The creation of a three-person, $252,000 Cook County Film Commission looks dim, as several Cook County commissioners say now is not the time to be adding positions to an already cash-strapped budget.
They want to amend the budget so it eliminates the film commission when county board members are scheduled to vote on the budget Nov. 19.
The proposed budget currently calls for an allocation of $251,611 for the film commission. From this, an executive director would be paid $100,000 annually; two others, an assistant and IT person, would be paid a combined $78,361.
The remaining $73,250 would cover transportation, marketing and other office expenses, Crain’s Chicago Business reported.
CFO director Rich Moskal said it would be helpful to have a point person to handle requests to shoot at county facilities, such as the Forest Preserve or criminal courts building.
“(Requests) get bounced around different departments depending on where people want to shoot,” he said.
The concept of a full-blown film commission began germinating last summer when board president Todd Stroger casually appointed a three-person advisory committee, none with film experience, to look into the viability of such a county commission, which would market the area as well as issue permits.
According to the original proposed ordinance that was ready for presentation in October, board president Todd Stroger would appoint the film commissioner and a seven-person commission.
Three film-side commissioners would be appointed from the ranks of union members and/or employees. The four designated county-side commissioners would include the County sheriff, the forest preserves superintendent, the president of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and someone from a county municipality.
It was generally expressed that a county film commission would be redundant when all filmmakers require from the county bureaucracy is a central source that would expedite permits needed primarily for filming in the forest preserves.
