The Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce kicked off its first Breakfast Membership Meeting of this year at the Union League Club of Chicago on Thurs., Feb. 10, 2022. Speakers included, Dorval Carter Jr., President of the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Domenika Lynch, executive director of the Aspen Institute Latinos and Society Program, Terri Broussard Williams, head of Social Justice Policy and Partnerships, office of Public Policy at Amazon, and Marta Cerda, vice chairwoman of the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus Foundation, and CEO of ASI Home Care.
The chamber’s Breakfast Membership meetings are a signature event of the organization and an opportunity for stakeholders and members to network and learn from public, private and prominent leaders about trending issues affecting our businesses in Illinois, particularly those competing to obtain government contracting. The event featured 180 guests, including state representatives, board members, and members from the business community.
CTA President Dorval Carter Jr. explained that there are many opportunities for minority contractors and their goal is to help them grow. There were approximately $47 million in contracts in 2021 and many of them were Latino firms. “These are the type of opportunities that will help small firms stay competitive and compete with larger firms,” he said. Some of the projects in the pipeline include a red line extension, improving the blue line, and having electric zero-emission buses.
Domenika Lynch, executive director of the Aspen Institute Latinos and Society Program said that their goal is to promote economic growth and work with leaders in the community. “Entrepreneurship for the Latino community is in our DNA,” she said. Their goal is to understand the diversity of the Latino community and understanding and identifying opportunities.
These companies have worked with the IHCC to identify the problems that exist in the Hispanic community. The Latino Business Policy Institute was established by the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce last year, and it’s implementing its initiatives and projects this year. Its purpose is to champion new policies and legislation on all levels of government that will benefit the future of Latino businesses in Illinois. They’ve partnered up with these organizations to help bring a better understanding and by conducting research and generating data to better understand the state of the Latino business today, said Adrian Rodriguez, director of the Latino Business Policy Institute for the IHCC.