October 2021
ICNC Advocacy Updates
Property Taxes Community Meeting + Damen Green Line Station
Property Taxes Community Meeting with Cook County Assessor Kaegi

In August, Chicago West Township property owners, which includes the Kinzie Industrial Corridor, received their triannual Cook Country property assessments. While property owners anticipated these assessments, the significant increases caught many off guard. Many Kinzie businesses are unsure of how and why these increases occurred, and how it will affect operations moving forward.
 
Due to this uncertainty, ICNC and the Cook County Assessor’s Office will be hosting a meeting to discuss the rationale behind these increases and allow property owners an opportunity to ask questions and voice concerns. We encourage property owners and their tenants to attend in order to start a conversation about how we can
collectively continue to keep the Kinzie Corridor an affordable place for modern, urban industrial businesses to operate and grow. Please register here and contact hannah@industrialcouncil.com for questions. Registration is required to attend.
Construction to Begin on Damen Green Line Station

The Chicago Department of Transportation announced late in September that they had awarded FH Paschen a contract to build a new CTA station at Lake and Damen. The City is planning a groundbreaking soon and construction is scheduled to take approximately 24 months. The project is one of ICNC’s longest advocacy campaigns ever and has been delayed nearly four years since funding for it was first announced. FH Paschen is the same firm that built the Morgan Green/Pink line station nearly 10 years ago.
Make City Mentions + Hatchery Headlines
The entrepreneurial atmosphere in the halls of Make City and The Hatchery is always apparent. Here are some of the innovative ways small businesses working out of Make City and The Hatchery are growing and supporting their employees and their communities.
Neighborhood Market
Garfield Park Community Council
Fall Flavor Launch
Aged & Infused
The Garfield Park Neighborhood Market is back on The Hatchery Plaza this Saturday, October 9th. Saturday's market will include a community walk, survivor stories, and health resources in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. As always, you can purchase fresh produce from local gardeners and support West Side businesses.
Aged & Infused has launched their Fall flavors! Bundled Up is their version of pumpkin spice with persimmon and chai spice. At the Orchard is an infusion of mulled honeycrisp apples that will feel like you're sipping delicious cider. Visit their online store to shop the two new Fall flavors alongside their other classic alcohol infusion kits.
Store Expansion
Frönen
Collaboration
Belli's + Lil Bucks
Frönen, a member of The Hatchery, can now be found in select Walmart stores! Frönen dairy free nice cream is naturally dairy and gluten free, sweetened with organic honey, and is 360 calories for the whole pint. Visit their website to find where you can buy it in-store near you.
Two members of The Hatchery, Belli's and Lil Bucks, have created a partnership to offer Lil Bucks in Belli's Pilsen store. Belli's offers coldpressed juices, plantbased food, and more. Lil Bucks creates sprouted buckwheat snacks. You can order Banana Buck Toast for pick-up here.
Entrepreneurship Education:
Illinois SBDC at ICNC + The Hatchery Workshops
The Illinois Small Business Development Center at ICNC has a calendar filled with upcoming entrepreneurial education webinars! Learn more about the Illinois SBDC at ICNC here. Follow the Illinois SBDC at ICNC on LinkedIn!

The Hatchery, a collaboration between ICNC and Allies for Community Business to bring education, capital, and support to the Chicagoland food entrepreneur community, has upcoming food workshops.

All events and webinars presented by the Illinois Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at ICNC are marked by an asterisk (*).
ICNC's HR Corner
Are you ready to hire staff but lack the time? Our workforce development department can assist you!

The Workforce Development Team at ICNC works to provide quality and streamlined services that connect a skilled and qualified workforce with employment, as well as a variety of labor market services to meet the needs of local businesses.
ICNC's Workforce Development Team works to find local jobs for local people. Take a look at the opportunities on ICNC's job board.

ICNC is currently hiring to add a Building Maintenance/Laborer II to join the maintenance team. Tenants, members, and West Side businesses are hiring for various jobs in food and beverage and other industries.
​To discuss your HR needs, please contact Nancy or Priscilla in our Workforce Development Department!
Grow Your Business @ Make City + The Hatchery
Make City - 320 N. Damen Ave.
The Hatchery - 135 N. Kedzie Ave.
ICNC's Make City incubator offers a thriving entrepreneurial community and immediate access to ICNC's advising, export, and advocacy services alongside 100 other small, modern urban manufacturing businesses. ICNC supports small businesses and the West Side community through incubation, advocacy, and advising.
The Hatchery is a non-profit food and beverage incubator dedicated to helping local entrepreneurs build and grow successful businesses through cutting-edge kitchen facilities, entrepreneurship curriculum, partnerships with generous corporate sponsors and foundations to create local job opportunities and accelerate local economic growth.
The Illinois Small Business Development Center is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity, and the Industrial Council of Nearwest Chicago (ICNC). Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance. Please contact the center at (312)433-2373.