumers. We encourage the community to visit our resource page from the link on our home page,” said Lansing.

While the Chamber’s offices are closed at this time, Lansing is available by email at nlansing@effinghamcountychamber.com.