IL-13: Dirksen Londrigan dings Davis after his family's business received PPP loans
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (NEXSTAR) — A McDonald’s franchise owned by Congressman Rodney Davis’ father and brother was one of more than 200,000 Illinois businesses to take out small business loans through the federal Paycheck Protection Program, according to information published Monday by the Trump administration.
Peoples Bank and Trust processed the loan application for B. K. Davis, LLC. The company did not return calls seek comment, but records show it received more than $1 million in forgivable loans through the federal COVID-19 relief program. Documents show the company reported using the funds to keep 305 workers on the payroll at McDonald’s restaurants across Central Illinois.
“I have no financial stake or any involvement in the McDonald’s franchises owned and operated by my dad and brother and had no involvement in their PPP loan application through their local bank,” Davis said in an emailed statement on Wednesday. “This vital program was available to every single small business in America.”
Davis voted for the widely popular program when it passed, and supported its expansion after the first round of funding ran out. He previously described the small business loans as “bridge funding until we can get reopened again.”
“There’s strings attached to those dollars, otherwise the loan can’t be forgiven,” Davis explained in a June 24th interview. “And a percentage, a high percentage, has to be spent keeping people off of unemployment. And our small businesses, our mom and pop shops, were asked to keep people on payroll. They were asked to continue to pay their rent and keep their business going.”
Davis faces a repeat challenge from Democratic candidate Betsy Dirsken Londrigan this November. His opponent pounced on the news and highlighted his recent votes against transparency measures.
“What I’ve heard from small business owners is a frustration [over] who got the loans — large corporations who got the loans, or well connected people got the loans — which is why we need transparency,” she said in an interview Wednesday.
https://www.wspa.com/news/dirksen-londrigan-dings-davis-for-transparency-votes-after-his-familys-business-received-federal-ppp-loans/
= new reply since forum marked as read
