Now that Cook County Board president Todd Stroger has saved his 1 percent sales tax hike, and only has to worry about the state legislature’s attack on his veto power, a grand jury probe of his administration’s spending, and the next election, he’ll be turning his attention to something a little more glamorous. Stroger has his heart set on establishing the first Cook County Film and Entertainment Commission, complete with an executive director’s job any well-connected busboy or Stroger cousin would love to fill. He’s been pushing the idea for the last couple months and is looking to have the office up and running by January 1.
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
Stroger special assistant Jack Weinrauch says that after meeting with “several hundred people” from the entertainment community and taking recommendations from them, they’re on the 13th draft of an ordinance to create the commission. He thinks it’ll be ready shortly and hopes the board will approve it by December 1. What they have so far, he says, stipulates that the commission would include seats for the sheriff’s office, the Forest Preserve District, the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, and an Illinois-based film production company; it might also include everybody from union representatives and advertising agency execs to academics and artists.
The proposed commission would also offer direct support—”either expertise or money, based on need and merit”—to independent filmmakers, live productions, and “young, talented artists in the county,” Weinrauch says.
“The problem we’re facing right now is strictly the economy and these competing incentives,” says Moskal. “If you were to ask producers about Chicago, the overwhelming response would be, ‘Great place to work, great crews, great cooperation, very cinematic.’ But right now everybody’s shopping the deep discounts. We’re well positioned for the long run given the incentive we have, but the competition is really fierce at the moment.”
