Buckner unveils plan to help businesses and strengthen job

Buckner unveils plan to help businesses and strengthen job Kam Buckner releases Economic Opportunity & Recovery Plan prioritizing business development, jobs & training programs & investing more in neighborhoods that need it Continuing to far outpace his rivals, candidate for mayor Kam Buckner today released his ninth policy pla n, proving once again that he is the candidate of ideas and action who’s ready to hit the ground running on day one. Buckner announced his Economic Opportunity & Recovery Plan the day before the first televised debate saying that “as a son of Chicago, I’ve lived here all my life, I’ve seen our historical commercial corridors hunger for investment and lose vitality, and as the State Representative for downtown, I know what the business community needs to get back on its feet.” “For too long Chicago has been stuck with a siloed approach to fix our problems,” said Buckner . “Public safety, affordable housing, our city’s social services don’t all exist in a vacuum. We can’t solve any of our problems without tackling economic inequality and supporting our business community.” Buckner’s plan is centered around three components: prioritizing business development in City Hall, establishing better jobs & training programs and investing in the neighborhoods that need it most. “Chicago has the third largest GDP in the country and the 22nd largest GDP in the world,” said Buckner . “But we haven’t been acting like it. We aren’t doing enough to support our small businesses or attract larger ones to the city. We can lead the country and have the most successful and equitable economic recovery in the nation so long as we elect a mayor with the vision and leadership to get it done.” Buckner’s plan would create greater economic opportunity and jumpstart recovery by: Decentralizing the Business Administration and Consumer Protection Bureau Aligning city contracting to close the racial wealth gap Streamlining the business permitting process to eliminate unnecessary red tape and make the process straightforward and transparent. Establishing a Chicago CEO Council to advise on business issues citywide to prioritize growth and investment. Creating a “Main Streets Plan” for our historical commercial corridors . Establishing specialized support for the hospitality industry , which has been among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Working with Springfield to come up with a solution to address the abundance of commercial vacancies by eliminating or reconfiguring the Commercial Vacancy Tax Credit. Creating a partnership between the City, Chicago Public Schools and Chicago City Colleges and unions to develop vocational and trade training programs . Creating the Chicago Reshoring Initiative to bring back good, well-paying manufacturing jobs to the City from overseas and ensuring that these manufacturing jobs are environmentally-conscious and responsible. Incentivizing and supporting the creation of worker-owned cooperatives . Shifting TIF dollars from zones that don’t need to be further developed into higher-need communities to foster more equitable economic development. Transforming the Neighborhood Opportunity Fund by expanding beyond its current structure as a matching grant that often requires considerable capital to access and making it a holistic fund that can serve businesses that may not have that access. Negotiating with anchor institutions to increase their use of local vendors and suppliers , hiring locally and investing in affordable housing for their workforce. Establishing an Office of Supplier Diversity to set goals for minority business ownership and ensure the city is meeting those benchmarks. In addition to the economic plan he released today, Buckner has also released a public safety plan, an education plan, a public transportation improvement plan, a housing plan, an environmental plan, a mental health plan, an inclusion & accessibility plan and a veterans plan. Full Economic Opportunity & Recovery plan is available on Buckner’s website and included on the next pages: Economic Opportunity & Recovery Plan As the city recovers from Covid, we need a plan to bring more jobs to Chicago and make Chicago the home that people choose to live, work, raise their families, and grow their businesses. My administration will work to make Chicago an economic powerhouse– that means supporting the business community, giving more opportunities to small businesses in neighborhoods throughout the city and providing support for workers citywide. Addressing economic inequality is critical to creating a Chicago that works for everyone. In my time in Springfield, I’ve sponsored a number of bills that begin to address these issues, and I plan to bring that same commitment as the Mayor of Chicago. Addressing economic inequities will help tackle the roots of intergenerational […]

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