CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Last year was the best year so far for the film industry in Chicago and the city, the state, and local colleges are working to continue the growth with more home-grown talent on both sides of the camera.
The industry brought in more than $500-million in 2019, according to Peter Hawley, Director of the Illinois Film Office.
"We’ve never cracked $500 million before last year, $560 million estimated expenses in Illinois. We’re thrilled about that. The industry employed close to 20,000 people who earned more than $350-million in wages," he said.
He said the money generated was up 18-percent from 2018.
There were more than 500 projects, including commercials, TV shows, feature films, and documentaries.
Hawley spoke at the sound stage at Kennedy King College, where portions of Chicago native Bashir Salahouddin’s Comedy Central show, South Side are filmed.
“The city of Chicago has been excellent partners to us," he said. "There are so many places where if you shoot in LA or heaven forbid if you shoot in New York where you don’t have that level of partnership. It is treated as if the city is doing you a favor in letting you shoot on their streets. Chicago is not like that.”
Salahouddin said there is a lot of great talent in Chicago, both cast and crew members and he said there is plenty of room for more as the industry continues to grow here.
The city, local colleges, and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity are working to build the film industry workforce and to make it more diverse.