A devastating blow for Choose Chicago

Tourism in Chicago received a devastating blow today. The Chicago tourism agency no longer has funding. Illinois Governor Rauner today vetoed 19 bills that comprised the budget. Rauner said in a statement: “For too long, the State of Illinois has made spending promises that exceed available revenues, relied on accounting gimmicks to make budgets appear balanced, used borrowing and cost deferral strategies to push costs into the future, and delayed payments to vendors.”

The Governor vetoing the budget means the whole Illinois tourism budget has been vetoed including over $12 million in grants to Choose Chicago.

What this means for Choose Chicago?

Barring any quick action effective July 1st, 2015 Choose Chicago will no longer receive its statutory mandated funding from the state’s hotel tax which makes up 40% of our operating budget. The total amount that the organization could lose is over $12 million dollars. As a result, we’ve had to shorten our summer Chicago Epic ad campaign by two weeks and planning for the winter campaign is now on hold. The withholding of our statutorily mandated state funding will significantly hurt the effectiveness of our organization as a whole. Simply put, we must re-evaluate everything.

Choose Chicago’s strategies and initiatives have grown Chicago and Illinois’ visitor industry at an exponential pace and with record-breaking results. Every year since its inception in 2012, Choose Chicago has increased overall visitation to the city. In addition, Choose Chicago has generated 14 months of record hotel room demand. Choose Chicago has also been instrumental for bringing in many major events and conventions to the city. Cvent, one of the largest industry suppliers in the world, named Chicago the number one U.S. meeting destination in 2014. Simply put, with reduced tourism efforts, Chicago’s and in-turn Illinois’ economies will suffer as a result.

This is a devastating blow to our efforts of bringing in visitors to our city. To cut an organization that is a driving force for the city and state’s economic recovery is irresponsible and unwarranted. In 2014 alone Choose Chicago was responsible for bringing in over 50 million visitors to the city, one of only three cities to ever accomplish this feat. Those same visitors spent $13.7 billion in direct spending, brought in $871 million in total tax revenues and supported 133,000 jobs. To put that in perspective, in 2011, before we were an official organization, Chicago brought in 39.3 million visitors to the city.

In an appeal to the Chicago Travel Industry James Mundo, Advocacy Manager of Choose Chicago says:

“Now, more than ever, we need YOUR help. As a partner and champion, you know what Choose Chicago does for our city. We just need to remind Springfield what we do and what we’ve done. We have drafted an electronic letter to the Governor, your State Senator and Representatives here.

If you support our efforts, please electronically sign and send the letter to the Governor as well as your State Senator and State Representative asking them to continue giving our organization the statutorily mandated funding from the state. Just click the link, fill out your information and hit send. The form will automatically generate all of your information directly into the letter to Governor Rauner and your respective Senator and Representatives.

In addition to the letter, we will be rolling out a funding advocacy page tomorrow filled with talking points, sample tweets and a call script. We will alert you once this page is active.

Thank you for all you do Champions, let’s get back Chicago’s tourism funding.”