Hard times can be especially tough on entertainment-oriented businesses, which are so dependent on customers' disposable income. The first thing to go when money gets tight is usually something like a night out for dinner or a movie. Yet, for all the economic jeopardy, there's also opportunity, as people never need a little leisure enjoyment more than during a deep recession.

Perhaps there's no better illustration of that right now in suburban Chicago than at Six Flags Great America. The parent company of the Gurnee theme park recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but its day-to-day operations are open and thriving, and it's impossible to miss their abundant ads on TV and radio.

"People have less discretionary funds, and they're looking for places that have value," said Great America spokeswoman Brooke Gabbert. "We recognized that early this year ... and positioned our ticket pricing so that families can take advantage of the opportunity right here in their backyard."

Ads have been trumpeting the season pass at $70 -- "the lowest they've been in 10 years," Gabbert said -- which is only $15 more than a one-day admission. In addition, there's a 2-for-1 deal running through July 10, to be followed by a chain of other discount deals.

"There'll be no time this summer that you can't go on our Web site and get a discount ticket," Gabbert said. "This is definitely an unprecedented year for the summer discounts we're offering."

Great America is clearly hoping the lower prices bring in more volume -- or at least minimize any drop in attendance. Gabbert said she couldn't release attendance figures, but last year was big for the theme park, and this year has hit projections thus far.

The advertising blitz also is aimed at making up any shortfall, while countering bad publicity from the Chapter 11 filing. The industry publication Inside Radio recently reported that it was actually an opportunity for radio stations to do more business with Six Flags.

Great America also formed a corporate partnership with Gurnee's KeyLime Cove Water Resort earlier this year, in effect allowing the two to gang up and benefit each other with synergy. Great America's 4-year-old Hurricane Harbor water park complements KeyLime Cove's, while the resort gives visitors traveling longer distances a place to stay.

"For a little less than $300, you're getting a night's stay and a whole day of entertainment at the park," Gabbert said. "We've definitely seen some very good response to that."

It plays to Great America's strengths in a tough economy as a staycation destination. "In general, regional theme-park business does well when the economy is down," she added, "because people are not traveling to the destinations (they otherwise might)."

What Great America is hoping to avoid is a perfect storm -- literally -- in the form of bad weather combined with a tough economy. The wet, chilly spring hasn't helped, but Gabbert said Memorial Day was huge, and attendance has spiked with the recent warm days.

"Attendance has been about what we expected," she added. "We live and die by weather."

The weather didn't do any favors to Mad Maggie's over the winter, and that was after the new Elgin music venue and restaurant opened last September in the darkest days of the economic crisis.

"We're weathering the storm," said co-owner Sean Davis. "The last couple of weeks have been a lot better. It was a rough winter."

That coincides with better weather, and with the recent opening of the restaurant side of the business. They also opened a homey basement area that's been well-received. "We do a lot of private parties and stuff in there and use it on the weekends," Davis added.

Mad Maggie's has the look of a sports bar, but Davis prefers to say, "Actually, we're a bar that shows sports." The same goes for the music bookings. Although it's gained repute as a punk and hard-core haven, most shows are actually acoustic or party bands. "We do more of that than the punk scene," Davis said. "It just seems that those few stick out in people's heads." Next month they'll bring in Cracker for a high-profile booking.

Davis and his partner, Ted Kurita, planned three years to open Mad Maggie's -- only to have the economy tank just as they were opening the doors. Their business projections couldn't have addressed that. "We threw those out a long time ago," Davis said. Yet they've found a way to make it work so far, and business is growing. After all, people need a place to be entertained in hard times, or as Mad Maggie's MySpace motto puts it: "Eat! Drink! Rock!"

Books would seem to be a weatherproof business, except that books are now said to be obsolete. Yet Cornerstone Used Books in Villa Park has found a way not just to survive, but thrive. It recently moved three doors down to an expanded location at 28 S. Villa, and the family-run business is also doing a lucrative trade on the Internet.

Owner Kathy Carwell said they went from 800 square feet in the old place to 3,800 square feet. They also brought in bookshelves purchased from Brant's in downtown Chicago when it closed. Before, books were stacked floor to ceiling, requiring a perilous trip up a ladder, but now they're readily accessible.

"It was overwhelming," Carwell admitted. "We thought if we bring everything down to eye level, that would be a good idea."

The new space allows room for story hours and other events and makes for a much more inviting experience. And while the current thinking might be that books, like newspapers, are obsolete, Carwell has actually found that the bookstores that endure are doing bang-up business.

She said there's no denying that many stores have closed, both in the harsh economy and in natural attrition from older owners retiring and not being replaced, but there is still something about browsing through a bookstore, and she says she's getting customers who make the drive from Plainfield or Geneva. "And when they come they spend a bigger chunk of change," she added. Internet sales have also grown, through the store's new site at www.cornerstoneusedbooks.com as well as links to sites like Amazon, and in general used books are made to thrive in hard times.

"If you have a $7.50 book, with tax it costs $8 at Borders," Carwell said. "And here it's half price at $4, and if you bring in books for credit it's half of that."

That's a deal meant to appeal to those pinching pennies in the current economy.

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