With the effects of the pandemic continuing to have lasting impacts on our economy, especially our retail and hospitality sectors, businesses need the support of every aspect of the economy — including our government partners.

It was with this in mind that the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce worked with our government and industry partners in Chicago to allow local communities and commercial corridors the ability to establish Business Improvement Districts (or BIDs) that will help businesses and property owners help design, build, and implement improvements to Chicago’s commercial corridors.

In 2021, Chicagoland Chamber President & CEO Jack Lavin co-chaired the “Central City Recovery Roadmap” as government and private sector leaders devised ways to reimagine and revitalize struggling commercial corridors — including the Central Business District — as means to bring Chicago out of the pandemic and into a more resilient, sustainable economy. Among many economic recovery strategies, there was consideration of new business incentive tools, such as the BID model.

Fast-forward to 2024: the once BID idea is now a BID law. Led by legislative champions, House Assistant Majority Leader Kam Buckner (D-26) and Senator Sara Feigenholtz (D-6), and with the input, coordination, and collaboration of many local business organizations that helped craft the initial recovery report in 2021, SB 3679 was signed by Governor JB Pritzker last week and is now Public Act 103-646.

Under the BID process, businesses and property owners in Chicago will have the opportunity to work together in a democratic and transparent process, to create Business Improvement Districts (or BIDs) that will allow these districts (or their designated management associations) to develop business improvement plans that will be designed to make substantial investments in marketing, business assistance, public safety, beautification, and other real improvements within the BID.  

As part of the final package that has now been signed into law, property owners and business tenants that are within a BID will:

  • Be able to be equitable voting members in the new districts.
  • Have ultimate say over the structure and makeup of the BID,
  • Oversee the amount the district may charge on an annual basis,
  • Make the BIDs accountable by clearly outlining the anticipated projects in a district plan,
  • Ensure that BIDs are accountable and transparent in their financing and transparent with taxpayers, and, most importantly,
  • Limit the involvement of unnecessary government intervention.

Indeed, the beauty of the BID is that, unlike other types of existing economic development tools, such as SSAs, businesses will now not only be at the table, but, in many ways, will be leading the way to making sure the BID works for all taxpayers.

The Chamber is proud to have supported SB 3679 in Springfield and we look forward to continuing to champion pro-growth policies in the years to come.