Illinois small business lenders offer competitive loans to support business needs.
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Biglaw Investor connects you with small business lenders who can help you expand your business, whether through working capital or via acquisition. A small business loan loan is a great way to grow your business—but it can be hard to know where to start. Our small business lenders offer an experience specially tailored to your goals.
Offered exclusively through Biglaw Investor, we make it incredibly simple to find the best loan for your business needs.
I’m an associate at a firm in Houston and used JD Mortgage thanks to your advice! The experience was great—they were super fast and responsive.” —Mary Kate Raffetto Beck Redden LLP
For a JD Mortgage, I had good luck with IBERIABank. [They] made this process very smooth.” —Clint Cowan Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegmann
Illinois is a Midwestern state called The Land of Lincoln and The Prairie State. Chicago is the largest city here, though others include Rockford and Peoria. The state has one of the largest gross domestic products in the country and is home to over 12.8 million people. Long known for its industrial sector, Illinois today has much more to offer, including being the home of three elected presidents, beautiful historic and architecturally diverse cities, and numerous natural areas and parks. Chicagoland, the largest Metro area, is home to about 65% of the state’s population, and it’s known for its jazz and blues culture, numerous large business headquarters, and modern lifestyle.
The state of Illinois has long been an important economic producer for the country as a whole. That’s easy to see when you learn how many businesses call this state home. The economy is built on manufacturing, agriculture, and services companies. There is a significant amount of tourism in Chicago as well. Yet, all of those large businesses aside, Illinois also is home to a wide range of small businesses. The U.S. Small Business Administration states there are 1.2 million small businesses in the state. Those businesses employ 2.5 million people and generate a total payroll of $126,948,519.
In order to grow and thrive, small businesses often need access to financial tools and resources. Small business lenders in Illinois help with this need. The latest data from the U.S. Small Business Administration shows there were 5470 active small business loans in the state. Those loans are worth $3,773,251,688. The average small business has a loan of $689,808. Those funds are beneficial in various ways, helping to fund everything from growth and expansion to new product development, hiring of additional employees, and modernizing systems. It’s a critical component of the Illinois economy that these loans are present.
Small business loans are financial tools used by many types of businesses. Most often, Illinois small business lenders provide capital to borrowers who meet their qualifications. The borrower, often the business itself or the owner, then repays the borrowed funds over time, generally with interest applied to the payments. Most business loans like this have a loan term of 5 to 10 years, though there is some variation available to meet other needs.
Small business lenders offer competitive interest rates on these loans in the hopes of helping to support smaller companies. Yet, they are taking on a significant amount of risk, which is why these lenders often have very specific and strict requirements that borrowers must adhere to in order to obtain funding. At the heart of this is seeing that the business has revenue coming in that can pay for the expected monthly payment.
Small business lenders in Illinois also work closely with companies to understand their industry, their products or services, as well as their overall needs for the money. They base loans on the company’s revenue, history, age, and demand for them within the market. A good way to show business lenders that a company is a solid investment is to have a well-designed business plan that outlines each detail of the company’s operations.
It is not uncommon for lenders to use a business’s credit history to make lending decisions. If the business does not have a strong credit history, lenders typically consider the owner’s financial history and use of credit as an indication of what to expect. With all of this information, the lender will determine the interest rate, the amount the company can borrow, the form of lending provided, as well as the term available. The good news is there are a number of different loan types available, and many companies will qualify for at least one type depending on their financial insights.
For entrepreneurs, you might use your own funds or credit cards to start up your business. After that point, however, many small business owners turn to alternative business financing, grant programs, and other loan options to cover ongoing expenses or to access working capital. Your eligibility for grants for nonprofits, however, is limited to filing requirements with your business, and many of these grants are small, one-time awards.
Business owners may instead pursue financing through federal government loans, business credit cards, and other business loan options. Whether you’re opening up shop in Springfield or the city of Chicago, cash flow may be challenging. Financing options exist, and you deserve to know what you’re eligible for. Visiting your local business development center, community development associations, an assistance program, or even the Illinois Department of Commerce might open your eyes to some economic opportunity grants, but it’s also good to look at the possibilities with business loans.
