Optimism for regional economy reigns at Choose DuPage event

Tim Stop knows how much a little financial assistance meant when his bookings evaporated last year as the COVID-19 pandemic struck.

The local songwriter/musician received stopgap funding from Choose DuPage, a Lisle-based economic development alliance, as part of its small business relief grant program. It came at a time when Stop's wife had been furloughed as well.

"To have something to get you through that uncertain time, and now we've gotten to the point where we can kind of see the light through the end of the tunnel," he said Wednesday morning at a Choose DuPage hybrid event discussing the regional economic outlook. "Music is kind of coming back to life. It's not quite survival mode like it was last year."

Featured speaker Rick Bayless, owner and chef at Frontera Grill, Mesirow Senior Vice President Cara Esser and DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin all said they see good things ahead for the economy.

Cronin noted in a videotaped presentation the county's unemployment rate is 6.3%, down from 14.7% in April 2020 - the highest in 30 years.

Because most consumers didn't spend as much as usual on items such as entertainment and vacations in 2020, and because of federal stimulus programs, they have money to spend in 2021, Esser said. She cited a New York Times survey saying 35% of Americans plan to spend or travel more this year than in a typical year, and 28% plan to spend more at restaurants. Hotel bookings are rising, and American Airlines said bookings are at 90% of pre-pandemic levels, she added.

"Consumers have less debt and more money in the bank," she said. " ... Flush with cash, Americans are already making up for lost time."

Esser also noted Illinois will lose a congressional seat due to a lower population in the 2020 Census, with many Baby Boomers moving to the Sun Belt.

"I think that there definitely is a trend of people moving where the weather is a little bit warmer. I expect that to continue," she said.

But Esser also noted the housing market in the Chicago area is very strong. It is a seller's market.

Bayless, whose restaurant is in Chicago, created a direct relationship with suburbanites who might never go downtown and would never experience his restaurant. He used a service that delivered meals prepared in his restaurant to various suburban locations for consumers to pick up.

"So I feel like we have an even bigger presence these days in the greater Chicago area than we did before," Bayless said.