Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot has decided to extend the city’s Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprise Construction Program through 2027. The program has ensured MBEs and WBEs have fair access to city contracting opportunities.

In addition to the participation goals for local businesses and projects remaining at 26 percent for MBEs and 6 percent for WBEs, there are a couple of improvements set to be implemented. The definition of “small business” will be redefined to include slightly larger companies. The Small Business Administration is also revising the calculation of the Personal Net Worth limit to exclude several assets and savings which will allow for more inclusion of small business owners that are still facing difficulties while competing for city contracts. 

Mayor Lightfoot and the City of Chicago are expecting to make big improvements and increase M/WBE participation. The goal with Mayor Lightfoot's extension of the program ultimelly is to help a wider number of business owners thrive in their communities and take into account information from the latest disparity study.