Local
Many thanks to everyone who attended the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce 2026 State of the City Address last month! Mayor Scott Wehrli highlighted the people, products, and stories that make our area such a great place to live, work, and play.
For anyone who is interested in Government Affairs and in learning more about the issues being discussed and the decisions being made at the local, state, and federal level that can impact your business, I invite you to join our Business Works Committee. We typically meet on the second Tuesday of the month at 3:00 PM (although the June meeting conflicts with the NACC golf outing and has been cancelled). We hope to have a special guest for the July meeting to discuss the proposed new parking deck for downtown.
Just because we do not have a Business Works meeting in June, it doesn’t mean you cannot get involved this month. We will be hosting several of our state legislators for an End of Session event on June 18th. I urge you to register for and attend this event to take advantage of the opportunity to hear directly from your state representatives and state senators.
State
The Illinois General Assembly adjourned their annual spring session after 4:00 AM on June 1st.
Numerous issues remain incomplete, and I will have a much more detailed analysis as to the wins and losses for the business community next month. While much of the media attention has centered on the future home of the Chicago (Hammond) Bears (The Senate passed a version of a deal that the House didn’t vote on, and the House passed an idea that was not voted on in the Senate), many other topics were debated this year that will have larger impacts on our state.
Central among the issues is the nearly $56 billion state budget. While the 3,703-page document will require a deeper analysis before we comment, a few points are worth making. First, the budget has really ballooned during Governor Pritzker’s two terms. Overall state spending has increased by roughly $16 billion in only 8 years. In raw numbers that is a 40% increase, and it is still almost 8% adjusted for inflation. It also represents an $800,000,000 increase year-over-year from FY26, which ends on June 30.
Another issue that garnered significant media attention (largely due to fairly effective commercials) was the approaching effective date of a 2024 bill that caused a rift between retailers and payment processers. The bill would have banned interchange fees (also called swipe fees) on the tax and tip portions of customer bills. The legislation was subject to litigation by financial institutions. In February, a federal court sided with retailers and allowed key provisions of the bill to advance, but the decision is on appeal. This new state law was set to go into effect on July 1, 2026 but legislation was passed to delay enactment for a period of one year.
Federal
On the federal level, I hesitate to provide many updates. The situation in several instances is so fluid that whatever I write could be outdated by the time I hit send.
However, here goes …
Iran –The obvious “elephant in the room” is the situation in the middle east. As I write this, the tentative ceasefire is holding (with limited small-scale exceptions). A 60-day memorandum of understanding (MOU) is being discussed to open the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s economy is in freefall with oil losses estimated at $150-$170 million per day. Fear of a humanitarian crisis is very real. The rationing of food, water, and electricity seem to increase the likelihood of more and larger protests against the current government structure over the summer. The internet blackout has been lifted, but content is still heavily filtered and censored.
The current situation is being called the largest energy security risk in a generation. Gulf production has dropped to 5.5 million barrels per day – 57% of pre-conflict production. On the somewhat positive side, Goldman Sachs estimates that recovery should be swift once the conflict is resolved. They estimate 70% in 3 months and 88% in 6 months. Both well performance and logistics will play a role. Neighboring countries are adapting by building new supply infrastructure, but new pipelines take time. These new supply routes will decrease the strategic importance of the Strait of Hormuz and the ability of Iran to be a disruptor.
These factors have economic consequences in this country despite low reliance on Iranian oil. Fragile supply chains and increased costs of inputs obviously have impacts. Global oil prices are the highest they have been in 4 years, sometimes resulting in fuel surcharges and margin compression. Tighter financing conditions have also delayed rate cuts. Layoffs in the technology, chemical, and retail sectors have increased.
Hopefully, we can more expeditiously toward resolving the situation and stop these economic headwinds.
“Skinny” Reconciliation Bill 2.0 – After passing Homeland Security funding and ending the government shutdown, there is still work to do to fully fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP). I expect this to be resolved soon through a very limited reconciliation process.
Permitting reform – The US Chamber is actively engaging on the issue of reforming the speed, transparency, and logic in processing applications for federal permits for business. If successful, the Permit America to Build legislation has the potential to positively impact the economy by streamlining processes for job creators.
Federal Reserve – Kevin Warsh is the new Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, replacing Jerome Powell who has opted stay on as a member the board.