Full Text of SB2984 102nd General Assembly
SB2984enr 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning State government.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The Department of Commerce and Economic | 5 | | Opportunity Law of the
Civil Administrative Code of Illinois | 6 | | is amended by changing Section 605-503 as follows: | 7 | | (20 ILCS 605/605-503) | 8 | | (This Section may contain text from a Public Act with a | 9 | | delayed effective date ) | 10 | | Sec. 605-503. Entrepreneurship assistance centers. | 11 | | (a) The Department shall establish and support, subject to | 12 | | appropriation, entrepreneurship assistance centers, including | 13 | | the issuance of grants, at career education agencies and | 14 | | not-for-profit corporations including, but not limited to, | 15 | | local development corporations, chambers of commerce, | 16 | | community-based business outreach centers, and other | 17 | | community-based organizations. The purpose of the centers | 18 | | shall be to train minority group members, women, individuals | 19 | | with a disability, dislocated workers, and veterans , and youth | 20 | | entrepreneurs in the principles and practice of | 21 | | entrepreneurship in order to prepare those persons to pursue | 22 | | self-employment opportunities and to pursue a minority | 23 | | business enterprise or a women-owned business enterprise. The |
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| 1 | | centers shall provide for training in all aspects of business | 2 | | development and small business management as defined by the | 3 | | Department. | 4 | | (b) The Department shall establish criteria for selection | 5 | | and designation of the centers which shall include, but not be | 6 | | limited to: | 7 | | (1) the level of support for the center from local | 8 | | post-secondary education institutions, businesses, and | 9 | | government; | 10 | | (2) the level of financial assistance provided at the | 11 | | local and federal level to support the operations of the | 12 | | center; | 13 | | (3) the applicant's understanding of program goals and | 14 | | objectives articulated by the Department; | 15 | | (4) the plans of the center to supplement State and | 16 | | local funding through fees for services which may be based | 17 | | on a sliding scale based on ability to pay; | 18 | | (5) the need for and anticipated impact of the center | 19 | | on the community in which it will function; | 20 | | (6) the quality of the proposed work plan and staff of | 21 | | the center; and | 22 | | (7) the extent of economic distress in the area to be | 23 | | served. | 24 | | (c) Each center shall: | 25 | | (1) be operated by a board of directors representing | 26 | | community leaders in business, education, finance and |
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| 1 | | government; | 2 | | (2) be incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation; | 3 | | (3) be located in an area accessible to eligible | 4 | | clients; | 5 | | (4) establish an advisory group of community business | 6 | | experts, at least one-half of whom shall be representative | 7 | | of the clientele to be served by the center, which shall | 8 | | constitute a support network to provide counseling and | 9 | | mentoring services to minority group members, women, | 10 | | individuals with a disability, dislocated workers, and | 11 | | veterans , and youth entrepreneurs from the concept stage | 12 | | of development through the first one to 2 years of | 13 | | existence on a regular basis and as needed thereafter; and | 14 | | (5) establish a referral system and linkages to | 15 | | existing area small business assistance programs and | 16 | | financing sources. | 17 | | (d) Each entrepreneurship assistance center shall provide | 18 | | needed services to eligible clients, including, but not | 19 | | limited to: (i) orientation and screening of prospective | 20 | | entrepreneurs; (ii) analysis of business concepts and | 21 | | technical feasibility; (iii) market analysis; (iv) management | 22 | | analysis and counseling; (v) business planning and financial | 23 | | planning assistance; (vi) referrals to financial resources; | 24 | | (vii) referrals to existing educational programs for training | 25 | | in such areas as marketing, accounting, and other training | 26 | | programs as may be necessary and available; and (viii) |
