The U.S. Small Business Administration’s recent announcement that it will relocate its regional office out of Chicago will have a nominal impact on services, especially because the state’s district office will remain in the city, said the SBA’s former Great Lakes regional head.
The news created confusion and alarm and sent a harmful anti-immigrant message from President Donald Trump’s administration, said Geri Sanchez Aglipay, former SBA Great Lakes regional administrator, based in Chicago.
The SBA said in a Mar. 6 news release that it will move its regional office out of Chicago and five other sanctuary cities, including Atlanta, Boston, Denver, New York City and Seattle, to punish cities that don’t comply with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s efforts to detain immigrants.
“SBA services will not be impacted by the relocation of the regional office in Chicago,” Mary Owen-Thomas, the SBA spokesperson for the Great Lakes Region, said in an emailed statement. “The timeline for the regional office move is forthcoming, but we expect it to occur in the coming months.”
But the agency’s larger Illinois district office will remain at its current Loop location. The regional staff shares an office with the SBA’s district employees at 332 S. Michigan Ave.
Moving the regional office won’t dramatically affect SBA services in Chicago or Illinois, Aglipay said. The regional hub oversees and coordinates district offices in Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.
When she was the administrator under President Joe Biden, the Great Lakes regional office had a staff of three, including herself. In contrast, the Illinois district office had a staff of about a dozen.
Currently, there are nine Illinois district staff members in Chicago and two in Springfield, according to the SBA’s website. The agency didn’t say it would relocate the district office.
However, staffing at many federal offices is in flux as Trump’s administration slashes government workers. Layoffs announced last week at the U.S. Department of Education include at least 50 employees in Chicago. And cuts at the Environmental Protection Agency will likely affect workers based in Chicago.
As regional administrator, Aglipay oversaw SBA field offices in Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin from her office in Chicago. She often traveled across Illinois and to neighboring states, she said. Aglipay was appointed as regional administrator by Biden in January 2022 and stepped down in January.
While the SBA has not made a formal announcement, the new SBA Great Lakes Regional Administrator is Ohio-based leader Everett Woodell, according to the SBA’s website.
The SBA does not issue financing to small businesses directly. People apply for SBA-backed loans through participating banks and lenders.
In Illinois, 2,832 new SBA-backed loans were disbursed in fiscal year 2024 ending Sept. 30, according to the agency.
The SBA has at least one district office in every state, according to its website. In Illinois, the agency’s services include connecting businesses with lenders, counseling, federal contracting certifications and disaster recovery assistance.
Aglipay said the SBA’s announcement showed the Trump administration’s “hard line against immigration policy … that’s in line with what the Trump administration feels are its priorities.”
It reflects the administration’s “anti-immigrant bias” and sends a message that immigrants will not be served, Aglipay said. That approach harms an economy that relies on immigrant business owners, especially in Chicago where a large number of businesses are owned or run by immigrants.
“Good government for small business isn’t to act as Orewellian thought police to instill fear that impedes access to economic opportunities, especially by the majority who are middle- and working-class small-business owners in America,” Aglipay said.
“Instead, good government helps regulate commerce for small businesses to ensure that they have a level, fair and equitable playing field against billionaires and multinational corporations out of fairness and equity.”