Mount Prospect project file
Expand the business
Break expansion into property, fixed assets, working capital, workforce, and advisory needs so each mechanism is tested against real facts.
Before you spend: Sequence parcel and tax tools before commitments, underwrite every loan as debt, and use navigators to prepare rather than promise an outcome.
Assistance layers
Mechanisms worth sorting for this project
These are supported relationships, not eligibility decisions. The Workbench asks the facts that change whether a lead is current, conditional, specialized, or historical.
Sequence 1
SBA 7(a) Loan Program
Participating lenders make repayable business loans under SBA 7(a) rules; the federal guaranty protects the lender, not the borrower from repayment.
- Mechanism
- Loan
- What it does
- Finance the remaining cost
- Why it appears
- Repayable 7(a) financing supports a broad range of eligible expansion uses.
- Administrator
- U.S. Small Business Administration and participating lenders
- Program lifecycle
- Current / rolling
- Visitor treatment
- Worth checking now
This current pathway still requires program-specific eligibility and sequence checks.
SBA 7(a)/504 coordination policy effective July 4, 2026
Date or range2026-07-04
Only qualifying transactions completed under the policy and lender sequence may use coordinated limits; ordinary 7(a) underwriting still applies.
Date last verified
SBA 7(a)/504 coordination policy scheduled to expire August 1, 2027
Date or range2027-08-01
Transactions closing after this date require a fresh SBA policy review before coordinated limits are discussed.
Date last verified
Sequence 2
SBA 504 Loan Program
Certified Development Companies and senior lenders provide long-term repayable financing for qualifying owner-used fixed assets.
- Mechanism
- Loan
- What it does
- Finance the remaining cost
- Why it appears
- Owner-occupied real estate and major fixed assets may fit long-term 504 financing.
- Administrator
- U.S. Small Business Administration, Certified Development Companies, and participating lenders
- Program lifecycle
- Current / rolling
- Visitor treatment
- Worth checking now
This current pathway still requires program-specific eligibility and sequence checks.
SBA 7(a)/504 coordination policy effective July 4, 2026
Date or range2026-07-04
Only qualifying transactions completed under the policy and lender sequence may use coordinated limits; ordinary 504 and CDC underwriting still applies.
Date last verified
SBA 7(a)/504 coordination policy scheduled to expire August 1, 2027
Date or range2027-08-01
Transactions closing after this date require a fresh SBA policy review before coordinated limits are discussed.
Date last verified
Sequence 3
Advantage Illinois
Participating lenders may use state participation or a state guarantee to reduce lender risk on an otherwise qualifying small-business loan.
- Mechanism
- Loan
- What it does
- Finance the remaining cost
- Why it appears
- A participating lender may structure repayable expansion financing with state participation or guaranty support.
- Administrator
- Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity
- Program lifecycle
- Current / rolling
- Visitor treatment
- Worth checking now
This current pathway still requires program-specific eligibility and sequence checks.
Sequence 4
Cook County Class 6b Property-Tax Incentive
Qualifying industrial property may receive a reduced assessment level after approval for eligible construction, rehabilitation, or reoccupation.
- Mechanism
- Property-tax classification
- What it does
- Recover value later
- Why it appears
- A qualifying industrial construction, rehabilitation, or reoccupation project may receive reduced assessment treatment later.
- Administrator
- Cook County Assessor's Office
Before you spend: Confirm municipal support and Assessor sequencing before acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, or reoccupation commitments.
- Program lifecycle
- Case-managed
- Visitor treatment
- Confirm this condition first
A case-managed administrator must confirm the current route and sequence.
Sequence 5
Cook County Class 7a and 7b Property-Tax Incentives
Qualifying commercial development may receive a reduced assessment when the project is in an area needing commercial development and would not be economically feasible without the incentive.
- Mechanism
- Property-tax classification
- What it does
- Recover value later
- Why it appears
- A qualifying commercial project may receive a later property-assessment classification benefit.
- Administrator
- Cook County Assessor's Office
Before you spend: Confirm the correct classification, local support, and filing sequence before project commitments.
- Program lifecycle
- Case-managed
- Visitor treatment
- Confirm this condition first
A case-managed administrator must confirm the current route and sequence.
Sequence 6
Cook County Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy Financing
Commercial property owners may seek long-term private financing for qualifying energy, renewable-energy, water, and resilience projects, repaid through a property assessment.
- Mechanism
- Property-assessment financing
- What it does
- Finance the remaining cost
- Why it appears
- An owner-controlled expansion with eligible energy, water, or resilience work may finance that portion through an assessment.
- Administrator
- Cook County C-PACE Program
Before you spend: Confirm owner control, lender consent, assessment repayment, and eligible cost allocation before committing.
- Program lifecycle
- Current / rolling
- Visitor treatment
- Worth checking now
This current pathway still requires program-specific eligibility and sequence checks.
Sequence 7
Cook County Small Business Source
The Source connects Cook County small businesses to no-cost one-on-one advisers, resources, events, and capital-readiness help.
- Mechanism
- Advising
- What it does
- Get free expertise
- Why it appears
- County advising can separate real estate, fixed asset, working capital, and referral needs.
- Administrator
- Cook County Bureau of Economic Development
- Program lifecycle
- Current / rolling
- Visitor treatment
- Worth checking now
This current pathway still requires program-specific eligibility and sequence checks.
Sequence 8
SBA Lender Match
Lender Match collects a short request and returns interested participating lenders, but it is not a loan application, approval, offer, or rate quote.
- Mechanism
- Advising
- What it does
- Get free expertise
- Why it appears
- The no-cost intake may identify lenders interested in discussing a defined expansion request.
- Administrator
- U.S. Small Business Administration
- Program lifecycle
- Current / rolling
- Visitor treatment
- Worth checking now
This current pathway still requires program-specific eligibility and sequence checks.
Sequence 9
Mount Prospect Entrepreneurs Initiative
MPEI provides local small-business workshops, online resources, referrals, and connections to partner advisers.
- Mechanism
- Advising
- What it does
- Get free expertise
- Why it appears
- Local resources, workshops, and referrals can complement formal capital planning.
- Administrator
- Village of Mount Prospect and Mount Prospect Public Library partners
- Program lifecycle
- Current / rolling
- Visitor treatment
- Worth checking now
This current pathway still requires program-specific eligibility and sequence checks.
Sequence 84
Illinois EDGE Tax Credit
EDGE is a negotiated future Illinois tax credit for qualifying job-creation or retention projects that satisfy the state's performance and but-for tests.
- Mechanism
- Tax credit
- What it does
- Recover value later
- Why it appears
- The expansion would create or retain qualifying Illinois jobs and is contingent on negotiated state support under a but-for analysis.
- Administrator
- Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity
Before you spend: Engage DCEO before signing, ordering, locating, or otherwise committing the expansion.
- Program lifecycle
- Specialized
- Visitor treatment
- Specialized possibility
This specialized pathway requires its stated purpose or industry fit before reliance.
Ask the administrator: Can this uncommitted job-creation or retention project satisfy the EDGE but-for and negotiated-agreement requirements?
Stop: this is not a current lead. Read every material date and consequence before opening the historical record.
Catalyst is closed; no 2026 or 2027 round is anticipated
Date or range2026 and 2027
Do not treat Catalyst as current funding, show an Apply action, or ask a visitor to discover the closure from an old link.
Date last verified
Sequence 90
Cook County Catalyst Grant
This familiar Cook County grant result is closed, with no 2026 or 2027 round anticipated.
- Mechanism
- Grant
- What it does
- Avoid a stale or misleading lead
- Why it appears
- A visitor may find the former Catalyst Grant in search results, but the current status says closed with no 2026 or 2027 round anticipated.
- Administrator
- Cook County Small Business Source program partners
- Program lifecycle
- Closed / historical
- Visitor treatment
- Expired, closed, on hold, or historical
Catalyst is closed; no 2026 or 2027 round is anticipated
Stop: this is not a current lead. Read every material date and consequence before opening the historical record.
Illinois Capital and Infrastructure Grant closed in April 2025
Date or range2025-04
The state reports no future funding planned; do not treat the historical program page as a current application or funding lead.
Date last verified
Sequence 91
Illinois Small Business Capital and Infrastructure Grant Program
The broad Illinois small-business capital and infrastructure grant closed in April 2025, and the state reports no future funding planned.
- Mechanism
- Grant
- What it does
- Avoid a stale or misleading lead
- Why it appears
- A visitor may find the former broad capital grant, but it closed in April 2025 and the state reports no future funding planned.
- Administrator
- Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity
- Program lifecycle
- Closed / historical
- Visitor treatment
- Expired, closed, on hold, or historical
Illinois Capital and Infrastructure Grant closed in April 2025
Stop: this is not a current lead. Read every material date and consequence before opening the historical record.
Forging Growth closed after July 17, 2026
Date or range2026-07-17
The administering initiative's passed deadline controls over a stale County application surface; show no Apply action and no current funding treatment.
Date last verified
Sequence 94
Forging Growth
Forging Growth closed after July 17, 2026 even though a stale Cook County application surface may still appear.
- Mechanism
- Historical manufacturing opportunity retained only to stop a stale search result.
- What it does
- Avoid a stale or misleading lead
- Why it appears
- A stale County surface may look open, but the administering initiative's July 17, 2026 deadline has passed.
- Administrator
- Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center
- Program lifecycle
- Closed / historical
- Visitor treatment
- Expired, closed, on hold, or historical
Forging Growth closed after July 17, 2026