Gov. JB Pritzker on Thursday announced $10 million in grants for small businesses owned by minorities, women and other historically underrepresented groups, as part of a continued effort to boost the state's economy.Eligible business owners can apply for grants ranging from $10,000 to $245,000 until April 7 through the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. Businesses must have a maximum of 25 full-time permanent employees, with priority given for those with fewer than 10 employees.“Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economies and bulwarks of future success for the state of Illinois,” Pritzker said at a news conference.Business owners eligible for grants must be “socially economically disadvantaged individuals," which includes people with disabilities, veterans, members of the LGBTQ+ community, as well as minorities and women.Grants can be used for projects including planning, land and building acquisition, building construction and additions, site improvements, equipment and more. Many small businesses struggle to get the capital necessary for expansions and projects, said a press release from the governor’s office.Pritzker announced the grant program at a Lawndale factory and warehouse owned by The Will Group, which manufactures and distributes lighting and electrical equipment.Pritzker spoke alongside Mayor Brandon Johnson; Rahm Emanuel, former Chicago mayor and U.S. ambassador to Japan until earlier this month; Stephen Davis, founder and chairman of The Will Group, and other state and local officials. Gov. JB Pritzker stands next to The Will Group founder Steve Davis (center) as he cuts the ribbon to kick off the company’s warehouse expansion, with Mayor Brandon Johnson and former mayor Rahm Emanuel (right).Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times The event also included a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the second phase of The Will Group’s $30 million K-Town Business Centre, at 4647 W. Polk St. The facility officially launched in 2021 with help from a $500,000 grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. The funding was part of $11 million in grants the agency awarded to minority-owned businesses.“The Will Group is a sterling example of what can be achieved if we provide help to entrepreneurs,” Pritzker said. “Entrepreneurs are the ones who take the risk. They are the front edge of growth. There is real potential for the future of Illinois because of entrepreneurs.”Emanuel praised the K-Town Business Centre, which has grown from 20 employees to about 100. Plans for the center began in 2018 when he was mayor. The facility makes smart LED light fixtures, capacitor banks for smart grids and supports contract manufacturing, electrical distribution and more."Diversity, equity and inclusion are now becoming bad words," Emanuel said. "It's not an office in a corporation that moves paper around. If you don't know what diversity, equity and inclusion is, come out here to North Lawndale. ... These jobs and this employment will not only help the city budget, it will help family budgets."The second phase of the center will add 75,000 square feet to the existing 60,000-square-foot building. It revitalizes 3.3 acres that had sat dormant for two decades in K-Town, which refers to the K names of most of its north-south streets, in an area often associated with violence and poverty. At one point, the property housed a meth lab.“I believe if you really want to change a community, you need to bring opportunity,” Davis said. “If you care about gun violence, you have to care about reduction in unemployment.”The Will Group, named for the “where there’s a will, there’s a way” slogan, is based in Wheaton. Davis could've found a cheaper property in DuPage County, but he told the Sun-Times in 2021 that it can have a much greater impact on the West Side.Citing support from ComEd, Wintrust Bank and others, Davis in 2021 said part of his mission for building K-Town Business Centre was to hire ex-offenders so they can set their lives straight.On Thursday, Emanuel said Davis “could have done this factory anywhere. But a state, a city, a community, employees believed in it.”The state’s new $10 million grant program will prioritize businesses located in “community development financial institution investment areas," which typically have lower incomes and higher unemployment. It will also prioritize proposals that focus on job creation, economic revitalization or increased community engagement.The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity will hold a technical assistance webinar on Feb. 4 at 11 a.m. to help businesses prepare applications. More information about the grant program can be found on the department's website.