Halpin Encourages Consumers to Shop Locally this Holiday Season

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – With the holiday shopping season officially kicking off this weekend, state Rep. Mike Halpin, D-Rock Island, is encouraging local residents to support community-owned small businesses on Small Business Saturday this Saturday, Nov. 25.

“Small businesses are crucial to the success of our local economy,” said Halpin. “When we patronize locally owned restaurants and small businesses, more of our tax dollars remain in the community, contributing to economic growth and development.”

Nov. 25 is the 8th Annual Small Business Saturday, which is a designation aimed at helping small businesses compete with large retailers between the busy shopping days of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The Small Business Saturday initiative highlights the benefits of shopping at area stores, which include sustaining jobs for local residents, tax revenue, sponsorships for community groups, support for charities and unique personalized services. According to the American Independent Business Alliance, every dollar spent at a small business can bring $3.50 into the local economy, which is why Halpin is encouraging residents to shop locally.

Throughout his term, Halpin has worked to provide small business owners the opportunity to compete with powerful, multi-billion dollar corporations in promoting their businesses and ensuring that local dollars remain in the community. Earlier this year, Halpin voted to require state agencies and departments to prioritize American-made and Illinois-made products when making purchases, which would help use our tax dollars to create jobs locally instead of padding the profits of out-of-state and foreign corporations. Halpin also pushed for measures that will reward small and medium-sized businesses that create jobs in Illinois, while banning all taxpayer-funded deals for corporations that pad their profits by shipping American jobs overseas.

“Much of my legislative agenda is focused on holding accountable powerful, multi-billion dollar corporations that ship our jobs overseas, providing small business owners the opportunity to compete with them and prioritizing Illinois-made products,” said Halpin. “I will continue to support the local businesses that employ our friends, neighbors and family members and encourage area residents to do so as well on Small Business Saturday and throughout the holiday season.”