11. Committed to Chicago

Another company growing and making a stand in Chicago is the Will Group,s a Black family-run business. Stephen Davis is the founder with daughter Jessica Ashley Garmon as chief operating officer and general counsel, and son Joshua Stephen Davis as president.

Stephen Davis said he is focused on leveraging his financial success “to create jobs in communities that have been abandoned.” Will Group had $70 million in 2021 revenue and made a $20 million investment on Chicago’s West Side earlier this year when it opened a 60,000-square-foot factory and warehouse at 4647 W. Polk St. in the Lawndale neighborhood.

“Our goal is to create a work environment where people can have above-minimum wage, health care and retirement benefits,” Stephen Davis said. “And also create housing so that we can revitalize our community, where there is an ecosystem, where you can buy groceries. I can’t do it by myself, but if we can collectively plant a seed and get it to grow and get other people that are socially conscious entrepreneurs, we could see a difference. I’m counting on it.”