Industries across the United States are still
reeling from the impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and workers in the
thriving Chicagoland entertainment industry are calling on Congress to provide
a helping hand to an industry that employs hundreds of thousands of workers.

A nationwide gathering known as “Red Alert” was
held Tuesday night in suburban Rosemont, with the Allstate Arena bathed in red
light to help draw attention to efforts to lobby Congress in support of the
RESTART Act.

The bill offers relief to those in the entertainment
industry, which has been largely halted since March when the pandemic roared to
life in the United States.

The industry employs more than 10 million people
across the United States, including thousands in Illinois, but that all changed
with the pandemic.

“It across the board has completely stopped,”
Charlie Nicosia, owner of Absolute Production, said. “We lost 90% of our
business and had to lay off almost everyone.”

Nicosia’s company helps movie studios with union contracting,
power distribution and production, and he says that his business is in his
blood, as his father was also involved in the entertainment business.

“My father did this for 50 years,” he said. “I’ve done
it for 36, and I have three sons.”

In addition to the RESTART Act, which would help provide
financial aid to entertainment companies, the “Red Alert” events were designed
to push Congress to reinstate extended unemployment benefits, which expired
earlier this year.

Without that help, those who work in the industry
are looking at piles of unpaid bills, and with no end to the pandemic in sight,
things are getting more desperate for those currently out of work.

“It’s daily conversations about what is going to
happen and what to do about our families,” Nicosia said. “We need to have some
legislation to help with unemployment assistance, health insurance, and more.”

The “Red
Alert” events took place across the United States, with hundreds of buildings
lit up in red in more than 50 cities, according to the event’s Facebook page.