Cook County lost approximately $1.26 billion in retail and restaurant activity and $107 million in local sales-tax revenue in the first year of increased federal immigration enforcement. The economic impact was documented in a report authored by University of Illinois Chicago’s Great Cities Institute, “Hunkering Down: Immigration Enforcement’s Economic Cost,” with support from grantee Metropolitan Family Services in support of United for Chicago. Researchers noted that people made fewer trips outside their neighborhood, with more effects seen in suburban businesses.
