# Small Business Press Conference 11.29.25

- Date: December 1, 2025
- Type: Video
- Length: 33:16
- Topic: Press conferences
- Video: [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPa--aACyso)
- Transcript: Machine transcription, 3,071 words ([text](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/files/transcripts/youtube/vPa--aACyso.txt))
- Mayor: [Brandon Johnson](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor)

## Description

Mayor Johnson attends the Small Business Saturday and Cut the Tape for Small Business press conference.

## Transcript

[10:52](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/vPa--aACyso?t=652) Good morning and welcome. Good morning. My name is Catherine Bissell-Kordova, and I'm the Executive Director of Chicago Fair Trade. Chicago Fair Trade was founded in 2006, and we're proud to say Chicago has embraced our organization as well as the fair trade movement. Our work was the driving force behind Chicago being designated a fair trade city in 2011, as well as getting an anti-sweatshop ordinance passed in 2014.

[11:24](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/vPa--aACyso?t=684) What is fair trade? Yesterday, you may have seen the typical Black Friday videos, people pushing and shoving to buy cheaply made goods. Fair trade is the opposite of that. Rather than being extractive, exploitative, and greedy, fair trade uses business as a force for good. Fair trade means applying the golden rule to business, treating every person in place along the supply chain with dignity and respect. Fair trade puts people and planet over profits.

[11:56](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/vPa--aACyso?t=716) Chicago is at the epicenter of the fair trade movement. Our city has the highest concentration of fair trade businesses in the United States. We have a network of locally owned, mostly woman-owned fair trade businesses that numbers over 50. In addition to this museum and the shop, we are currently running our 12th annual fair trade holiday pop-up shop with over 5,000 square feet of fair trade items in Lincoln Park. Through the city's small business storefront activation program,

[12:28](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/vPa--aACyso?t=748) we worked with Uptown United to open this, the world's first and only fair trade museum, last year. Their support and guidance have been vital to our success in our new home. This grant allowed us to transform what was an empty storefront into this active, welcoming space where we host clothing swaps, monthly mending sessions, film screenings, tastings, and more, as well as the gift shop. This grant and Mayor Brandon Johnson's administration have made it possible for Chicago Fair Trade

[13:00](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/vPa--aACyso?t=780) to not only offer Chicagoans the opportunity to learn about Fair Trade, but to put their money to work in their own communities by shopping ethically and sustainably and support local businesses and makers. And that is what today is all about. Small Business Saturday is a powerful reminder of how community investment in small businesses helps bring new energy and vibrancy to our neighborhoods. This weekend, we are excited to welcome new customers and welcome back loyal customers who support value community-based businesses.

[13:32](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/vPa--aACyso?t=812) As one of our members likes to say, buy from us, not the billionaires. Thank you, Mayor Johnson, for your support of Chicago small businesses and entrepreneurs. I now turn it over to Alderwoman Angela Clay. Good morning. My name is Angela Clay. I have the esteemed privilege of being the Alderwoman of the 46th Ward, and I'm so proud to welcome you to Uptown. First, I want to say thank you so much, Catherine, for welcoming us into such a beautiful space and also for making history in this beautiful city.

[14:11](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/vPa--aACyso?t=851) Thank you for choosing Uptown to call home. We support everything that you stand behind, so I just want to say thank you. Thank you to Mayor Brandon Johnson for your continued support and to small businesses all across the city, but especially here in the 46th Ward. Our business community has been extremely thankful for all of the measures that your office has put in place. Today is Small Business Saturday, and what does that mean? That means that we are supporting our favorite businesses. Small businesses make up the building blocks of the entire city of Chicago.

[14:45](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/vPa--aACyso?t=885) They are the dreamers who once had a quirky idea that they turned into reality. They are the way makers who took a family recipe and expanded it into a full restaurant. And without them, our city would not thrive. Small Business Saturday allows us to not just put our money where our mouth is, but we are making investments into the next leaders of our city, into the next business owners of our city, and also believing in people's dreams. Turning a dream into a reality is so hard, you all.

[15:17](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/vPa--aACyso?t=917) And so to have small businesses actually invest in themselves and invest in our communities, it makes a world of difference. Being able to walk into Nabala Cafe and have my order already ready just by looking at the cashier or by going into GGO's Pizza and them knowing my baby wants a slice of cheese pizza cut in squares means so much to us. So on behalf of the 46th Ward, I just want to say thank you so much for having us, and we want to continue to make sure that our small businesses are supported, funded, and making sure that they're investing into our communities.

