CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 19, 2024--
In recognition of Small Business Saturday on November 30, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBank Chicago) today announced it has invested over $27 million through its Community First ® Accelerate Grants (Accelerate Grants) for Small Business and its Community Small Business Advance throughout 2024. Through these programs, FHLBank Chicago supported more than 700 small businesses throughout Illinois and Wisconsin.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241119386055/en/
“We are proud to help small businesses within our communities grow and achieve success. Small businesses play an integral role in local communities, from creating jobs to fostering community development,” said Katie Naftzger, Senior Vice President, Community Investment Officer, FHLBank Chicago. “As a leader in the housing and community development space, FHLBank Chicago is committed to ensuring our members’ communities have what they need to thrive, including economic opportunities for the residents and small businesses who call them home.”
Now in its third and largest year, FHLBank Chicago has awarded over $10 million through its Accelerate Grants program for small businesses in 2024. Of the businesses that received grants this year, over 56 percent were diverse-owned, emphasizing FHLBank Chicago’s commitment to fostering inclusivity and equity. These funds aim to increase businesses’ financial stability and provide an immediate boost for small businesses to undertake equipment upgrades, expansions, and new services. As of today, over $15 million in funds have been awarded to small businesses since the program’s inception in 2022.
FHLBank Chicago member, Byline Bank, awarded $15,000 Accelerate Grants to two local small businesses - Mack’s Bike and Goods located in Evanston, Ill. and Taqueria La Placita de Isabel located in the McKinley Park neighborhood of Chicago. Mack’s Bike and Goods, a full-service bicycle shop and community meeting venue, plans to use the grant to enhance its building exterior. Taqueria La Placita de Isabel, a restaurant that is a staple gathering spot for school-age children and families, will use the grant to purchase a cooler for perishable food items, add seating and outdoor signage and hire an additional part-time employee.
“At Mack’s Bike and Goods, we’re more than a bicycle shop; we’re a hub for community connection and sustainable living,” said Kelly Mack, co-owner of Mack’s Bike and Goods. “This grant allows us to make essential upgrades like improving our entrance and signage, creating a safer, more welcoming space for our customers and investing back into our vibrant community in Evanston.”
In addition to Accelerate Grants, this year FHLBank Chicago increased the subsidy available for the Community Small Business Advance to $18 million, up from $10 million in 2023. Through this advance program, FHLBank Chicago member financial institutions originated over $100 million in significantly below-market rate loans to business owners in low-and moderate-income communities as of October 31, 2024. This program offers deeper liquidity support, enabling FHLBank Chicago members to provide low-cost capital to help small businesses make larger strategic investments.
“High interest rates are challenging for any small business to navigate, and we often see this with local farmers in rural, western Wisconsin who face limited access to low-cost capital,” said William Bruegger, CEO of Alliance Bank in Mondovi, Wis. “Through the discounted lending we were able to provide through FHLBank Chicago's Community Small Business Advance, one of our customers, a local farmer, purchased 173 acres of farmland to plant row crops. Products like this allow us to use our deep ties to our communities to drive economic growth where it’s needed most.”
View the full list of 2024 FHLBank Chicago Accelerate Grants recipients here.
About the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago
FHLBank Chicago is a regional bank in the Federal Home Loan Bank System. FHLBanks are government-sponsored enterprises created by Congress to ensure access to low-cost funding for their member financial institutions, with a focus on providing solutions that support the housing and community development needs of members’ customers. FHLBank Chicago is a self-capitalizing cooperative, owned by its Illinois and Wisconsin members, including commercial banks, credit unions, insurance companies, savings institutions and community development financial institutions. To learn more about FHLBank Chicago, please visit fhlbc.com.
“Community First” is a registered trademark of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago.
The Mack family of Mack’s Bike and Goods in Evanston, Ill., who received a $15,000 Community First® Accelerate Grant from FHLBank Chicago through their member Byline Bank to support their small business growth. (Photo: Business Wire)
U.S. President Donald Trump says Iran has proposed negotiations after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic as an ongoing crackdown on demonstrators has led to hundreds of deaths.
Trump said late Sunday that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports mount of increasing deaths and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night.
Iran did not acknowledge Trump’s comments immediately. It has previously warned the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has accurately reported on past unrest in Iran, gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran cross checking information. It said at least 544 people have been killed so far, including 496 protesters and 48 people from the security forces. It said more than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
The Latest:
A witness told the AP that the streets of Tehran empty at the sunset call to prayers each night.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, addressed “Dear parents,” which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
—- By Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Iran drew tens of thousands of pro-government demonstrators to the streets Monday in a show of power after nationwide protests challenging the country’s theocracy.
