A center at Illinois State University devoted to helping build small businesses is closing June 30th. It is running out of money because of the state budget stalemate.
Elizabeth Binning is director of the Illinois Small Business Development Center. She says she learned last month that the center will get no more money until the state has a budget.
The center works with about 150 businesses and entrepreneurs a year. Binning is leaving the university when the center closes. The center's two other employees are taking other jobs at ISU.
The ISUSBDC is about 11 years old and has reportedly been an outstanding performer in the state network of Small Business Development Centers.
Illinois Small Business Development Centers are typically a grant funded collaboration of the Small Business Administration, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and a local match.
The closure announcement on the ISUSBDC website says an additional 6 to 10 centers around the state are also expected to close. It's unclear what date that was published. Officials at the Southern Illinois University Center say approximately five offices around the state have already closed.
Small Business Development Centers in Illinois are generally housed in colleges and universities as a community service and they often touch hundreds of small business owners annually in their formation efforts and daily business challenges.