[15:52](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/vPa--aACyso?t=952) Thanks so much for being here. I'm going to pass it off. I'm going to pass it off to the Commissioner of BACP, Commissioner Ivan. Good morning, everyone. My name is Ivan Capifali. I am the Commissioner for the Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, also known as BACP. It is a pleasure to be here in uptown, a neighborhood that embodies the dynamic spirit of Chicago, rich in entertainment, art, cuisine, and an amazing, diverse community that we all love.

[16:27](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/vPa--aACyso?t=987) My sincere gratitude to Catherine and the Chicago Fair Trade Museum team for hosting us today, and, of course, to Alder President Clay for welcoming us to the Great 46. Thank you, Alder woman. I also wish to acknowledge and thank Mayor Johnson for his ongoing support and celebration of Chicago's businesses. Mayor Johnson, you are a true champion of all Chicago's businesses, and for that, we thank you, sir. Today is a Small Business Saturday, a critical day for Chicago's entrepreneurs, workers, and consumers.

[16:58](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/vPa--aACyso?t=1018) It is a vital opportunity to recognize, celebrate, and support the substantial contributions small businesses make to the health of our communities. Today, we urge all of you Chicagoans to shop local. All of these resources are aligned with Mayor Johnson's vision to uplift our communities in meaningful and profound ways. We are very optimistic of forthcoming initiatives that are aimed to drive entrepreneur stabilization and growth, initiatives that are a direct investment into commercial vibrancy.

[17:31](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/vPa--aACyso?t=1051) We at BACP have dedicated time to hearing our businesses and our partners and are fully ready to execute solutions. So today, as we observe Small Business Saturday, I encourage all of you to support your neighbors, strengthen your local economy, and help us build a more prosperous future for everyone who calls Chicago home. Thank you for being here. Thank you for shopping local. And thank you for standing with our small businesses. I now have the pleasure to introduce our mayor, Brandon Johnson.

[18:07](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/vPa--aACyso?t=1087) Thank you so much, Commissioner Capofale. And good morning, everyone. Good morning. It is truly a pleasure to celebrate Small Business Saturday with all of you and all of you who will continue to support our local businesses. Today, we encourage everyone, everyone who is shopping for the holiday season, to rally around our local businesses that bring so much character and value to our neighborhoods. Small businesses are the heart of our communities and the backbone of our neighborhood economies. Our small businesses are really the soul of Chicago.

[18:39](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/vPa--aACyso?t=1119) When we shop local, we support our fellow neighbors, and we continue to build a strong, more vibrant Chicago. Even if you shop online this year, I encourage you to support one of Chicago's many small businesses, artisans, and, of course, their creators. My administration is committed to supporting our small businesses this holiday season and doing this year-round. Over the last two and a half years, we have convened roundtables and meetings with small business owners to better understand their priorities around business regulation and support.

[19:12](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/vPa--aACyso?t=1152) This year alone, we held eight roundtables, speaking to hundreds of businesses and chambers who share their challenges and their ideas. There's no better way to celebrate this year's Small Business Saturday than by directly addressing their concerns. And that is why today I'm launching my administration's Cut the Tape for Small Businesses initiative.

[19:42](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/vPa--aACyso?t=1182) Cut the Tape is our signature initiative to streamline the city's process for developing and building in Chicago. The Cut the Tape for Small Business initiative will focus on improving. City processes and programs and reducing burdens and barriers that small businesses face across our neighborhood corridors. We have identified nine goals to streamline business licensing and permitting and improving our inspection processes.

[20:13](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/vPa--aACyso?t=1213) Additionally, in my administration's 2026 fiscal year budget proposal, Also, we are making investments in community development and small business support to help these businesses grow and thrive across our city. Small business owners take risks every day to build something that benefits all of us. I will ensure the city is a partner, not an obstacle, in their journey. With the launch of the Cut the Tape for Small Business, let us recommit to uplifting and celebrating our entrepreneurs who create jobs and fuel our neighborhoods and keep our city strong.

