Lightfoot Launches Coronavirus Economic Recovery Task Force

CHICAGO — As word trickled out that the statewide stay-home order would extend until June, Mayor Lori Lightfoot assembled a task force charged with developing strategies for how the regional economy — and everyday life — can recover from the new coronavirus crisis.

Outside Chicago's Historic Water Tower, one of few buildings that survived the Great Chicago Fire, Lightfoot announced she had tapped a team of experts, policy makers, business and labor leaders, community stakeholders and politicians, including political rival Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle, to help develop a strategic plan for the Chicago-region's economic rebound.

The mayor said the city's response to the coronavirus crisis requires bold visionary actions, not unlike Chicago's rise from the ashes after the 1871 blaze, in order to pull off the "most breathtaking recovery effort the city has ever seen."

Lightfoot and former White House Chief of Staff Sam Skinner will lead the task force, which will advise her administration on developing policies to manage economic stimulus, mental and emotional health, marketing and business development, future economic strategies and regional partnerships.

"COVID-19 is more than just a health crisis; its impact on our local economy has cost the livelihoods of thousands of Chicagoans and has imposed tremendous hardships across the social and economic fabric of all our communities. While the City continues to prioritize its public health response in order to keep our residents safe and healthy from this disease, we are also looking ahead to the next phase of this challenge to develop ways Chicago can emerge from the unprecedented event stronger than before," Lightfoot said.

"I commend the members of this new Taskforce for stepping up and serving their city as we lay the groundwork for Chicago’s rebirth over the coming weeks and months ahead."