Illinois is mounting a big tourism campaign

Posted on May 13, 2021
Gov. Pritzker spoke during a news conference at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield. (Dave Dahl/WJBC)

 

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – The state’s look at post-pandemic tourism takes the form of a promotional campaign called “Time for Me to Drive,” a riff off a song by Illinois’ own REO Speedwagon. And State Sen. Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago) continues the 80’s vibe by crediting then-Mayor Jane Byrne’s greenlighting of “The Blues Brothers” with the resurgence of Chicago as a tourism mecca.

“The campaign will bring visitors to and throughout Illinois, which in turn will bring customers for our local businesses and jobs for our workforce,” said Jayne DeLuce, president of the convention and visitors’ bureau in Champaign County and chairwoman of a statewide trade group, “and we know that right now it’s road trips that are connecting our communities more than ever before.”

The rollout took place at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield.

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]

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