Winnetka, Glencoe PPP Loans: Where Coronavirus Relief Money Went

WINNETKA, IL — The U.S. Treasury Department and Small Business Administration issued a list of businesses that received approval for more a half-trillion dollars in loans as part of the federal Paycheck Protection Program created as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security, or CARES, Act.

Among the nearly 5 million PPP loans approved in April, there were 33 businesses based in Winnetka and 20 in Glencoe set to receive federal loans greater than $150,000. Those local businesses retained a total of 2,452 jobs as a result of the loans, according to data provided by the federal agencies.

After initially refusing to disclose the recipients of the federal relief, the agencies relented following lawsuits from media organizations and provided the names of all businesses that borrowed more than $150,000, accounting for about three quarters of the money distributed.

“Today’s release of loan data strikes the appropriate balance of providing the American people with transparency, while protecting sensitive payroll and personal income information of small businesses, sole proprietors, and independent contractors,” Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said Monday in a statement.

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The program was established to offer forgivable loans to small businesses to cover the cost of continuing to keeping workers on the payroll. That has preserved more than 50 million jobs that would otherwise have been eliminated during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Small Business Administration, or SBA.

SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza said the data shows that all types of small businesses benefited from the unprecedented economic relief program.

“The PPP is an indisputable success for small businesses, especially to the communities in which these employers serve as the main job creators,” Carranza said in a release. “In three months, this Administration was able to act quickly to get funding into the hands of those who faced enormous obstacles as a result of the pandemic.”

Mnuchin said the program has provided support to more than 80 percent of all small business in the country.

“We are particularly pleased that 27 percent of the program’s reach in low and moderate income communities which is in proportion to percentage of population in these areas," he said. " The average loan size is approximately $100,000, demonstrating that the program is serving the smallest of businesses."

The release includes business names, addresses, business type, limited demographic data, names of lender, jobs retained and loan amount ranges. The first Winnetka business was approved for a loan on April 8.

Find below a map showing different colors for different loan sizes followed by a list of Winnetka and Glencoe businesses approved to receive loans of more than $350,000.

The Chicago Horticultural Society, which operates the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, was the largest loan recipient in the New Trier Township area. The sole proprietorship was approved for a loan of between $5 million and $10 million, which it reported would allow it to retain 465 jobs that would have otherwise been lost.

The next largest loan went to North Shore Country Day School, one of several area private schools to receive the federal money.

The Winnetka private school, which operates as a property tax-exempt nonprofit, was cleared to receive between $2 million and $5 million in PPP funds, which it said would allow it to keep 119 workers on the payroll who would have otherwise have been let go. Saints Faith Hope & Charity School reported it was able to save 51 jobs with a loan of $350,000 to $1 million.

And in neighboring Wilmette, Loyola Academy was also approved to borrow up to $5 million in forgivable federal loans through the program and Regina Dominican High School was set for up to $1 million.

In Northfield, North Shore Senior Center was set to receive between $1 million and $2 million from the program.

Fourteen other Glencoe and Winnetka businesses received loans between $350,000 and $1 million, according to the data:

1. Alpha Compositing Company
2. Am Shalom
3. Classic Kids
4. Exceleras
5. Fields Of Lake County
6. Grand Food Center - Glencoe
7. Grand Food Centers
8. LS Travel
9. M.E. Fields (Auto Group)
10. Mino's
11. North Shore Congregation Israel
12. Saints Faith Hope & Charity School/the Catholic Bishop Of Chicago
13. Schoolhouse 4 Math
14. Writers Theatre