Economic downturn sinks South Elgin Chamber

The South Elgin Chamber of Commerce has fallen victim to an economy that also claimed numerous local businesses the organization supported.

Declining membership numbers have forced the chamber's dissolution, according to a message on the chamber's Web site.

"The loss of members due to businesses which have closed, or are no longer able to participate, has forced a drastic change we had hoped to avoid," the note to chamber members and friends reads. "Effective immediately, the South Elgin Chamber of Commerce will cease operations."

South Elgin chamber members are now invited to join the Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce, said Jeanette Mihalec, vice president of membership for the Elgin chamber.

To help businesses transition, Mihalec said the Elgin chamber will offer South Elgin chamber members that are not current Elgin chamber members a three-month trial membership, with the option of attaining full membership.

Mihalec said the Elgin organization provides services beyond a typical chamber.

"We have professionals in economic development on staff ..." Mihalec said. "We also provide outreach to the Latino businesses and also outreach to multinational corporations."

Founded more than a century ago, the Elgin organization consists of about 725 businesses and is the largest in northern Kane County. Its members reach from Rockford to Chicago.

Joining the larger organization made sense, South Elgin Village Administrator Larry Jones said.

"The village dealt with the South Elgin chamber and also received communication from Elgin's chamber," Jones said. "I always had the feeling that information from Elgin would be of value to the South Elgin businesses as well."

There were almost 200 businesses affiliated with the organization when it dissolved, Jones said.

The South Elgin chamber's roots stem back to the early 1990s when the South Elgin Business Association formed to unite and help local companies.

But as a business association, the group lacked the benefits traditional chambers enjoyed - like joining alliances of chambers from different areas.

Also, chambers had better name recognition and were easier for new businesses and residents to find.

The name evolved into the South Elgin Chamber of Commerce.