Now that the elections are over, our 2011 legislative agenda begins. We have recently had the opportunity to meet with state senators and representatives about the challenges business owners tackle on a daily basis.  We were excited to see that many state legislators seem ready to move forward an agenda that will level the playing field for small and medium sized businesses.

One of our first initiatives will be to draft legislation providing Illinois business owners the same protections other consumers receive though the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009.  The CARD Act protects consumers from arbitrary and punitive interest rate hikes.  It also makes it easier for consumers to bring down their debt, prohibits double billing and requires credit card companies to apply payments to the highest interest portion of their balance.  Unfortunately, what the credit card companies give consumers, they take from small business.  Many business owners have seen their rates skyrocket since this law was enacted.  Considering many business cards are secured with personal guarantees, it is ultimately the owners of these businesses who are getting crushed.

The legislation we will propose requires credit card companies doing business in Illinois to provide the same protections on business cards they are required to offer on consumer cards.  We expect this bill to gain broad and bipartisan support.

The SBAC will be rolling out the remainder of our legislative agenda shortly. We are also in the process of scheduling a bi-weekly conference call for our members and the policy team.  During the call, we will take input on our policy agenda and answer any questions our members may have.  Also, please let us know if there is a legislative issue impacting your business so that we can discuss the best way to tackle it.

We continue to aggressively move towards establishing an SBAC health insurance plan for our members. By joining together and obtaining critical mass, we believe that our members will be able to secure better health insurance benefits at a more reasonable price.

Join us at our SBAC Health Insurance Forum on Saturday, Nov. 20th, to discuss the plan. The meeting will be held 10:30 a.m. at our offices in Northfield, 790 W. Frontage Road.

Jonah Weiss and representatives from Arthur J. Gallagher will be meeting with SBAC members and the public to provide an update and answer questions about the plan.

Our SBAC members have already received a census, which is only eight questions long.  Simply put, the more people we have fill out this census, the better our negotiating position.  Please contact Blanca Campos with any questions or to RSVP for the forum at blanca@sbacil.org.

"The Alley" In Highwood And The SBAC Form A Strategic Partnership

"The Alley" in Highwood is an awesome venue for parties or an evening out on the town.  SBAC members can now book their holiday parties, and other gatherings, at The Alley and enjoy complimentary desserts on the house.

The Alley will provide three hours of drinks, food, bowling, billiards and bags for $50.00 a person.  In addition, the Alley has graciously agreed to donate 5% of all the revenues raised back to the SBAC on any party referred by the SBAC.

Please mention your SBAC affiliation when you book your party at The Alley.  We would like to thank Steven Goldstein, owner of Chicagobroker.com and The Alley, for entering into this generous arrangement.