Some of the loan types you can expect Illinois lenders to offer include:
For a small business, having this infusion of capital can help to support the growth and profitability of the company. It may also help with supporting the business’s economic presence in the state, benefiting the employees and their families as well.
| Rank | Bank Name | # of Illinois Loans | Avergage Interest Rate | Average Loan Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Huntington National Bank | 355 | 5.56% | $217,725 |
| 2 | Byline Bank | 113 | 5.88% | $1,139,717 |
| 3 | U.S. Bank | 89 | 5.72% | $236,181 |
| 4 | Village Bank and Trust | 60 | 4.67% | $701,260 |
| 5 | First Mid Bank & Trust | 48 | 4.53% | $229,067 |
| 6 | Live Oak Banking Company | 41 | 5.37% | $1,466,649 |
| 7 | Newtek Small Business Finance | 39 | 6.19% | $658,897 |
| 8 | Harvest Small Business Finance | 34 | 5.71% | $818,212 |
| 9 | First American Bank | 32 | 4.41% | $871,519 |
| 10 | Merchants Bank of Indiana | 29 | 5.29% | $1,289,083 |
Founded in 1866 and based out of Columbus, Ohio, with branches in 11 states and $179 billion in assets to meet its customers’ needs, The Huntington National Bank has much to offer. The Huntington National Bank has a number of products and services to meet personal and business banking needs.
We reached out to Huntington National Bank to see if there were any advantages to working with them during the SBA loan process. Here is what they told us:
When you’re ready to connect with an experienced SBA loan officer, use our form to quickly match with SBA loan programs based on your specific circumstances.
Based in Chicago, Byline Bank is available to meet all of its customer’s needs in the area. Founded in 1914, Byline Bank has over 100 years of experience and is able to provide products like small business loans, tools for personal and business banking, wealth management, and other tools available.
We reached out to Byline Bank to see if there were any advantages to working with them during the SBA loan process. Here is what they told us:
When you’re ready to connect with an experienced SBA loan officer, use our form to quickly match with SBA loan programs based on your specific circumstances.
Village Bank and Trust is a part of Wintrust Community Bank, which was started in 1991. Since its inception in 1991, Village Bank and Trust has been a part of a group of banks that now has 175 locations to meet its customers’ needs for business and personal banking services.
We reached out to Village Bank and Trust to see if there were any advantages to working with them during the SBA loan process. Here is what they told us:
When you’re ready to connect with an experienced SBA loan officer, use our form to quickly match with SBA loan programs based on your specific circumstances.
First Mid Bank & Trust has been serving customers for 157 years with locations in Illinois, Texas, and Missouri. With $6.7 billion in assets, First Mid Bank & Trust can meet the needs of all of its customers when it comes to loans, personal and commercial banking, and insurance.
We reached out to First Mid Bank & Trust to see if there were any advantages to working with them during the SBA loan process. Here is what they told us:
When you’re ready to connect with an experienced SBA loan officer, use our form to quickly match with SBA loan programs based on your specific circumstances.
Based in Indiana, Centier Bank has 58 locations in 11 counties to help assist its customers with all of their banking needs. With $5.9 billion in assets, Centier bank can offer a number of loan products as well as personal and business checking and savings items.
We reached out to Centier Bank to see if there were any advantages to working with them during the SBA loan process. Here is what they told us:
When you’re ready to connect with an experienced SBA loan officer, use our form to quickly match with SBA loan programs based on your specific circumstances.
Beyond any doubt, access to capital is important for small businesses. Yet, building a strong credit history and financial foundation can help companies to obtain more affordable loans. To do this, small businesses can turn to a few different resources.
One of the first steps is to contact the Small Business Administration of Illinois. Their website offers a wide range of tools and resources for building business credits, hiring employees, managing marketing, and paying for services. This information is free to use and offers clear, transparent insights company owners can count on to be accurate.
Often, learning from other business owners is an excellent way to build financial security. SCORE can help companies to do that. This is a free resource that provides access to webinars, tutorials, articles, and much more, all from business experts, often industry leaders. These tools are available to businesses in Illinois on their website as well as in their local office in Chicago. SCORE is a highly valuable tool that offers consistent support to today’s businesses.
If you want to find the best small business loans in other states, click on your state below.
Joshua Holt is a lawyer and founder of Biglaw Investor. He spent 10 years practicing private equity mergers & acquisition law for one of the largest law firms in the country. As part of his practice, he advised small and medium sized businesses on matters ranging from business loans to the acquisitions and divestitures of stocks and assets.
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