Kane jail launches entrepreneurship center

The Kane County Sheriff’s Office office this month launched the nation’s first entrepreneurship center located within a jail, according to a news release.

This follows its designation as a Small Business Development Center, where it served individuals often excluded from traditional entrepreneurship programs.

As part of its commitment to community reentry and economic empowerment, the center is offering a free “Start Your Business” program.

It was designed specifically for those impacted by the criminal legal system to have the tools, training and support to build sustainable businesses, according to the release.

The program is open to those formerly incarcerated, those on probation or parole, and veterans in Kane County and the surrounding area.

Enrollment is now open, and space is limited.

The formal name is the Honorable William H. Hall Entrepreneurship Center, known as an advocate for second chances.

Judith Dawson, director of Diversion and Reentry Programs for the Sheriff’s Office, said the late Hall was her brother, who died last year.

Hall was an Illinois administrative law judge who served on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and also was a Cook County assistant state‘s attorney.

“We would be the first small business center located within a correctional facility in the U.S.,” Dawson said. “And we named it after him.”

Dawson said they had their first business plan in 2019, a pitch competition of detainees, observed by the U.S. Small Business Administration Deputy Director Mark Ferguson.

“We had one [pitch competition] every year except during the pandemic,” Dawson said.

In March, Ferguson brought together the SBA, Small Business Development Center for Illinois, and the sheriff’s office together to open the center in the jail, Dawson said.

Dawson said a change in the Small Business Administration, that went into effect Jan. 1, 2024, made it possible..

“They eliminated the ‘Have you ever been convicted of a felony?’ question from the loan application,” Dawson said. “That opens doors.”

The first class began in February with 17 detainees, ending with eight graduates this month, three women and five men, Dawson said.

For others interested in developing a small business, both Waubonsee and Elgin community colleges have small business centers, providing entrepreneur services, Dawson said.

Those interested in the class or an individual consultation, should call or email Executive Director Rudy Gonzalez at 331-335-0300 or gonzalezrudy@kanecountyil.gov.