Small business owner Rep. Keith Wheeler (R-Oswego) said Wednesday became a better day for Illinois entrepreneurs.
“We have a long way to go for Illinois to be as competitive as we want it to be and should be, but this is an important bipartisan step to lower the barrier to entry for those who are willing to enter the market in our state,” Wheeler said at the press conference where Gov. Bruce Rauner signed SB867, which immediately lowers limited liability companies (LLC) startup fees and LLC annual renewal costs from $250 to $75.
Wheeler said as a small business owner, there is “no real guide” to commencing a commerce, but it is incentives like SB867 that make the process more tangible. “Small business has a stronger and louder voice in Springfield because we have done these things, so that makes this a great day for our state,” Wheeler said.
SB867's primary sponsor, Sen. Tom Cullerton (D-Villa Park), and co-sponsor, Rep. Carol Sente (D-Vernon Hills), spoke about the bipartisan support needed to see the long-awaited legislation pass.
“Hopefully in an hour, someone will try to start a business here in Illinois and they will do it for a lower cost,” Cullerton said, recalling the first press conference for the bill taking place at a South Side Chicago hot dog stand and Sente's hard work to see it through till the end.
“She got bipartisan support, sponsors from both sides of the aisle,” Cullerton said. “Today, the governor is going to sign this bill, showing again bipartisan support to make business better here in Illinois.”
Sente said the only word to describe her thoughts was pride over a bill that received overwhelmingly bipartisan support, “especially at a time when I don’t think we come together enough, we came together on this issue.”
Rauner echoed comments about it being a great day.
“This is a great day for the people in Illinois, today we send a clear, strong and powerful message that Illinois is changing,” Rauner said, adding SB867 is a pro-business, pro-growth, pro-investment and pro-job creation legislation. “That is the message to the rest of the nation and around the world.”
Wheeler cited Steve Jobs' Apple startup and how the American dream is often started with an innovative tinkerer in their garage.
"Usually the hobbyist is trying to express himself through his business or ideas, but it is not a business yet,” Wheeler said. “It becomes a business when someone actually files their paperwork and becomes an LLC.”
Wheeler said his time on the House floor is often about small business growth and job creation discussions, which was finally coming to fruition Wednesday.
“Today we are finally making that a more realistically affordable process for people who are innovating in our state and that makes us better as a state,” Wheeler said. “I am very proud of the fact that we got this done.”
Other LLC fee reductions include the Reinstatement Fee from $500 to $200; Reserved Name Application from $300 to $25; Amendments from $150 to $50; and Name Transfer from $100 to $25.
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