CHICAGO, IL – On Thursday, April 27, 2023, State Representative Hoan Huynh introduced House Resolution 233 in remembrance of the 48TH year anniversary of the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975. On this day, the Republic of Vietnam, popularly known as South Vietnam, worked with the United States to organize the largest helicopter evacuation in history from the United States Embassy in Saigon, helping over 7,000 people leave within 24 hours. Further operations that year helped approximately 125,000 Vietnamese refugees leave their country and the eventual creation of a refugee program with the United Nations to assist over 500,000 Vietnamese refugees to resettle in the United States. Vietnamese American communities annually commemorate the Fall of Saigon, known as “Black April,” to recognize the sacrifices of those in their communities who fought in defense of the ideals of democracy, freedom, and human rights.

 

State Representative Hoan Huynh, the first refugee and the first Vietnamese American to be elected to public office in Illinois state history of 204 years and in the Midwest, honors the contributions of Vietnamese and Vietnamese Americans to the United States and recognizes Illinois’ own vibrant Vietnamese American community, over 40,000 strong, many of whom reside in a “Little Saigon” neighborhood on Argyle Street in Chicago’s Uptown area in the 13th State House District.

 

Representative Huynh will speak this weekend at various Fall of Saigon Remembrance events, including the following:

• Saturday April 29, 2023: Vietnamese Veterans Association (5110 N Broadway, Chicago, IL 60640) 11AM – 2PM

• Saturday April 29, 2023: American Legion #974 (9757 W. Pacific Avenue, Franklin Park, IL 60131) at 11AM – 2PM

• Sunday, April 30, 2023: Vietnamese American Community of Illinois (5917 N. Broadway, Chicago IL 60660): 12pm – 4PM

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Representative Huynh will present House Resolution 233 of the 103rd General Assembly to the following organizations for their contributions to the rich diversity of the state of Illinois.

Small businesses play an important role in creating economic opportunities within communities, but many owners struggle to access traditional bank loans. Instead, they are forced to either use their personal savings or to turn to more costly forms of credit, including credit cards and high-interest online loans. Because the nonbank small business lenders originating many of these loans are not required to be licensed nor are they required to disclose the annual percentage rate (APR) of their loans, their borrowers run a greater risk of finding themselves the victim of predatory lending practices. 

 

"Small businesses are an essential part of our community, and by supporting them we are investing in the success and vitality of our state for all. I hope we can come together at this town hall to address the needs and concerns of our small businesses and discuss further how we can protect them," said Rep. Huynh. 

 

“As a small business owner, especially in the healthcare field that is dominated by larger corporations, the route for financing is often to access personal lending options. Most institutions do not lend to businesses with less than 3 years of experience, which is why it is extremely helpful to have local Chicago and state organizations working to connect businesses with grants and low interest rate loans for entrepreneurs,” said Dr. Karina Fulton, an optometrist and founder of Willow Vision Health, an eye care office in Lincoln Square.

 

Lower-income communities and communities of color in particular face an uphill battle acquiring safe and affordable forms of small business financing. Woodstock Institute’s Patterns of Disparity: Small Business Lending in Illinois found that over a three-year period businesses located in low-to-moderate income (LMI) census tracts received only 19.3% of bank loans under $100,000 despite making up 27.0% of all Illinois businesses. Making up this deficit would require 46,648 more loans totalling $618 million. 

 

“Research consistently finds that small business lending by banks goes down as the percentage of Black, Brown, or low-income residents goes up. These disparities in access to safe and affordable credit continue to exacerbate our country’s racial wealth gaps by making these communities more vulnerable to predatory lending by unregulated online lenders,” said Brent Adams, Senior Vice President of Policy and Advocacy at Woodstock Institute. Adams is also the former chief financial regulator for the State of Illinois (2009-2012). 

 

Presenters also discussed current efforts to aid small businesses such as the Back to Business New Grant Program and HB3064, the Small Business Truth in Lending Act.

 

HB3064 is championed by Rep. Huynh and a coalition of groups that seek to establish a regulatory framework in Illinois for "nonbank" lenders to small businesses based on a Small Business Borrowers Bill of Rights (BBOR). The BBOR has six core principles, including the right to transparent pricing and terms (including the loan’s APR), the right to non-abusive products, the right to inclusive credit access, and the right to fair debt collection practices.

 

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Woodstock Institute is a leading nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing economic justice and racial equity within financial systems through research and advocacy at the local, state, and national levels.

 

State Representative Hoan Huynh represents the people of Illinois' 13th State House District, covering Northside Chicago and the lakefronts (includes Uptown, Andersonville, Buena Park, Sheridan Park, Ravenswood, Wrigleyville, Lake View, Southport, Lincoln Square, Bowmanville, Winnemac, Arcadia Terrace, Budlong Woods, and West Ridge).