The Kane County Sheriff's Office, in an innovative move, has established a new Small Business Development Center within its walls to provide both current and former inmates with invaluable resources geared towards fostering entrepreneurship. Announced at a ribbon-cutting this past Tuesday, the center is hailed as the first of its kind within a correctional facility on a national scale. Sheriff's officials are optimistic this program will serve as a blueprint for other jurisdictions.
The center, named the Honorable William H. Hall IV Small Business Development Center, is designed to offer programs that help inmates conceptualize and refine small business ideas. According to the Chicago Tribune, Undersheriff Amy Johnson emphasized the center's potential long-term impact on the community, highlighting the sustainable nature of this initiative: "This is forever."
With a partnership in place with Waubonsee Community College, the SBDC aims to guide individuals through business development processes, offering advice on issues like capital investment, market research, and general business education. As reported by Kane County Connects, Judy Dawson, who spearheads the Diversion and Reentry Programs at the Sheriff's Office, noted that the center will build on a six-year-old program that featured a business pitch competition for inmates.
By integrating such development programs within its correctional framework, Kane County has seen its recidivism rates plummet from 49 percent to a mere 18 percent in 2023, as Judy Dawson told the Chicago Tribune. This significant decrease underscores the potential effectiveness of providing tools for economic self-sufficiency and personal growth to those entangled within the justice system. Further, Dawson asserts that the center will extend its benefits to formerly incarcerated individuals, widening the scope of this redemptive program.
The implementation of the Small Business Development Center is complemented by one-on-one counseling and group programs aimed at imparting inmates with necessary business skills. David Stewart, a former participant in this process, shared his transformative experience with the program: "When I found myself, I found my purpose, and this is what I’m able to see clearly now that the rain is gone: Inside Out Recovery, that’s the name of my business," Stewart explained to the Chicago Tribune.
Funding for these initiatives comes in part through the America’s Small Business Development Center network of Illinois, which, according to Dawson in the Chicago Tribune, has updated their loan application policies to be more inclusive of individuals with felony convictions.
