Magnificent Mile shopping district in Chicago had sales revenues drop since the start of COVID-19. | Stock Photo
Magnificent Mile shopping district in Chicago had sales revenues drop since the start of COVID-19. | Stock Photo
The 60611 ZIP code, home to the Magnificent Mile shopping district on North Michigan Avenue and Navy Pier, experienced the most significant drop in sales tax collection in the state since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since last year, the Chicago Sun-Time reported sales tax collections in that area have dropped by $68 million. That equates to about one-fourth of the city's $290 million portions of those losses. Other mall-dependent towns that rely heavily on retail sales and tourism, such as Schaumburg, Rosemont and Skokie, have also been hard hit.
"Where you see the big drops, those are large tourism areas, and we know tourism was significantly impacted, so you see your big drops match where you'd see a big piece of tourism," Ben Dieterich, deputy budget director for the city of Chicago, said, the Sun-Times reported. "If you're seeing increases, people were staying home and not venturing far from home to make purchases."
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