Presently, the Chicago Metropolitan area has the largest and most established Polish community in the world outside of Poland, which includes about 150,000 Polish-born residents, by far the largest European ethnic group of the area. Polish is the third most widely spoken language in Chicago, behind English and Spanish.
As a part of Chicago’s BACP-NBDC program the goal is to intensify its provision of culturally-specific mentorship and assistance to Polish immigrants interested in accessing mainstream business services and support mechanisms offered as part of Chicago’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The Back to Business (B2B) grant program provides recovery grants for businesses in the hardest-hit industries. Through the state’s B2B and Business Interruption Grant (BIG) Programs, DCEO has provided more than $535 million to more than 15,000 businesses since the start of the pandemic.
Eligible restaurants, hotels and creative arts businesses are eligible to apply for $175 million in available grant funding as part of our efforts to support ongoing recovery in hard-hit industries.