[20:51](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/vPa--aACyso?t=1251) Thank you to the business owners, chamber leaders, and economic development partners for your leadership and collaboration. And speaking of collaboration, this work is not possible without strong individuals who understand the collective responsibility in building a more equitable, just society. I'm grateful that I have a partner in the 46th Ward with Alderwoman Clay. Thank you so much for your leadership and always being there for our people. So let's continue to work to invest in the people and places that make Chicago truly the greatest city in the world.

[21:24](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/vPa--aACyso?t=1284) So happy holidays. Happy Small Business Saturday. Let's continue to shop local. And let's continue to build off of the $1.25 billion bond investment for neighborhood economic development, including $625 million that's set aside for small businesses. This is how we build the safest, most affordable big city in America. And someone who has been a part of that ongoing effort, please welcome the owner of IEBA's Sankofa Marketplace.

[21:54](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/vPa--aACyso?t=1314) and she's also a member of the Chicago Fair Trade Alliance group. Please welcome Gina Fofana. Hi, hello, and happy Saturday. So my name is Georgina, Gina Ayabia Fofana, and I am the owner and curator of Ayabia Sanko for Marketplace.

[22:25](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/vPa--aACyso?t=1345) I was born and raised in Ghana, and my work as an educator and storyteller as well as an advocate is rooted in the rich traditions of my homeland, Ghana. I founded IBS Sankofa Marketplace to empower the different artisans and be able to share the beauty of Ghanaian culture with the world. So through this marketplace, my goal is to focus on creating meaningful connections,

[22:56](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/vPa--aACyso?t=1376) promoting fair trade, and using storytelling to celebrate heritage and inspire others as well. I hope that IABS Ancalfa Marketplace helped make a positive impact in the lives of the different artisans that we work with and also to those who appreciate handmade goods and goods that are also rooted in culture. As a small business owner, Small Business Saturday reminds me how important it is to stay connected to community that keeps us going.

[23:31](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/vPa--aACyso?t=1411) Also, as a proud member of the Chicago Fair Trade, I have seen the power of community. With community support, government programs and grants, local entrepreneurs such as myself can continue creating jobs and creating products. That is why I am happy that Mayor Brendan Johnson is standing up for programs, services, and grants that help businesses like mine survive and thrive.

[24:02](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/vPa--aACyso?t=1442) Today is about more than just shopping. It is a reminder of the heart that small businesses bring to neighborhoods that we call home. When you shop with small businesses, you're investing in people. You're helping support local jobs, growth, and opportunity. Thank you to everyone who chooses to support and shop local. Thank you, Mayor Brendan Johnson, for supporting the businesses that give our neighborhoods character and keep our community strong.

[24:42](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/vPa--aACyso?t=1482) Let's make every day a celebration of small businesses. Thank you. I now turn it over to the next speaker, Mr. Anton Seals. Thank you, Gina. Good morning. Good morning. All right. Small business Saturday. My name is Anton Seals, Jr. I'm the lead steward of Grow Greater Inglewood and the founder of Ours, a social equity cannabis company. I'm here because I live on both sides of small business.

[25:14](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/vPa--aACyso?t=1514) As an entrepreneur, a serial entrepreneur, my first T-shirt venture was to 1995 to the Million Man March. Yeah, so I've been at it for a while. And someone who helps, and also we at Grow Greater Union will help a lot of small businesses through our, and agricultural businesses grow on the south side and across Illinois, connecting those local farmers and food producers. So starting ours has taught me that what every single business knows. Those early mornings that we all have, the uncertainty, the moments when you're not sure how you're going to make the ends meet, how you're going to pay those bills.

[25:52](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/vPa--aACyso?t=1552) And what it also has taught me is what is possible when your community shows up for you. Every customer who chooses to spend their dollar locally helps keep that dream alive. So you have to support your local businesses. You have to support your neighborhood business. That's why we do the work we do at Grow Greater Inglewood as well, and it matters so much. Through our Englewood Village Market, we continue to support, and our vendor program, we continue to support small agriculture and food businesses, many of them black-owned, many of them first-generation entrepreneurs, many of them women-led.

