(upbeat uplifting pop music) - More than a year after COVID-19 arrived in Illinois the economy is still struggling to pull out of a steep decline.

I'm Rosslind Rice.

Thanks for joining us on InFocus.

Since March of 2020, the global economy has sputtered, struggling to pull itself out of declines from forced capacity restrictions, supply chain issues, and more.

On this episode, we'll see how those impacts are being felt in our region, from nonprofits worried about fundraising, to businesses, changing their model, and other things you might not have noticed.

As the economy gradually recovers from the scourge of the pandemic, some wounds are clearly visible.

In Springfield, for example, some 300 conventions were canceled at a cost of $40 million.

But as Mark McDonald finds out, Visit Springfield Illinois was on a pace to set records for conventions and tourism and intends to return to record territory in the near future.

- Scott Dahl, we can't talk about recovering from COVID without touching on what a flop 2020 was for people in your business, for Springfield and the region.

Can you quantify what kind of hit Springfield took with the COVID year?

- Well, heading into 2020, we were looking at a record tourism year.

Record conventions, record leisure travel, record group tours.

We really thought we were going to smash all the records on the books.

And we did, unfortunately, in the opposite direction.

You know, we canceled some 300 events.

- [Mark] Oh my goodness.

- $40 million in convention business through the year.

But the bright side is that, you know, we're a bureau that works years in advance.

And so, our team kept working and we continue to book business '22 and beyond.

And we will return to those 2019 levels.

- Yeah, well, okay, $40 million loss, just from your office, which your office would have set up for meetings and conventions and those kinds of things.

Now, you can't recover that.

The businesses can't recover that overnight.

But I guess what they can do is, like you say, they can look ahead and they can say, well, you know what, if we start booking now for two, three, four, five years out, it's not all bad.

I mean, and that's what your business does anyway, right?

That's what you customarily do.

- It really does, and we're talking about an industry that's a 483 million dollar industry in Sagamon County that was essentially cut in half.

But when you look ahead, we can return to those levels.

Our goal is to reach half a billion dollars in tourism expenditures in '22 and beyond.

- Mm-hmm.

- So, that's the bright side.

- Yep.

Now, through all this, did you have to lay-off any of your staff, or were they able to continue working?

- We did not lay-off, we did not furlough.

We kept our team working.

Again, we're looking years in advance, and we knew that we were going to rebound, and we took the opportunity to keep our staff working.

Working with planners and assisting the planners.

- [Mark] Mm-hmm.

- Think about it.

We had 300 conventions canceled.

We need to service those meeting planners, whether we reschedule or move their events or just keep in constant communication with them.

- [Mark] We're in an office, which is, it's kind of fortunate that we're here.

This is where tourism starts for Springfield.

People would come in here, it's a visitor center, and they would learning where they wanna see, where they wanna go, what they wanna see.

And this is a rather new installment for your office.

I mean, right where it's happening, it's right on the old state Capitol square.

- It is, it is, and we're so fortunate to have our partnership with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and to have this space in the historic Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices, right on the old state Capitol plaza, in view of the old state Capitol.

In 2019 we welcomed almost 20,000 visitors through these doors.

- [Mark] Wow.

- So, yeah, to have this space and have this opportunity to really welcome visitors to town is a blessing.

- [Mark] So, your first full year here, 20,000 people come in to find out what they wanna see in Springfield.

Your second full year here is a complete flop.

- [Scott] It is.

- [Mark] You couldn't even open the doors most of the time, could you?

- It is.

We would see as many people in a month than we would typically see in one day.

- Yeah.

Let's walk back here just a little bit.

I wanna see more of this office while we're talking, because you've also changed this since you moved in here.

You've got what would have been Lincoln's office, which was a law office, which was upstairs, and you've put the installment down here, haven't you?

- [Scott] We have, we have.

So, we moved the installment from the third floor, which is being renovated, down to the first floor.

So, you know, there are visitors, when they're walking through, they meet with one of our travel consultants, they move through and they can have an Instagrammable moment.

- [Mark] Mm-hmm.

- Right here, in an installation that looked very similar to Lincoln and his office in the 1950's and 60's.

- [Mark] It's a terrific opportunity.

Now, how does a guy in your business sleep at night, knowing that somewhere this bridge is gonna come where you're gonna get to be able to have 500 people together in one place, but you don't know when it's gonna happen?

How do you plan for to accommodate people when you don't have any idea if you'll be able to?

- Yeah, I mean, we just keep looking ahead, and, you know, we've changed our plan a dozen times, Mark.

And we just keep looking ahead and looking at that next goal line.

And so, you know, we're flexible.

And we're looking towards those years that we return to some kind of normalcy.

It'll never be completely normal, we know that.

We know that by our convention protocols, and, you know, how we're going to welcome people to Springfield in a safe manner.

But, we just keep looking ahead and we stay optimistic.

- Mm-hmm.

For the big meetings, the conventions, you know, the groups of large people.

Two years down the road, you say you've got some of that booked.

Are you happy with the way that's unfolding?

Are people still wanting to come to Springfield and central Illinois?

- They are.

And not only from the convention standpoint, from a leisure standpoint as well.

The only market that's really lagging is international, and that's expected, but that will rebound as well.

Especially as we head towards the hundredth anniversary of Route 66 in 2026.

That's gonna be a huge year for the state of Illinois, and for Route 66 in general.

- [Mark] Mm-hmm.

- But yeah, we'll continue to, you know, to look forward and welcome those conventioneers back.

- Okay.

Now, people around here have come very accustomed to having a September car show here.

I mean, that Mother Road festival was huge, in fact, it's 20 years old this year, right?

- [Scott] It is.

- Do you know anything about what that holds?

- We do, and yeah, the International Route 66 Mother Road Fest will happen.

It'll be re-imagined this year.

So, we won't have everything we've had in the past but we're bringing back the major programming for the show.

And, you know, in a year that many of the shows that have been canceled already.

- Yeah.

- Some of the other Route 66 festivals have already been canceled.

We feel fortunate that the Mother Road Fest is in late September.

It's outdoors.

And we're gonna be able to welcome thousands of car enthusiasts back to Springfield in September of this year.

- Okay.

Scott, thanks a lot.

Appreciate it.

- [Scott] You're welcome, thanks Mark.

- Okay.

$40 million lost for the region in 2020, but it does look like 2022, '23 and on is gonna look a whole lot better in Springfield.

In Springfield, InFocus, I'm Mark McDonald.

- The Springfield Arts Association is working with a century of tradition to help them move ahead and keep inspiring others.

Julie Staley shows us how they're not letting anything stop them from making art and making history.

- It's the oldest house in Springfield.

Abraham Lincoln used to visit here.

Now, it's part of one of the most modern art facilities in the area.

(fire blowing) Just weeks before the COVID pandemic locked down the world, the Springfield Art Association celebrated the opening of its newest addition to campus: state-of-the-art studios for ceramics, metals and glass.

- Glass is very performative.

You have a lots of large movements.

Everything is very well-timed.

If it's not timed well, it ends up on the floor.

And you can do such a wide variety of things to the glass.

- [Julie] You can't touch it with your hands, but somehow, this kind of art touches your heart.

- Finishing your piece is a crazy amount of accomplishment in its own right.

A simple glass, for a beginner, will take like 40-50 minutes.

Once you get it down, it will be shorter, but, you know, a simple object takes that long.

Back to only 60% survival rate.

It really feels like you're just trying to survive as you're making something, especially as a beginner.

- [Julie] This new technology is just one way the SAA reaches out to others.

Their campus history goes back almost 200 years.

A frequent visitor to one of their locations, Abraham Lincoln - We are in Edward's place, the home of Benjamin and Helen Edwards.

This is the oldest house in Springfield, the core of which was built in 1833.

The Edwards were a very political and influential family of the mid 19th century.

Benjamin was actually close friends with Stephen Douglas.

He then wound up being related by marriage to Abraham Lincoln.

His oldest brother was married to Elizabeth Todd, you know, Mary's older sister.

