CHICAGO — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker announced a new $30 million campaign Monday to help boost the state's tourism recovery following the pandemic decline.
The "Middle of Everything" campaign highlights Illinois as the center of American culture, food, outdoor adventures, history and more. It was directed by Illinois native and actress Jane Lynch.
She's serving as a tour guide to showcase iconic attractions in Chicago, Springfield, Historic Route 66, Shawnee National Forest and other downstate destinations in the TV ads.
"We have a regional tourism audience, people who live in the state surrounding us all across the Midwest, who have been coming to Illinois over the years, we want to enhance that," Pritzker said at Monday's press conference.
The governor said the target audiences include people in the Chicagoland area, Illinois' residents outside of the city and residents in surrounding Midwest states.
"There is a lot to see, and I think that's what people will come here for," Pritzker said. "And we overcome challenges every day, we work to overcome the challenges that we have for the city of Chicago as well as the entire state."
The signature "kindness" given to Midwest natives is something Pritzker believes will add to the state's tourism boost along with the attractions.
"You know I've said this a lot, but people don't hear a lot about Ilinois in the rest of the country and that people are kind here in Illinois," Pritzker said. "It's not just across the Midwest — a special kindness that exists in the city of Chicago — in the surrounding areas and across the state. People are genuinely good to one another."
The ads will run in eight Midwest states starting this week: Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Kentucky.
A national rollout will appear on cable TV beginning April 25.
More information on "The Middle of Everything" can be found here.