Chamber Members:
For a short week, this one really felt like 10 days long. A lot of moving parts this week locally on COVID numbers related to our Region. As of now, we continue to follow the same measures until further notice. A piece of good news to share on this front … Will County came off the IDPH warning list, so that’s good news. The House will return for full session in Washington DC on Monday, days after the Senate was unable to move through a reduced version of federal assistance. Enjoy your weekend!
Don’t Forget About the Economic Impacts of COVID
A new survey released examining how COVID-19 has affected households in some of the nation’s largest cities coast-to-coast finds that at least half of households studied in four major U.S. cities report serious financial problems triggered by the pandemic, and more than half report serious problems caring for their children. The poll released by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, finds that the pandemic impacts described in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston are falling heaviest on households with annual incomes below $100,000 and in Black and Latino families.
Push for Action
Moderate House Democrats are growing increasingly alarmed about stalled coronavirus relief negotiations, with vulnerable members starting to privately push Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other party leaders to take action to break the stalemate.
Those anxieties — particularly among the Democrats in GOP-leaning districts known as front liners — have spiked as lawmakers watched the standoff drag out in the Senate this week while they were stuck back home in their districts amid the pandemic.
Some House Democrats aren’t convinced the wait-it-out strategy will work and have started to press leadership to take some kind of action, including potentially putting bills dealing with specific aspects of coronavirus relief on the floor so that lawmakers have something to tout to their constituents back home.
Those Democrats argue that the $3.4 trillion coronavirus relief bill the House passed in May, known as the Heroes Act, is fading from the public’s memory and the House needs to do something now to show lawmakers are taking action despite the Senate stalemate.
Thousands Support Letter from Starbucks Founder
Howard Schultz, the Starbucks founder, has gotten 8,700 business owners including our Chamber on a letter pushing the RESTART Act, a bill by Sens. Bennet and Young that has 55 co-sponsors in the Senate. The bill extends the PPP and stands up new loan programs.
The letter adds, “At this moment of crisis, we urge you to transcend partisanship and forge meaningful agreement on an assistance package to help our struggling small businesses and, in turn, tens of millions of Americans. We believe that assistance should embrace the following principles.”
- Federally guaranteed loans, at favorable terms, that will enable small businesses to transform and sustain themselves through 2020 and well into 2021. Support must last for longer than just the next two or three months.
- Businesses should have flexibility in how loan funds are used.
- The hardest-hit businesses should be eligible for at least partial loan forgiveness. Any forgiveness should be limited to small and mid-sized firms that have suffered significant revenue declines and are not publicly traded.
- Relief needs to be delivered expeditiously. Building on the existing PPP infrastructure would be one way to quickly stand up a new loan program.
- These funds must flow to all small businesses in need, particularly those run by people of color, who have traditionally had less access to capital. A portion of funds should also be directed toward strengthening community development financial institutions (CDFIs) and minority depository institutions (MDIs).
Finally, here’s something to think about. The hot new job title in a pandemic: ‘Head of remote work.’ Another sign work from home is here to stay. Companies are hiring executives to lead the virtual work experience and some companies are giving the job to cross-company teams or executives with other jobs rather than hiring or promoting someone new. Others have assigned the role to longtime employees who know the culture well.
Stay well,
Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce & Industry Staff and Board of Directors
*Daily Coronavirus update brought to you by Silver Cross Hospital
Mike Paone
Vice President – Government Affairs
Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce & Industry
mpaone@jolietchamber.com
815.727.5371 main
815.727.5373 direct