Thousands of locals every year gear up for the Greater Belleville Chamber of Commerce’s annual Chili Cook-Off in Downtown Belleville. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Chamber announced in July that this year’s event would be canceled. To take its place in 2020, they will now host the Remote Belleville Chili Cook-off October 9-11, the same weekend the original would have taken place. “We were devastated when we had to make the decision to cancel this year’s event,” says Greater Belleville Chamber of Commerce’s President, Wendy Pfeil. “People live for this event all year here in Belleville. When we canceled, we immediately started thinking of other things to try to do. This way, we hope we can still bring some joy to the community and help support our participating restaurants during this time.” 14 Belleville restaurants…
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The Greater Belleville Chamber of Commerce’s Healthcare & Community Service Agency Committee once again is hosting a drive this fall to collect items for those in need this winter. They are collecting new and gently used items including blankets, gloves, hats, scarves, and more. Click here for more information and to print the flyer.
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Ever since the pandemic grew in urgency in March, the Greater Belleville Chamber of Commerce team has been on alert of our members. The Chamber team was quick to build a webpage within 24 hours from the time everything began with resources as they came in, sometimes multiple times daily, and sent detailed e-mails to our members in ways that they could more easily understand what their options were. We have been in constant contact with our State Representatives and local officials to help keep our Chamber members and the community up-to-date on what was happening and the resources available to them. We have hosted many webinars and online meetings that have provided valuable information for our members. We have testified for the recovery task force for the State of Illinois. We also have a…
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The Chamber is looking to still offer our restaurants the opportunity to take part in a cook-off! If you offer chili on your menu or are willing to offer it during the weekend of October 9-11, 2020, this is your chance to be showcased and gain some business from those who will be missing Chili Cook-off in the streets of Downtown Belleville. We plan to host the contest on Wednesday, October 7, 2020 where restaurants can take part by submitting a sample bowl of chili and having it judged by local culinary professionals. All participating restaurants will be posted on our website at www.bellevillechili.com and across our social media platforms before the event. The public will be encouraged to go out and try your chili at your restaurant. The winners will be announced online on…
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Today the Greater Belleville Chamber of Commerce sent the letter seen below to Governor Pritzker in support of restaurants and bars and all small businesses. The Chamber would like for Gov. Pritzker to reverse his decision on the new mitigations place on Region 4 yesterday with his new resurgence plan. Honorable J.B. PritzkerOffice of the Governor207 State HouseSpringfield, IL 62706 Dear Governor Pritzker:On behalf of the Greater Belleville Chamber of Commerce, we stand with our businesses and write to you to share our displeasures with the recent mitigations targeted at our local restaurants, bars and entertainment venues and find them to be extremely hurtful and unfair. They have taken on the brunt of the closures since restrictions were placed on them in March. What evidence does the State have that shows most of the…
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