Chicago & Midwest + Downtown + Finance | April 21, 2021

Lightfoot Administration Unveils Citywide Recovery Plan for the Arts

Mayor Lori Lightfoot, the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, the Chicago Park District and other City of Chicago departments announced Tuesday “Arts 77” — a citywide arts recovery and reopening plan for all of Chicago’s 77 community areas. The program represents an initial investment of over $60 million to support local artists and organizations.

“Before the pandemic struck, our arts and culture sector was a significant employer and economic driver that generated thousands of jobs and billions of dollars for our city,” said Lightfoot. “With this incredible program, we will not only be able to revitalize this critical sector and provide support to our artists, creative workers and organizations, but also place the arts at the center of our city’s recovery efforts.”

Additional updates regarding financial grants and programs to support arts recovery will follow in the upcoming weeks.

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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 13-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 15-20 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).