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EDA executive proposes halving small grants and building $300K–$500K opportunity fund
Summary
The Cook County EDA director proposed cutting the annual business development grant from $200,000 to $100,000, raising the minimum grant to $5,000 with a 25% match, and creating a $300,000–$500,000 opportunity fund to provide flexible local match for time-sensitive projects; commissioners asked for concrete scenarios and a presentation to the county commission.
Lucas, the EDA’s executive director, presented the draft 2027 budget and told commissioners “the total levy request for our budget for 2027 currently sits at 496,539,” a roughly 3% decrease from the 2026 approved levy.
Lucas proposed several changes to the EDA’s grant programs and budget priorities. He recommended reducing the annual business development grant allocation from $200,000 to $100,000, raising the minimum grant award to $5,000, and requiring a 25% match from grantees. “I would also propose that we change the way that we conduct the business development grant—remove any grants less than $5,000 … and that there are no grants that EDA gives that don’t require a match,” Lucas said, arguing the changes would ensure applicants have “skin in the game” and make the program easier to defend to taxpayers.
In addition, Lucas urged the board to consider creating a separate opportunistic matching fund—an “opportunity fund”—to make the EDA quickly able to meet local match requirements for time-sensitive grants and projects. He described a target fund size of between $300,000 and $500,000, saying such a pool would allow the EDA to assemble shovel-ready sites or move quickly on strategic development opportunities when external funding became available.
Commissioners broadly welcomed the concept but asked for specific examples and cost scenarios before approving structural changes. Commissioner Anderson asked staff to provide concrete, real-world scenarios of how an opportunity fund or a $25,000 cap would be used for community priorities such as child care or housing, and asked staff to identify specific external grants that the county could immediately pursue if matching funds were available. Mayor Benson asked that the grant committee refine details and that a short presentation deck be prepared for the county commission to explain the changes and rationale.
Several commissioners also emphasized the value of small, sub-$5,000 grants for early-stage entrepreneurs and suggested the board explore private “champions” or local donors to fund a separate small-grant pool so public dollars could be focused on matched awards. The board agreed staff would return with refined language and supporting scenarios for the grant committee and for presentation to the county commission.
Next steps: staff will refine the proposal, assemble example scenarios and a draft presentation deck, and the grant committee will discuss details ahead of the next board meetings where the 2027 budget and grant-policy changes will be revisited.