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| 1 | | referrals to business incubator facilities, when appropriate, | 2 | | for the purpose of entering into agreements to access shared | 3 | | support services. | 4 | | (e) Applications for grants made under this Section shall | 5 | | be made in the manner and on forms prescribed by the | 6 | | Department. The application shall include, but shall not be | 7 | | limited to: | 8 | | (1) a description of the training programs available | 9 | | within the geographic area to be served by the center to | 10 | | which eligible clients may be referred; | 11 | | (2) designation of a program director; | 12 | | (3) plans for providing ongoing technical assistance | 13 | | to program graduates, including linkages with providers of | 14 | | other entrepreneurial assistance programs and with | 15 | | providers of small business technical assistance and | 16 | | services; | 17 | | (4) a program budget, including matching funds, | 18 | | in-kind and otherwise, to be provided by the applicant; | 19 | | and | 20 | | (5) any other requirements as deemed necessary by the | 21 | | Department. | 22 | | (f) Grants made under this Section shall be disbursed for | 23 | | payment of the cost of services and expenses of the program | 24 | | director, the instructors of the participating career | 25 | | education agency or not-for-profit corporation, the faculty | 26 | | and support personnel thereof, and any other person in the |
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| 1 | | service of providing instruction and counseling in furtherance | 2 | | of the program. | 3 | | (g) The Department shall monitor the performance of each | 4 | | entrepreneurial assistance center and require quarterly | 5 | | reports from each center at such time and in such a manner as | 6 | | prescribed by the Department. | 7 | | The Department shall also evaluate the entrepreneurial | 8 | | assistance centers established under this Section and report | 9 | | annually beginning on January 1, 2023, and on or before | 10 | | January 1 of each year thereafter, the results of the | 11 | | evaluation to the Governor and the General Assembly. The | 12 | | report shall discuss the extent to which the centers serve | 13 | | minority group members, women, individuals with a disability, | 14 | | dislocated workers, and veterans , and youth entrepreneurs ; the | 15 | | extent to which the training program is coordinated with other | 16 | | assistance programs targeted to small and new businesses; the | 17 | | ability of the program to leverage other sources of funding | 18 | | and support; and the success of the program in aiding | 19 | | entrepreneurs to start up new businesses, including the number | 20 | | of new business start-ups resulting from the program. The | 21 | | report shall recommend changes and improvements in the | 22 | | training program and in the quality of supplemental technical | 23 | | assistance offered to graduates of the training programs. The | 24 | | report shall be made available to the public on the | 25 | | Department's website. Between evaluation due dates, the | 26 | | Department shall maintain the necessary records and data |
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| 1 | | required to satisfy the evaluation requirements. | 2 | | (h) For purposes of this Section: | 3 | | "Entrepreneurship assistance center" or "center" means the | 4 | | business development centers or programs which provide | 5 | | assistance to primarily minority group members, women, | 6 | | individuals with a disability, dislocated workers and | 7 | | veterans , and youth entrepreneurs under this Section. | 8 | | "Disability" means, with respect to an individual: (i) a | 9 | | physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or | 10 | | more of the major life activities of an individual; (ii) a | 11 | | record of such an impairment; or (iii) being regarded as | 12 | | having an impairment. | 13 | | "Minority business enterprise" has the same meaning as | 14 | | provided for "minority-owned business" under Section 2 of the | 15 | | Business Enterprise for Minorities, Women, and Persons with | 16 | | Disabilities Act. | 17 | | "Minority group member" has the same meaning as provided | 18 | | for "minority person" under Section 2 of the Business | 19 | | Enterprise for Minorities, Women, and Persons with | 20 | | Disabilities Act. | 21 | | "Women-owned business enterprise" has the same meaning as | 22 | | provided for "women-owned business" under Section 2 of the | 23 | | Business Enterprise for Minorities, Women, and Persons with | 24 | | Disabilities Act. | 25 | | "Veteran" means a person who served in and who has | 26 | | received an honorable or general discharge from, the United |
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| 1 | | States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, or | 2 | | reserves thereof, or who served in the Army National Guard, | 3 | | Air National Guard, or Illinois National Guard.
| 4 | | "Youth entrepreneur" means a person who is between the | 5 | | ages
of 16 and 29 years old that is seeking community support | 6 | | to
start a business in Illinois. | 7 | | (Source: P.A. 102-272, eff. 1-1-22.)
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