Note from Noah: Your New Illinois State Director

December 28, 2023 Last Edit: June 5, 2025

Meet Noah Finley, new small business advocate in Illinois.

Note from Noah: Your New Illinois State Director

Small businesses are the economic drivers of our local communities. Growing up in a rural, agricultural community, my first jobs were working for small businesses. The owners took a chance on me—a shy, lanky bookworm—and put me to work cutting grass, trimming bushes, and doing other landscaping projects across southern Illinois. I’m grateful for the opportunities that they gave me—a chance to earn money for college, a chance to prove myself, and a chance to observe and learn from them. They helped launch me in life and now I’m excited for the opportunity to give back to the small business community, to utilize my skills and background to advocate for business owners like them in Springfield. My background is in government and legislative affairs, having served as a legislative staffer and deputy chief of staff in the Illinois State Senate. Working behind the scenes, I had the chance to learn the ins-and-outs of state government and its processes and worked with legislators, state agencies, and stakeholders to craft and negotiate legislation and policies. Small businesses have and continue to face many challenges here in Illinois and I’m eager to put my knowledge and experience of state government to work promoting a political and regulatory environment that fosters opportunities for small businesses and job creators across the state. Noah Finley is from Sparta, Illinois, but now resides in Sangamon County. He served in the U.S. Army, deploying to Afghanistan in 2011-2012. After leaving the service, he spent time in the Middle East studying Arabic and teaching English in Jordan and Oman. While there, he also volunteered with Syrian refugees. Noah has worked as a legislative staffer in both Springfield and Washington, DC, most recently serving as Deputy Chief of Staff in the Illinois State Senate. He has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Communications from Geneva College and a master’s degree in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University.

Topics:

Taxes

State:

Illinois

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