CHICAGO, IL – U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) today encouraged all Illinoisans to kick off their holiday shopping season by participating in Small Business Saturday on November 24. Small Business Saturday is a day to celebrate and support small businesses by shopping at small, independent stores within the community. For every $100 spent with locally owned, independent stores, $68 returns to the community through local taxes, payroll, and other expenditures.

"Small businesses are the economic engines of our economy," Senator Kirk said. "I hope that people throughout Illinois join me in supporting these businesses in our communities on Small Business Saturday.”

Small businesses employ 39% of high-tech workers such as scientists, engineers, and information technology workers generating the majority of innovations that come from U.S. companies. The state of Illinois is home to 258,000 small employers and more than 885,000 self-employers. Small businesses employ nearly half of all private-sector employees in Illinois, and are a critical component of Illinois’s economic condition. 

Senator Kirk cosponsored Senate Resolution 589, which establishes Saturday, November 24, 2012 as Small Business Saturday. For full text of the resolution, click here.

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