What better way to kick off the holiday shopping season than by shopping at local businesses in your community?

Small Business Saturday has been observed on the Saturday following Thanksgiving since 2010, as a community-minded counterpart to Black Friday and Cyber Monday. It was first promoted by American Express and quickly gained momentum nationally, with the U.S. Senate passing a resolution in 2011 in support of the day.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, 88 million consumers shopped local on Small Business Saturday in 2019. Of those, 66% said that they chose to shop small because they wanted to help contribute to their local communities.

Supporting small businesses is more important than ever this year—help keep your community moving by looking local first when shopping for gifts. If money is tight, you can still lend a hand to independent business owners by leaving a positive review online, referring a friend, or engaging with your favorite businesses on social media.

Not sure where to start? Check out Enjoy Illinois’ list of the local shops, artisans, breweries and restaurants our state has to offer.

The people of Bloomington are in for a treat, courtesy of the confectionery company Ferrero North America. The company announced plans to spend $75 million in order to expand their factory in Bloomington by 70,000 square feet.

The Kaskaskia Regional Port District in Red Bud was recently featured on an episode of “World’s Greatest TV Show,” a national television show that spotlights interesting people, places and companies. Ranking as the tenth largest inland port in the country with annual tonnage exceeding 1.5 million tons on the Kaskaskia River, the port district has been a fixture of Red Bud for more than half a century.

The port district features five terminals, with each terminal location having unique capabilities such as river, road and rail access. The port district is home to multiple tenants with operations related to agriculture, steel, scrubber stone and more.

Waukegan aerospace company Astronics Corporation is building coronavirus-killing robots, called the Xenex LightStrike, to help hospitals and health care facilities protect patients and staff from the spread of the virus.

The device is being used by seven Chicago hospitals and 700 facilities worldwide, including in Florida, California and North Carolina.

The robot uses pulsed UV rays to penetrate the virus’ cell walls and destroy the molecular structure, killing the virus. A single robot allows hospitals to disinfect 60 or more rooms, destroying bacteria that can’t be reached through typical cleaning and uses no chemicals or toxic fumes.

There’s not much better than good food and beautiful art, and one business in Illinois puts both together under one roof. The Gallery in Lake Forest is a conceptual restaurant combined with an art gallery that features rotating exhibits from various artists and a constantly changing menu, which takes inspiration from the featured art and seasonal foods.