Just as the doors were about to close for good at JWT/Chicago, there appears to have been a reprieve. The shop is believed to have prevailed in a review for the $5 million Illinois Bureau of Tourism advertising account. JWT was the incumbent on the business, and in recent weeks, it had been competing with Euro RSCG/Chicago and Cramer-Krasselt/Chicago for the account. JWT's apparent win, sources say, means the Chicago shop would stay open at least as a satellite office to service the tourism account with approximately 20 staffers, including creative and account executives.

Perhaps the strongest aspect of JWT's work on the tourism account in recent years has been the eye-catching posters promoting a number of off-beat tourist destinations around the state. These executions helped pique interest in some attractions that vacationers otherwise might not have given a second thought.