The city that works is now into overtime. During the first quarter of 2026, Chicago saw seven series lensing in town. Production expenditures in Illinois hit a record $703 million in 2025, per stats released by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office. Those numbers were bolstered by the state’s film production tax credit, now extended until 2039. “We’re at a 35% base, but it’s stackable,” explains Natasha Olguin, deputy commissioner of the Chicago Film Office , of the production spending tax