Duckworth Touts $500,000 in Federal Funding She Secured for New Women’s Business Center in Peoria

Duckworth Touts $500,000 in Federal Funding She Secured for New Women's Business Center in Peoria

[PEORIA, IL] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today celebrated the opening of the new Women's Business Center in Peoria, made possible in part by funding she helped secure. Earlier this year, Duckworth secured $500,000 in Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) funds for the WBDC to support entrepreneurial training for child care providers throughout Northern Illinois and boost the number of affordable child care businesses. Duckworth was joined by U.S. Representative Eric Sorensen (D-IL-17), Peoria Mayor Rita Ali, SBA Region 5 Administrator Geri Aglipay and leaders from the Women's Business Development Center (WBDC) for the celebration. Photos from today's event can be found on the Senator's website.

"The rising cost of child care in our country is a crisis, and we should be doing everything we can to help all Illinois child care businesses grow as they support our working families," Duckworth said. "I'm proud to work alongside Mayor Ali and those at the Women's Business Development Center to help level the playing field for women entrepreneurs and business owners, while helping increase the number of affordable child care providers. With this new Peoria facility, we can better ensure that all women entrepreneurs across Central Illinois will have access to the resources they need to start and grow their businesses."

Later that month, Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman, head of the SBA, announced the opening of 17 new Women's Business Centers (WBCs) across the country, including one in Illinois. The WBDC, headquartered in Chicago and serving a nine-state region, will now more efficiently serve the state of Illinois. The Peoria office, which will serve as a critical extension of the WBDC's programming, is the third WBC operated by the WBDC and will focus solely on women-owned business owners. The other two WBCs are in Chicago and Aurora. The WBDC aims to support and accelerate business development and growth, targeting women and diverse business owners.

In Fiscal Year 2024, Duckworth and U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) successfully secured more than $264 million through the CDS process for Illinois, $182 million in FY23 and another $211 million for Illinois in FY22. A map detailing where funding has gone throughout Illinois can be found on the Senator's website. Senator Duckworth works with an Independent Review Board to examine and evaluate worthwhile projects focused on building infrastructure, stimulating economic development and providing essential services for Illinois communities.

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