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Chicago’s TV and Film Sector is Ready for Its Close-up

Chicago enjoyed another growth year for film, television and media production in 2019. According to data from the Illinois Film Office, which awards a 30% tax credit to qualified productions, filming in 2019 made an estimated economic impact of nearly $560 million in job creation and local expenditures in the region, an 18% annual increase.

“Illinois’ film industry is booming, adding millions of dollars and thousands of quality jobs into the state’s economy each year,” said Peter Hawley, director of the Chicago-based Illinois Film Office.

Gov. JB Pritzker in 2019 renewed the Illinois Film Production Tax Credit Act, originally passed in 2008 and offering a tax credit for qualified production spending and labor expenditures.

The Chicago Film Office permitted 522 projects in 2019 and now ranks first in the Midwest region for production, third in the country for commercial advertising production and in the top six nationally for overall production.

Photo courtesy of Illinois Film Office.

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For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Paul Bubny

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About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 16-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 7-10 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

  • ◦Economy
  • ◦Financing
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