{"id":933728,"date":"2026-07-14T06:45:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T06:45:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/933728\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T06:45:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T06:45:24","slug":"cinespace-chicago-a-behind-the-scenes-look-at-midwests-largest-film-production-hub","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/933728\/","title":{"rendered":"Cinespace Chicago: A behind-the-scenes look at Midwest\u2019s largest film production hub"},"content":{"rendered":"

CHICAGO (WGN<\/a>) \u2014 The Blues Brothers and prolific 1980s writer-director John Hughes put Chicago\u00a0on the map by spotlighting the city’s iconic landscape, but now\u00a0it’s\u00a0a massive production facility sprawled across the Near Southwest Side that drives television and film producers from\u00a0Hollywood\u00a0to the heartland.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The largest production hub outside Los Angeles is just a few miles from Chicago’s downtown.<\/p>\n

Jane Williamson is the vice president of client services and operations for CineSpace Chicago<\/a>, the premier studio and service provider in the Midwest for film, TV and commercials.<\/p>\n

\u00a0WGN’s Tom Skilling, Demetrius Ivory make cameos in final season of ‘The Bear’\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

“We’ve\u00a0had TV and film production here for decades and\u00a0we’re\u00a0a well-oiled machine and everyone is friendly about it,” Williamson said.<\/p>\n

It’s no secret that in the Midwest, hospitality takes center stage and so does\u00a0hard work.\u00a0From construction to cameras, the focus is full-service for the directors and writers who set up shop in\u00a0Chicago.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“If there was a production that was filmed in\u00a0Chicago, it was\u00a0most likely filmed\u00a0here in the last 15 years,” Williamson added.<\/p>\n

Cinespace Chicago is often called ‘The Hollywood of the Midwest.’ It spans 60 acres, includes 51 sound stages, and employs thousands of people.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Just a couple\u00a0of months\u00a0ago, we had seven productions on the lot,” Williamson said, which included the popular FX series, “The Bear.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

Back on set, WGN’s Tom Skilling shared that the stage looked nothing like it did when he visited months ago for a cameo appearance on “The Bear.” But what has remained the same, even months after filming, Skilling says, was his amazing experience.<\/p>\n

“They have their story, they have their script, they have their crew and they come to us for the space,” Williamson added. “Last year, the state of\u00a0Illinois\u00a0had about 7 million dollars in revenue thanks to this industry.”<\/p>\n

\u00a0Streaming Now: The Bear, Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness, The Agency and more\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

In the city of big shoulders, long-running dramas are carrying much of the weight. Popular city-centric shows, such as “Chicago PD” and “Chicago Fire,” film at the space.<\/p>\n

“We’ve\u00a0had anything here. From drug dens to high-end homes. You can have everything in between, but\u00a0it’s\u00a0where the magic is. On any given set, you can go from a house to a bar in a matter of steps.<\/p>\n

“If you have an idea and the right people behind it, you can build anything,” said Williamson, who started out as a production assistant at Cinespace. Now, she runs the show.<\/p>\n

What Cinespace\u00a0has built in\u00a0Chicago\u00a0provides thousands of jobs and countless opportunities for young students, even retired meteorologists!\u00a0But that begs the question, would Skilling consider more acting roles?<\/p>\n

“That would be interesting, but I’m certainly not very talented, Jane,” Skilling said.<\/p>\n

“I beg to\u00a0differ. I\u00a0think you\u00a0were excellent,” Williamson countered.<\/p>\n

WGN+ Originals | <\/strong>How to watch “The Buzz: Behind The Scenes”<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

All told, it’s an experience that Skilling, WGN viewers and “The Bear” watchers won’t soon forget.
It’s all about connection with the community, which is very important at Cinespace. The facility offers a workforce development program called CineCares<\/a>, which brings in young people to learn trades and critical skills for careers in production.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n

\u00a0For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CHICAGO (WGN) \u2014 The Blues Brothers and prolific 1980s writer-director John Hughes put Chicago\u00a0on the map by spotlighting…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":933729,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5124],"tags":[960,376508,87018,5386,1818,376506,376509,376510,376507,43775],"class_list":["post-933728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-chicago","tag-chicago","tag-film-producers","tag-film-production","tag-il","tag-illinois","tag-jane-williamson","tag-massive-production","tag-the-blues-brothers","tag-tom-skilling","tag-wgn"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116916986216432228","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/933728","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=933728"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/933728\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/933729"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=933728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=933728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=933728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}