Co-hosted by Ownership Capital Lab, Lafayette Square Institute and Impact Engine, this morning session is designed to complement SOCAP26. 

Illinois stands on the threshold of a historic policy breakthrough. Proposed state legislation (IL HB4955, the Employee Ownership Development Act) could direct up to 5% of Illinois’ state investment portfolio into employee ownership funds—making it the first state in the nation to enact a capital allocation of this scale. In parallel, momentum is building at the federal level with AORA (the American Ownership and Resilience Act), which aims to offer low-cost, long duration debt capital to unlock private capital for employee-owned businesses nationwide. Policy authorizes capital, but it doesn’t deploy it on its own. This moment calls for a robust ecosystem to deploy capital effectively—and we want you to help us build it.

This breakfast gathering brings together local and national fund managers, impact investors, policy pioneers and field builders to leverage this pivotal moment. Together, we will examine how Illinois’ groundbreaking momentum can set a scalable playbook for the rest of the country—and what infrastructure, deal pipelines and fund readiness are required to turn policy potential into real economic mobility.