So, they were all, you know, sort of tripping over each other.

- [Julie] The SAA is also a part of another piece of Springfield history.

Nearly 90 years of the Beaux's Arts Ball.

- [Betsy] A fundraiser is launched by the Springfield Art Association, which becomes its biggest annual fundraising event.

- [Julie] Since 1930, 89 young ladies have been crowned Queen, and decades later, a King was added.

- I think it still remains the biggest fundraiser in terms of amount of money raised.

It's the only event that we really hold that is not sort of art, or specifically, well, in a way it's almost history-themed now.

It's not connected to Edward's place, but it certainly has a long history in Springfield.

- [Julie] History and tradition changed for the SAA this year, as they closed during the pandemic.

The passion of their staff, volunteers and donors kept them going.

- Almost exactly a year ago we shut down.

We reopened in mid-June and we reopened, specifically, to be able to offer summer art camps for kids.

Summer art camp is really our biggest season, in terms of classes.

And definitely the time that we see more children than adults.

- They're spaced six feet, three inches apart from each other.

And the kids love it.

They get to just get in the zone and they just can tranq out for hours some art.

It's really fun seeing what's in their head.

You know, some of the kids really surprise you.

- [Julie] Another way they've kept on going, these art boxes and tea boxes.

They've sold more than 2000 of them for kids and adults.

- It's completely self-contained.

It has all the materials you need, a booklet of instructions with photos and a matching video, if you need more support on how to do whatever it is.

They cover a broad range of ages and abilities.

And it turns out that adults have been buying them for themselves.

Particularly, you know, the pottery ones where they get the plate and the glazes.

You know, they can go at it.

There's a Monet painting one.

So, again, they get all the paints, the brushes, everything they need with a canvas.

- [Julie] The SAA represents about 75 artists in the area.

Many use time during the pandemic to inspire.

- Some of them just dove right in and started cranking out new work and really took advantage of the isolation and the quiet and the lack of distraction, or whatever, to do new bodies of work and just, you know, sort of go into themselves and do new things.

- Art, in its whole, is a massive mental release.

You know, you can really just get in the zone.

You stop thinking about other things in life and you just think about what you're doing.

And we have people all the time that say, "thank you, this is such a good release for us."

- I still meet so many people who are like, "oh, I just can't do art."

You know, the bottom line is it's incredibly therapeutic and you don't have to be good at it.

Even if you don't have any real eye-hand coordination, you can generate some.

This is a learned skill.

And it all just takes practice and focus.

And it's kind of nice to separate from your daily routine to a new focus for a few hours.

And so, I would just encourage people to give it a try.

Not to be so afraid of it.

- [Julie] You never know what you'll create, or who you'll inspire.

For InFocus, I'm Julie Staley.

- You can order the art boxes and Victorian tea boxes through the SAA website at springfieldart.org.

Registration for art classes and summer camps is also there.

One of the impacts of a down economy is an increase in domestic abuse.

As stresses increase due to money troubles, loss of jobs, and general anxiety about the pandemic, social service agencies report more calls for care and support.

April is Child Abuse Prevention month.

While local agencies are continuing routine efforts to help children, they're also confronting the additional challenges brought on by the economic downturn.

Steph Whiteside explains.

- Well, child abuse is a very real issue.

We have many counties in Southern Illinois that have over twice the rate of child abuse as in the state, per capita of a thousand people.

Many people like to think that that's a problem that's somewhere else, but it is not.

It exists right here at home.

- [Steph] Calls to the Illinois Child Abuse hotline decreased by nearly 50% at the start of the pandemic.

Experts say this isn't because abuse stopped, but because staying at home kept kids away from teachers and other adults who might recognize signs of abuse and report them.

- The DCFS also states that a child can tell someone that they've been abused or neglected seven times before it's reported.

That's huge.

Seven times that that child has potentially said something, and that, for whatever reason, it's never been reported to the hotline.

- The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating for many.

In a survey done last fall, 14% of Illinois families with children reported that they were worried about having enough to eat.

20% said they were worried about being able to pay their rent or their mortgage.

10% said they didn't have insurance.

And 18% reported feeling depressed or hopeless within the last week.

- Well, you know, if you have a family and they're experiencing economic stress, I mean, that's difficult for any family to go through.

You know, someone loses a job, or they're trying to make it on minimum wage, they're a single parent.

That creates stresses.

So, you put the pandemic with that, and exacerbate that, and the anger levels rise, the frustration rise.

The children are home with you all the time.

You know, they're not receiving the support, the meals, the education they normally do.

So, it's just like, you know, a cauldron, a perfect storm that can develop for some families.

- [Steph] The stress and isolation of the pandemic, along with financial difficulties, can create problems even in families that didn't have them before.

- Well, this actually happens quite often, that when we see that there's recessions or different points in time where a family is struggling to maybe feed their children, clothe their children, maybe keep the utilities on, maybe they've lost their job, maybe they don't have transportation to get to where they need.

What often times has, I mean, kind of put yourself in that situation for a minute.

Let's say you lost your job.

What's probably gonna happen?

Well, you're probably not gonna be sleeping.

You're probably not gonna be eating.

You're probably gonna be irritable.

You're probably gonna be anxious, concerned, fearful, worried about your future.

You can just imagine, when you start to have those feelings that, sometimes you maybe act or react in an irrational manner.

And sometimes that may be that you react or react to maybe a child around you, that maybe they've, you know, maybe they've used the last, you know, ingredient or something for that meal, or maybe, you know, they broke something, or tore something up, up and you're gonna have to replace it and maybe you don't have the means to do that.

Until put yourself in that situation, sometimes you don't realize what some of those stressors can do.

When you're not sleeping and maybe not eating well, or maybe even taking care of your own self, you're probably not the best person to take care of other people around you.

- And, I mean, there are times when parents they just, they just lose it.

You know what I mean?

And then their support isn't there.

The support system wasn't there.

I mean, I think about our life.

We did not really see our family members for months on end, you know?

So, it wasn't like somebody could call up grandma and say, will you take the children?

I feel like I need a day here.

You know, in some of these family's lives, because maybe grandma is high risk and grandma can't help.

And the stress just builds.

- [Steph] Local agencies had to change the way they operated while also responding to unprecedented levels of need in the community.

- Well, that's the key is first to help individuals within our community know that there are specific resources out there that they can get.

And the other thing is, we don't wanna wait for them to come to us.

So, we actively wanna be out in our community educating them about what resources are available.

We do a lot of basic needs.

I mean, it kind of goes back to the idea that Maslow had many years ago, is that first you gotta work on basic needs.

We gotta take care of, you know, food, shelter, clothing, those basic things first, before we can ever get to a point where we are self-actualized.

- We realized the needs were greater than ever.

And we had to find a way to help and reach out.

So, in that process, the things that we were involved in with families were some things we had never been involved in before.

Like food needs.

We gave, in the last year between March to this March 2021, we gave out over $176,000 through food banks for children in Southern Illinois.

You saw the food lines.

- [Steph] While things are starting to return to normal, the impact of the pandemic may not be fully understood for years.

- The lasting impacts that this pandemic may have on children that maybe were exposed to abuse or neglect during this period of time, or maybe it increased, or maybe they didn't get help, you know, quicker because they didn't have caring adults in their life that they could confide in, such as maybe teachers or social workers.

You know, it's probably gonna be many, many years before we figure out what the true impact is on those children, in particular.

- Anyone who suspects a child is being abused or neglected can call the Illinois hotline to make a report.

That number is on your screen.

InFocus, in Carbondale, I'm Steph Whiteside.

- Within weeks of the initial COVID-19 shutdowns more than a year ago, many business owners and agency directors were making difficult decisions about whether or not they could survive.

A lot of nonprofits also took a hit when it came to fundraising.

But the Boys and Girls Clubs of Southern Illinois decided to do whatever it takes to help area children.

Benji Jeffords tells us their story.

- [Benji] In March of 2020, COVID-19 hit Illinois and forced many places to shut down.

The Boys and Girls Clubs of Southern Illinois kept working to support their members and their families.

