SPRINGFIELD â With COVID-19 numbers improving in Illinois and vaccinations increasing each week, leaders in the events industry want better guidance from the state on when large events can return to Illinois and how they can safely hold conventions.
"Now we need to plan for the future. We can't exist in just the Phase 4 limbo and hope the regulation changes in the next few weeks as the numbers get better," Bob Reiter, the president of the Chicago Federation of Labor, told a Senate committee on Thursday.
Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza said the hospitality and tourism industries in the state have been devastated by the pandemic and ensuing restrictions. She cited numbers showing dramatic losses in the hotel industry over the past year. In fiscal year 2019, state hotel tax revenue hit $300 million, which dropped to $250 million in fiscal year 2020. It has now dropped to $42.5 million in the first half of fiscal year 2021, leaving the state on pace to see an annual revenue decline of $215 million in the industry over just two years.