Are there grants for ex felons to start a new business

With a few exceptions, no. Felons stand in line for financing along with everyone else.

Someone posts that Chicago has some sort of program to assist felons but I have never seen anyone post that they applied and were accepted.

Hi, huhuhuf!

Once a person has "done their time" and paid their "dues" to society, they're free to apply for loans, grants and other monies just like everyone else.

There are counseling and job placement/training services and grants that are made available to those service providers that do specialize in helping former felons to "get back on their feet", so to speak.

One of those services is the Safer Foundation. The link for them is below:

Home - Safer Foundation

If you contact them, they will probably be able to tell you what services might be available around where you are.

Thanks!