WEST LOOP (WBBM Newsradio) -- Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago say they believe President Trump's immigration crackdown has cost business owners in Cook County more than a billion dollars in lost economic activity in its first year.
The study released Tuesday by the Great Cities Institute at UIC seeks to prove a negative: how much more would businesses have brought in if Operation Midway Blitz had never happened?
"One-point-26 billion dollars," said study co-author Dr. Matthew Wilson during the official presentation of the estimate Tuesday at the offices of UIC's College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs, 412 S. Peoria St. Dr. Wilson told reporters his team's estimate is based on where people who live in predominantly Hispanic neighborhoods went before - and after - the start of President Trump's second term in January 2025.
"Retail trips from areas of high concentration to low fell by 9%," said Dr. Wilson, who added that those trips have not returned to their pre-second-term levels. "We refer to this as 'hunkering down.'"
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle helped present the study, saying no number can truly capture the scope of the effects of the immigration crackdown on people in the area: "Today's reports puts a figure on part of that cost."
UIC estimate tracks shopping, dining trips before and after inauguration
UIC estimate tracks shopping, dining trips before and after inauguration
