Permits, Business Licensing, Zoning

The Clinic’s history of making entrepreneurship in Chicago simpler, faster, and cheaper extends back over two decades. In 2021, the Clinic was instrumental in passing the ChiBizStrong small business reform package through City Council, eliminating redundant administrative roadblocks and legalizing the use of A- frame signs. The Clinic conducted a joint research project with Metropolitan Planning Council in 2023, exposing that critical business permits take longer to process in historically disinvested communities on the South and West sides than in more affluent and well-resourced areas of the city. After collaborating with City Council to stop a zoning ordinance that would harm community-based microbusiness incubators, the Clinic continues to identify and advocate for opportunities to streamline small business creation and right size regulations to secure a level playing field where small businesses can grow and thrive.