If you’ve been under a rock for the last year or so, you might not know that “initial coin offerings” or ICOs are the hottest thing in the financial market today. As if the fact that the overwhelming majority of ICOs aren’t regulated in any substantive way didn’t make them a risky enough investment, it seems fraudsters are dusting off the old “pump-and-dump” scheme made famous in the 80’s and 90’s and giving it new life in the ICO industry.

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For those who don’t know, Illinois has had an “Angel Investment” program since 2012 where investors who invested in qualifying companies would receive a 25% tax credit against their Illinois income taxes. Sounds great in theory, but the types of companies that would be eligible for qualification under this program are severely limited. Not to mention the fact that the program itself expired, pursuant to its terms, as of December 31, 2016. Given the significant beneficial impact an angel investment tax program could have on Illinois business, I drafted a bill (HB 2946) which will both reinstate and improve the Illinois Angel Investment program. As the bill itself is written in legalese (my apologies for that), I felt a summary of the proposed bill and how it actually will work was in order.

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While it took longer than expected to get here, Crowdfunding for Illinois businesses is now officially up and running and its full steam ahead. To mark the occasion, a joint press conference was held Tuesday at local incubator 1871 which I was privileged to be a part of. The true highlight of the conference however was the introduction of the three local companies now raising funds through Illinois crowdfunding.

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