Boys and Girls Clubs of Southern Illinois CEO, Tina Carpenter, says they wanted to keep all their employees on staff because of the uncertainty of the pandemic.

- During the complete shutdown in March, from March 16th through June 24th, when we reopened for summer programming for in-person, we did employ people.

We continued people working, whether it was through virtual programs, helping with meals, planning, training.

We tried to keep everybody employed.

- [Benji] The club had to change the way it operated once in-person programming began in the summer.

- The biggest impact has been that we're serving youth for a longer period of time every day.

And typically after school during the school year.

So, three o'clock-ish til seven and nine o'clock at night.

Whereas, you know, at the beginning of the school year, we were serving kids 10 to 12 hours a day.

- [Benji] By the end of 2020, the clubs served more than 30,000 meals to area youth and their families that were affected by the pandemic.

Carpenter says when school started, they expanded the number of sites at Carbondale schools by establishing two new sites at Thomas and Parrish elementary school.

- The superintendent had asked that we assist by being at Parrish and Thomas school, which is kindergarten through third grade, to assist there, so they don't have to be transported to the Springer Street site.

So, that was new.

But, you know, we're just trying to work together to meet the needs of the kids, as well as the schools.

- [Benji] Operating more sites also put a financial strain on the club, but Carpenter says supporters definitely took notice of what the club was doing for the community.

- Donors really stepped up this past year.

Our individual contributions definitely increased.

People saw the need to support the club, so that we could continue serving the kids.

So, you know, financially, there was a strain and there was a lot of worry and anxiety about, are people gonna continue donating?

But, people have really stepped up to support the kids.

- [Benji] Leaders at the club had to get more innovative when it came to fundraising.

Without the ability to hold large gatherings or meetings, like a lot of others, they moved to virtual fundraising.

- So, that's been more difficult.

We've not met our targets with fundraising events because we just couldn't have them.

- [Benji] Carpenter says some of their fundraisers coincide with other events like the Academy Awards.

So, they had to reschedule some of their virtual fundraising events too.

- In February, we normally have our Oscars trivia night event fundraiser, which is our, pretty much our premier event.

And we did it actually last weekend as a virtual event, which had its own challenges.

But there were some upsides to it.

Because of our silent auction being online and available a week before, that brought in more money than it's done in the past.

- [Benji] This summer, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Southern Illinois will open a fifth location in Marion.

Mayor Mike Absher says the new site is a welcome addition to the city of Marion and Williamson County.

- To grow our economy, we have to grow our diversity in our community.

And this is one of the ways to do that, because it's a disruptor in a positive way, for leadership, coaching and mentorship opportunities for the youth.

- [Benji] The new site will also need new staff, creating more jobs in Marion.

- We'll be hiring staff in the very near future to support the kids.

But we should be able to serve about a hundred kids a day at that location.

We're helping the economy in the Williamson County area.

- [Benji] Carpenter says the club has set a goal of $400,000 to fully fund the Marion site for the first year, which will cover buying the property, renovations, salary, and operational expenses.

In March, Heartland Regional Medical Center celebrated Doctor's Appreciation day, by donating $25,000 to the club for the Marion site.

Heartland CEO, Ed Cunningham says, it's important to take care of the children in the community.

- What happens every year is we buy a gift for the doctors in appreciation for everything they've done.

And we met together and talked about it, and the doctors agreed that this was a great program.

They wanted to support the community.

They didn't need another gift.

They wanted to see something happen to better the community and take care of our children.

- [Benji] Carpenter says the club will do whatever it takes to provide support to the youth in Southern Illinois.

- [Tina] Kids need our support, and I think families especially need our support during this pandemic, and beyond.

And so, anything we can do to help make Southern Illinois a better place for the youth and prepare them to be our future leaders.

- [Benji] For InFocus, I'm Benji Jeffords.

- Projections for a post-COVID economy show glimmers of hope.

But experts caution it'll take time to fully recover.

Thanks for joining us on this edition of InFocus.

I'm Rosslind Rice.

You can find these stories and more by going to our website, wsiunews.org.