Duckworth, Durbin Lead Members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation in Letter Requesting Answers Regarding SBA Administration's Decision to Relocate Chicago Office
[CHICAGO, IL] – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, along with members of the Illinois Congressional delegation, sent a letter to Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Kelly Loeffler requesting additional information over the Administration’s announcement to relocate six of its regional offices that do not “comply” with the Administration’s immigration policies, including Chicago. SBA’s statement aligns with the Administration's attacks on immigrant communities and the local governments that refuse to pursue the Administration's mass deportation agenda. The announcement, which contained few details about SBA's plans for the relocation, occurred the same week that the so-called Department of Government Efficiency announced that the lease for the SBA office in Springfield, Illinois, has been terminated. Both actions have created confusion and chaos for small business owners across Illinois.
In addition to Durbin and Duckworth, the letter is signed by U.S. Representatives Jonathan Jackson (D-IL-01), Robin Kelly (D-IL-02), Delia Ramirez (D-IL-03), Jesús García (D-IL-04), Mike Quigley (D-IL-05), Sean Casten (D-IL-06), Danny Davis (D-IL-07), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-08), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-09), Brad Schneider (D-IL-10), Bill Foster (D-IL-11) and Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14).
“The SBA's announcement last week claimed to be moving these six regional offices to ‘more accessible locations that... comply with federal immigration law.’ Chicago should not be used as a political pawn in President Trump's mission to dehumanize immigrants. Rather than working with Congress to enact meaningful immigration reform, the Trump Administration needlessly is removing SBA offices from Chicago and other cities, cutting off critical loan assistance and support for new and growing entrepreneurs,” the lawmakers wrote.
SBA's regional offices help small businesses access loan programs, federal contracting, disaster recovery assistance and counseling services. SBA's Great Lakes region covers Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Small businesses form the backbone of Illinois' economy. Illinois is home to roughly 1.3 million small businesses that support 2.4 million jobs, accounting for 44.1 percent of the state's employment in 2020. Of these small businesses, 42.4 percent are women-owned, 20.9 percent are minority-owned and 4.4 percent are veteran-owned. Small businesses in Illinois also exported $17.1 billion worth of goods in 2021, or 27.5 percent of all Illinois exports that year.
“In addition to SBA's announcement that its Chicago regional office would be relocated, the so-called Department of Government Efficiency announced on March 5, 2025, that the lease for the SBA office building in Springfield, Illinois, had been terminated. Due to the lack of transparency around these two actions, we are deeply concerned that they could leave Illinois with no SBA office at all, making it more difficult for Illinoisans to access small business loan programs, federal contracts, and disaster recovery assistance,” the lawmakers continued.
The Congressional delegation requested SBA respond to a number of outstanding questions by April 2, 2025.
A copy of the full letter is available here.
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