Is Chicago Unintentionally Hurting Small Businesses?
Despite Mayor Richard M. Daley’s desire to foster small businesses in the city, a recent article said red tape stifles potential business growth in Chicago. The Crain’s Chicago Business article was based on a May study done by the Institute for Justice Clinic in Entrepreneurship at the University of Chicago.
The study, Regulatory Field: Burdensome Laws Strike Out Chicago Entrepreneurs, found a number of roadblocks that local policy puts in front of the fledgling entrepreneur:
- home business operators can’t have “more than one person who doesn’t live in the home” work in the store
- products on sell cannot be displayed at home businesses
- no legitimate vendors can sell goods on the street, including flowers, books or at
- co-author and institute director Elizabeth Milnikel said aldermanic veto power is “among the most corrupting and stifling of the restrictions” on potential small business owners. “Getting into business in Chicago shouldn’t require someone to kiss the alderman’s ring,” she said. “The marketplace—and not the government—is best able to decide if a business will succeed.”
Such restrictions can stop a business in its tracks, the study found. Read the full study below: