Chicago City Hall at 121 N. LaSalle St. Photo: Related names: Holabird and Roche Holabird and Root / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
Chicago business owners will soon spend less time standing in line at City Hall. The city has announced a new two-year business license that takes effect in February 2007, replacing the annual renewal cycle for many license types.
City officials say the change will streamline renewals, make the process more convenient, shorten wait times and lower compliance costs for businesses. The city has published a five-page fact sheet laying out the details.
What changes for owners
The core change is frequency. Instead of renewing every year, most licensed businesses will renew every other year. That cuts in half the number of trips, forms and payments an owner has to manage.
For a corner store or salon with a single license, the savings are mostly in time. For restaurants and bars, which often carry several licenses and permits, the cumulative paperwork is heavier, and a longer cycle may matter more. Owners should check which of their licenses fall under the new schedule, because not every permit type is necessarily covered in the same way.
Part of a wider push
The license change fits into a broader effort by the city’s Department of Business Affairs and Licensing to make dealing with City Hall less burdensome. The department is also running free workshops twice a week downtown for new and existing owners.
For neighborhood business districts like Uptown’s, where many companies are small and owner-operated, administrative time is a real cost. Every hour spent on renewals is an hour away from customers.
Owners with questions can contact the city’s business affairs department or review the fact sheet on the city website before their next renewal date.
Marcus Hadley covers business, transit and real estate in Uptown.
