Illinois supported Small Business Saturday

12/1/2011

Illinois governor Pat Quinn recently supported entrepreneurs by declaring Saturday, November 26 "Small Business Saturday," an initiative he believes spurred small business spending during a time when shopping is typically at its peak.

"Thanksgiving weekend traditionally serves as the kick-off for the holiday shopping season, and we want all Illinois businesses to have a strong showing" said Quinn. "I encourage people throughout Illinois to use this time to show their support for local merchants that contribute to our local economies, putting people to work and keeping our economy moving forward."

There are more than 500,000 small businesses in the state, many of which may have trouble obtaining small business loans from large institutions. The time between Black Friday and Cyber Monday have traditionally been some of the busiest shopping days of the year, and Quinn believes small business owners reaped the benefits.

The Journal Star notes that in the town of Peoria, 98 percent of all businesses are considered small businesses by the Small Business Administration, as they have less than 500 employees. More than half of all private sector workers are also employed by these companies.