[26:24](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/vPa--aACyso?t=1584) These aren't just businesses. They are neighbors growing food on vacant lots turned to urban farms. They're families turning grandmothers' recipes into cottage food enterprises. They're building a legacy and staying creative in a community that has been told for too long that it doesn't matter. So I urge you to support also our latest effort to kind of pull all those pieces together, the growbox.org launching today on Small Business Saturday. So Small Business Saturday. So I definitely couldn't connect with this fair trade.

[26:55](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/vPa--aACyso?t=1615) Small Business Saturday, I'm asking every Chicagoan to know where your dollar goes, where you buy from your local businesses. You're recirculating those dollars and helping that one business on a desolate corridor attract the next one. You're keeping the dream alive while also rebuilding our neighborhoods. So shop Inglewood today. Shop South Shore. Shop Bronzeville. Shop Chapman. And definitely shop Chicago today. And because of this cut to tape, we further will help us expedite some of the work that we all do as entrepreneurs.

[27:28](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/vPa--aACyso?t=1648) That is definitely not for the faint of heart. And I just wish all of us to be able to kind of lean in on what we have here in our great city of Chicago, these 77 neighborhoods. in solidarity. Thank you. So Gosa. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. My name is Gosia Pieniazek. I'm one of the owners of Na Zdrowie Hospitality, the group of four Polish restaurants in Chicago. When my husband and I began this journey, we were new to the business, but we knew we wanted to share our culture through food.

[28:05](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/vPa--aACyso?t=1685) Food that is familiar to us, we know flavors from childhood, but also food reimagined that is serving new audience and new generations. The process was a lot of trial and error, and as we know, it can get lengthy. The lengthier, the more expensive it gets, and intimidating. That's why today it's so important that we have the announcement of Cut the Tape for Small Business. It changes everything for new entrepreneurs, for people like me, for immigrants, women,

[28:41](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/vPa--aACyso?t=1721) not to be afraid to move forward with the ideas. Thank you to the city for listening to us, small businesses, because we voiced concerns and you responded with a wonderful, wonderful initiative. Mary Johnson, thank you, thank you for believing in small business in us, people behind it. And for everybody in Chicago, enjoy this picturesque Saturday morning.

[29:11](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/vPa--aACyso?t=1751) Grab coffee and pastry from your local coffee shop. Go get a hat from the vintage store. And come back for the soup to your mom's and pop's diner. And happy, peaceful holidays, everybody. Thank you. Good morning, everybody. Good morning. My name is Mike Moreno. I am the owner of Moreno's Liquors and Osito's Tap in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago.

[29:44](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/vPa--aACyso?t=1784) I am also a special service area number 25 board member. And today, we want to talk about small businesses. We want to talk about getting out there and taking care of your small businesses. I am a third-generation entrepreneur. My family has been doing business in the Little Village neighborhood and in Chicago for over 60 years. My grandfather immigrated to this country not just for the American dollar, but also because he wanted to invigorate and bring new envisions and ideas to the neighborhoods.

[30:18](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/vPa--aACyso?t=1818) My father started Moreno's Liquors in 1977. It is the oldest Latino liquor store in the state. Now, when you think about it, 44.1% of people that are employed in the state of Illinois are because of small businesses. Let's hear that again. 44.1%. Those are the people that are right behind us right here. That is an amazing, amazing accomplishment, but we wouldn't be able to do it without your help.

[30:49](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/vPa--aACyso?t=1849) We wouldn't be able to do it without BACP and the grants that the City of Chicago has brought to us. We wouldn't be able to do it without Mayor Johnson and all the support that the City of Chicago has brought to us. Cut the tape program that we currently are working on, or that I should state that the City is working on, is going to help streamline and bring a lot more business to the city of Chicago. As we allow entrepreneurs to be able to come in and start businesses, remember, get out there, take care of your community.

[31:20](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/vPa--aACyso?t=1880) Remember how important it is because community is everything. La comunidad es todo. It's the future. And if we don't take care of our communities, then there is no future for the city of Chicago. So, again, Mayor Johnson, thank you so much for all the support that you've given us. Make sure you get out there, support your small shops, and at the end, stop at Osito's Tap and grab a cocktail. Thank you, guys.

[32:00](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/vPa--aACyso?t=1920) Kind of blended in with everyone else there. Hey, what's going on?

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Source: https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/vPa--aACyso · Chicago Politics, an independent tracker of the Chicago City Council. Guide for agents: https://www.chicagopolitics.org/llms.txt