Push for State Relief, RRF Unlikely, Chicago Chefs for Ukraine Event

Tell the Illinois General Assembly to Help Save Restaurants and Jobs

The IRA continues to advocate in the Illinois General Assembly for enhanced financial support for our industry as budget negotiations progress.

We are urging leaders in Springfield to appropriate $125M in funding in this year's budget for direct, one-time grants to restaurants, bars, and other hospitality businesses to help them pay their bills, hire and retain staff, and stay in business.

You can help us now by taking one minute to send a message to your Representative and Senator to ask for their support. Please share our call to action with your colleagues in the industry!

RRF Not Included in Government Spending Bill, Looking Ahead

As you have likely heard, Congress this week finally reached a bipartisan agreement on their annual spending bill. The agreement is silent on replenishing the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF), and no new funds will be directed to complete the mission and fund the 11,000+ applications still pending from Illinois alone.

We are waiting for the dust to settle in Washington and to identify if there are other avenues to replenish this sorely-needed program. But this decision from Congress is a huge blow to our efforts and the path forward is very uncertain. Restaurants are going to close as a result of inaction, and thousands of you have answered our call every time we’ve asked you to engage in this fight.

From the start of this pandemic, the IRA and the National Restaurant Association have pursued an “all-of-the-above” strategy for the industry, diving into every issue at the federal, state, and local level that could help or hurt us. From cocktails-to-go to worker shortages, outdoor dining expansion to third party delivery fee caps, we have had a seat at the table for every major policy debate underway. That will not change.

You’ll be hearing more from us and the National Restaurant Association on the outlook for RRF, but in the meantime, there are plenty of other issues we will be focused on and we will continue to need your input and your help along the way.

Read more from Restaurant Business Online.

Support Ukrainian Refugees at Chicago Chefs Cook for Ukraine Benefit

Join the IRA and your favorite Chicagoland chefs for Chicago Chefs Cook for Ukraine - a delicious and one of a kind evening on Wednesday, March 16 from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. dedicated to raising funds for World Central Kitchen's work benefiting Ukrainian refugee families in need of a nutritious meal.

Chicago Chefs Cook for Ukraine is hosted by IRA Advisory Council member Chef Tony Priolo, Chef Sarah Stegner, Darren Gest, Eda Davidman, and Green City Market, and the event is presented by Lifeway Foods.

100% of the event proceeds will benefit World Central Kitchen. Click here to purchase tickets.

IRA on Proposal to Eliminate the Tip Credit in Illinois

Yesterday, ABC7 Chicago ran a segment about a proposal from Rep. Camille Lilly (78th) that would eliminate the tip credit and tipped wage in Illinois.

"Restaurants statewide have been decimated by the pandemic, and 110,000 jobs are currently at risk unless they receive additional aid," said IRA President & CEO Sam Toia. "Legally, no tipped worker can ever make less than the full minimum wage through the combination of their wages and tips, and tipped workers typically make far beyond the minimum wage. Imposing a massive labor cost increase on struggling restaurants would accelerate the rate of business closures and job losses in the hospitality community across Illinois."

The IRA is actively monitoring this issue, and will continue to advocate for policies that protect jobs and employees’ hard-earned tips, while keeping costs and prices reasonable for restaurants and diners.

Click here to read more.

Register Now for the National Public Affairs Conference

Join the IRA delegation at the 36th annual National Restaurant Association Public Affairs Conference on April 25-27 at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, D.C. We are thrilled to bring the restaurant industry back to Capitol Hill to advocate for our industry.

Click here to register now. Contact Matt Quinn with any questions about the event.