Chicago & Midwest CRE News In Your Inbox.

Sign up for Connect emails to stay informed with CRE stories that are 150 words or less.

Sub Markets

Property Sectors

Topics

Chicago & Midwest  + Illinois  + Industrial  | 
Film and TV production revnues in Chicago and Illinois hit a record high of $630 million in 2021

Illinois Film and TV Production Hits Record High 

Although many industries in the Chicago region haven’t fully rebounded from the pandemic, the city’s film and television production business isn’t in that number. Illinois’ projected film production revenue in 2021 hit a record high of $630 million, surpassing 2019 levels by $70 million, Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Thursday.  

Film production revenues in Chicago and statewide have steadily increased over the past 10 years, Pritzker and Lightfoot said. Additionally, film permits issued by the city of Chicago have also reached pre-pandemic levels. 

“Illinois’ film industry production is breaking records, adding millions into the state’s economy each year, which is truly a great testament to our crew base, local unions, and piloting health policy precautions for the industry to return production levels back to pre-pandemic times,” said Peter Hawley, director of the Illinois Film Office.

Connect

Inside The Story

Illinois Film Office

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
New call-to-action