New Illinois film office head Peter Hawley hopes to attract a Netflix production hub to Chicago

CHICAGO - In the fall, Netflix acquired a major soundstage complex in Albuquerque. Last month came news that the streaming service is opening a new production hub in Brooklyn, as well. Peter Hawley, who now heads up the Illinois Film Office under Gov. J.B. Pritzker, says one of his goals is to persuade Netflix to consider the same for Chicago.

"They've committed money to New Mexico, they've committed money to New York. We're a nice spot between those two places," he said when we met at his office in the Thompson Center. "I've not yet spoken to Netflix, but that is the goal. You've seen the numbers they're talking about spending on production over the coming years, it's something like $8 billion, and they can't do it all in Los Angeles, they've got to spread it around. And to do that, they need to have their own studio space. And they can't expand in Los Angeles, there's no space. So why not Chicago?"

So far, Netflix has had a minimal presence in Chicago, including the Joe Swanberg series "Easy" (the third and final season premiered