Iranian state television showed images of demonstrators thronging Tehran toward Enghelab Square in the capital.
It called the demonstration an “Iranian uprising against American-Zionist terrorism,” without addressing the underlying anger in the country over the nation’s ailing economy. That sparked the protests over two weeks ago.
State television aired images of such demonstrations around the country, trying to signal it had overcome the protests, as claimed by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi earlier in the day.
China says it opposes the use of force in international relations and expressed hope the Iranian government and people are “able to overcome the current difficulties and maintain national stability.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Monday that Beijing “always opposes interference in other countries’ internal affairs, maintains that the sovereignty and security of all countries should be fully protected under international law, and opposes the use or threat of use of force in international relations.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemned “in the strongest terms the violence that the leadership in Iran is directing against its own people.”
He said it was a sign of weakness rather than strength, adding that “this violence must end.”
Merz said during a visit to India that the demonstrators deserve “the greatest respect” for the courage with which “they are resisting the disproportional, brutal violence of Iranian security forces.”
He said: “I call on the Iranian leadership to protect its population rather than threatening it.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman on Monday suggested that a channel remained open with the United States.
Esmail Baghaei made the comment during a news conference in Tehran.
“It is open and whenever needed, through that channel, the necessary messages are exchanged,” he said.
However, Baghaei said such talks needed to be “based on the acceptance of mutual interests and concerns, not a negotiation that is one-sided, unilateral and based on dictation.”
The semiofficial Fars news agency in Iran, which is close to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, on Monday began calling out Iranian celebrities and leaders on social media who have expressed support for the protests over the past two weeks, especially before the internet was shut down.
The threat comes as writers and other cultural leaders were targeted even before protests. The news agency highlighted specific celebrities who posted in solidarity with the protesters and scolded them for not condemning vandalism and destruction to public property or the deaths of security forces killed during clashes. The news agency accused those celebrities and leaders of inciting riots by expressing their support.
Canada said it “stands with the brave people of Iran” in a statement on social media that strongly condemned the killing of protesters during widespread protests that have rocked the country over the past two weeks.
“The Iranian regime must halt its horrific repression and intimidation and respect the human rights of its citizens,” Canada’s government said on Monday.
Iran’s foreign minister claimed Monday that “the situation has come under total control” after a bloody crackdown on nationwide protests in the country.
Abbas Araghchi offered no evidence for his claim.
Araghchi spoke to foreign diplomats in Tehran. The Qatar-funded Al Jazeera satellite news network, which has been allowed to work despite the internet being cut off in the country, carried his remarks.
Iran’s foreign minister alleged Monday that nationwide protests in his nation “turned violent and bloody to give an excuse” for U.S. President Donald Trump to intervene.
Abbas Araghchi offered no evidence for his claim, which comes after over 500 have been reported killed by activists -- the vast majority coming from demonstrators.
Araghchi spoke to foreign diplomats in Tehran. The Qatar-funded Al Jazeera satellite news network, which has been allowed to work despite the internet being cut off in the country, carried his remarks.
Iran has summoned the British ambassador over protesters twice taking down the Iranian flag at their embassy in London.
Iranian state television also said Monday that it complained about “certain terrorist organization that, under the guise of media, spread lies and promote violence and terrorism.” The United Kingdom is home to offices of the BBC’s Persian service and Iran International, both which long have been targeted by Iran.
A huge crowd of demonstrators, some waving the flag of Iran, gathered Sunday afternoon along Veteran Avenue in LA’s Westwood neighborhood to protest against the Iranian government. Police eventually issued a dispersal order, and by early evening only about a hundred protesters were still in the area, ABC7 reported.
Los Angeles is home to the largest Iranian community outside of Iran.
Los Angeles police responded Sunday after somebody drove a U-Haul box truck down a street crowded with the the demonstrators, causing protesters to scramble out of the way and then run after the speeding vehicle to try to attack the driver. A police statement said one person was hit by the truck but nobody was seriously hurt.
The driver, a man who was not identified, was detained “pending further investigation,” police said in a statement Sunday evening.
Shiite Muslims hold placards and chant slogans during a protest against the U.S. and show solidarity with Iran in Lahore, Pakistan, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
Activists carrying a photograph of Reza Pahlavi take part in a rally supporting protesters in Iran at Lafayette Park, across from the White House, in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Activists take part in a rally supporting protesters in Iran at Lafayette Park, across from the White House in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Protesters burn the Iranian national flag during a rally in support of the nationwide mass demonstrations in Iran against the government in Paris, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
