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According to documents obtained by The Center Square, the cost
of constructing the Enjoy Illinois float, the performances and
the entry fee cost taxpayers $560,000.
The 24-foot-tall float took three months to build using about
22,000 volunteer hours and featured 30,000 flowers. The state
hired the vocal group Straight No Chaser to ride and sing on the
float.
The theme spotlighted the state’s music history along Route 66
and was called “Illinois: The Middle of Beats and Blues,” a nod
to the state’s tourism campaign, “Middle of Everything.”
The float did not grab any of the 24 float trophies awarded this
year.
This is the second year that Enjoy Illinois has entered a float
in the Rose Parade.
It remains to be seen the impact the float will have on tourism
in the state. A request for comment from officials at Enjoy
Illinois and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic
Opportunity were not returned.
According to Tourism Economics, visitors to Illinois spent $44.3
billion in 2022, an increase of 37% over the prior year. Visitor
spending fell just short of its 2019 level, reaching 97% of its
pre-pandemic benchmark, while visitor volumes reached 91% of its
2019 level.
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