During a shoot in suburban Chicago last month, Ellen White, the chief executive of sustainability consultancy EcoFixr stood beside a neat row of receptacles marked “landfill,” “compost” and “mixed recycle” while the crew working on a Walgreens commercial finished its catered Mexican lunch. When it was time for the workers to clear their salsa-stained plates, White gently directed each toward the correct receptacle for disposal.
She’d been hired to help the crew comply with new standards established by the Illinois Film Office for projects seeking green certification, a designation that makes those already taking advantage of the state’s Film Production Tax Credit Incentive Program eligible for an additional 5% credit. The production’s bottom line depended on whether the crew scraped what was left of their tacos into the bin designated for compost.
Some of the highlights of the Illinois Film Production Credit include…
1 – The base credit is 35% on qualified Illinois expenditures, including post-production and resident salaries up to $500,000 per worker.
2 – A 30% credit is available on non-resident salaries up to $500,000 per worker which is capped at 13 non-resident crew members.
3 – An additional 5% credit is available on labor expenditures for hiring Illinois residents in counties outside of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties
4 – There’s another 5% credit when a television series relocates to Illinois.
5 – And an additional 5% credit for projects certified as sustainable green productions through the Illinois Film Office.
Further qualifications include…
1 – A minimum spend of $100,000 for projects over 30 minutes and $50,000 for projects under 30 minutes.
2 – Expenses incurred from the final script stage through the end of post-production are eligible.
3 – Claims must be filed upon completion of production and no later than two years following completion
Let me leave you with this…
For years, California officials agonized over rising competition from a few select locations in North America. First came British Columbia, New Mexico and Louisiana, then Georgia, New York and others that made themselves viable alternatives to shooting in the so-called “Thirty Mile Zone” around L.A. Studios. Now the playing field has expanded even further.
California lost more than 42K film and television jobs in Los Angeles County between 2022 and 2024 .
Illinois received a major boost in 2012, when the Dick Wolf-produced NBC procedural Chicago Fire began shooting here, soon followed by sister series Chicago P.D. and Chicago Med. The trio is filmed at Cinespace Studios, a sprawling facility housed in a former steel plant on Chicago’s West Side.
Illinois has become the sunny obverse of California, where years of policy drift squandered the state’s competitive advantage and left it playing catch-up. Our state is now No. 6 among U.S. film and television production destinations, according to an analysis of publicly available data by Entertainment Partners, a production-services company.
Last year, Illinois provided $210 million in incentives, which generated $703 million in production spending.
While California lawmakers wrestled with the status of the state’s incentive program, more than 25 films, television shows, and commercials were either in production or preparing to shoot in Illinois during a week in early July. Among them was the Walgreens commercial crew.
They weren’t just making an ad. They were also composting.
Back in the early ’70s under Boss Daley, Chicago was a Union Town. And if you were going to work in theater you had to join the union.
So I became the youngest member at 4 years and 11 months old to ever join Actor’s Equity back in 1970. I was cast to play Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol at the now shuttered Mill Run Theater.
I held that distinction for almost a year until some rugrat beat me by a lousy three weeks.
Since many of the larger Ad Agencies were here back then, Chicago was also a major hub for producing commercials and other ad campaigns. I found myself doing tons of commercials both on and off camera.
As a retired member of SAG, AFTRA, and Actor’s Equity, my firm has always been the go to shop for many Production Houses, Entertainment Venues, and Individual Entertainers. Since a lot of this work is coming home, I find myself going to Los Angeles a lot less.
The last time I flew home, it took forty-five minutes for my Uber to get from Gate 1 to Gate 7 at LAX at 2 PM on a Thursday! Has it ever taken you the better part of an hour to get anywhere at O’Hare?
At least I’m wasting less time in Ubers nowadays.
If you have questions about these Illinois Film Credits or are having difficulties with your accounting and tax work, I’m waiting for your call.
We’re all going to get through this. Let’s get through it together…
Accounting Solutions Ltd. stands ready to complete our mission and purpose of protecting you, your family, and your business. Whether you need Payroll Services, Accounting and Tax Work, Tax Planning, or Tax Representation, you have but to ask. I’m here and I remain,
Sincerely yours,
Chris Amundson
President
Accounting Solutions Ltd.
773-267-7500
888-310-0300
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