As Chicago gears up for Small Business Saturday next weekend, the city is embracing the spirit of local shopping with an innovative initiative. The newly launched Chicago Loves Local campaign is encouraging residents to explore small businesses across all 77 of the city’s diverse community areas.

In a collaborative effort, the Andersonville Chamber of Commerce has teamed up with the Chicago is With You Task Force, the Rogers Park Business Alliance, and the Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights. Together, they are championing this initiative to draw attention to the benefits of supporting local enterprises.

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The campaign is more than just a shopping event; it’s a call to action. By choosing to shop small, Chicagoans can help bolster local employment, strengthen the city’s economy, and maintain the unique charm of their neighborhoods.

Charlie Wein, Director of Marketing and Communications at the Andersonville Chamber of Commerce, explains the campaign’s roots. “We’ve engaged with the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection and consulted numerous business owners and service organizations citywide,” Wein notes. “A common concern was the loss of local customers to businesses with superior marketing in neighboring areas. This campaign emerged from the need to promote local shopping and encourage exploring businesses beyond one’s usual haunts.”

“We’ve been working with the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection and meeting with business owners and other business service organizations from around the city,” said Charlie Wein, Director of Marketing and Communications with the Andersonville Chamber of Commerce. “And one of the things that we heard very quickly from a lot of these businesses was that they were losing local customers to businesses in other neighborhoods that have the exact same type of retail product or food service because the marketing was better, because they could afford better marketing. So a big part of this came out of what can we do to promote people to shop in their neighborhoods. And then, of course, it evolved into helping people figure out ways to shop in neighborhoods and community areas outside their own.”

Carolina Juarez is the business district manager with the Rogers Park Business Alliance. She says “it’s pretty sad,” when describing the challenges small businesses are currently facing.

“The businesses are suffering between 20-to-30% less sales because of immigration enforcement,” Juarez said. “And so, not only is this a difficult time usually, but this year it’s more difficult than ever because people are not coming out to shop. They’re scared to come out of their house.”

Javier Yanez, Executive Director and Co-founder of the Pilsen Chamber of Commerce says the impact of the immigration crackdown in his community has been “devastating.”

“Aside from the economic impact the fear in the community has been a constant,” Yanez said. “And I think that we need to highlight the fact that there’s emotional just distress in the community.”

Yanez says business owners are telling him what they need right now is “traffic.” He says the chamber has been trying to develop strategies to bring more people to the community. There is a trickle down effect when businesses bring in more customers.

“For example in Rogers Park is that a majority of the businesses are family-owned,” Yanez said. “And so, that affects the community. Because those people who also live in Rogers Park are supporting, you know, they’re going out to shop at the local businesses. They’re going out to support the non-profits, it’s a cycle that just goes around and around. And so, when the businesses are struggling the community feels it. And when the businesses are thriving, the community is also happy. You know they have this sense of ownership of their community.”

For more on Chicago Loves Local, Wein recommends checking out the campaign on Instagram.

“We will be featuring businesses from all over the 77 community areas on there,” Wein said. “We will be creating an interactive map. Keep an eye out for punch cards, incentives. You can win prizes by shopping local.”

For more information on each organization:
https://andersonville.org/

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https://pilsenchamberofcommerce.org/