WGN-TV Show Notes — January 11, 2002

Anchor: Since the September 11th terrorist attacks, the country’s recession has deepened nationwide. But New Yorkers have more financial hurdles than the rest of us.

Anchor: Money and real estate expert Ilyce Glink is here with a look at how Chicago and New York are doing compared with the rest of the nation, and what that means for you and your money.

Ilyce: According to a new report being released today, more than 1.8 million Americans will lose their jobs because of the terrorist attacks on September 11th. Already, nearly 250,000 jobs have been lost and an additional 1.6 million jobs will be lost this year. New York City will lose the most jobs, triple what Chicago will lose. Clearly, New York is a city is in trouble. And for anyone who does business with companies based in New York, or has friends and relatives who live there, the question is how long will it take for New York to recover. Let’s compare how we’re doing compared to New York.

In The Red . . .

Illinois – $500 Million

New York – $7 Billion +

New York City – $1.6 Billion this year

Next year: – $4 Billion Source:

Ilyce: Next year, New York City is expected to run a budget deficit of around $4 Billion, and the economy is expected to shrink 3.1 percent, or about four times worse than what’s expected nationally. What does this mean for you? Travel and leisure have been the hardest-hit industries. It’s dirt cheap to fly and stay in New York. So if you’re looking for a vacation destination, you might want to consider staying in the big apple.

World Trade Center video of construction site real estate is another area where New York is suffering. New York lost approximately 12.5 million square feet of office space in the September 11th attacks plus another 7.7 million square feet is being renovated over the next six months to a year. One fifth of all downtown tenants have moved away.

Office Vacancy Rates

Chicago 2001 12.7 % +174%

New York 2001 9.0% + 300%

Ilyce: The residential real estate market has almost completely recovered nationwide since September 11, and finished the year with 5.2 million units sold, an increase of 1 percent over last year. Chicago had a banner year but in New York, the downtown residential market and higher end markets are struggling. What does this mean for you?

Real Estate in 2002

  • Interest rates will rise to 7.25%

  • First-time buyer demand strong

  • Expect longer listing times

  • Prices hurt on $$$ homes

Ilyce: Finally, I did a search of how much Chicago area companies have contributed to various World Trade Center charities.

Chicago Area Donations $75 million + Does not include individual contributions

Jan. 11, 2002.