CHICAGO | Economic & Business Development

[Klippenstein]

Originally Posted by sentinel

I wanna know which idiot executive thought this would be a good idea, because it's most likely gonna cost them a lot more to ship to the Great Lakes region than making the beer here and distributing throughout the region.

Maybe Cinespace can finally expand into that facility once it has been vacated.

Not in the immediate future.

The brewery will continue operating its Chicago facility as a warehouse and distribution center, but it will no longer produce beer or serve as a taproom.

[Rizzo]

I still had no idea the taproom reopened. The place was always busy pre-covid. I haven’t drank lagunitas in awhile and I’ve been drawn to other breweries. Same sentiment with friends of mine.

[Steely Dan]

The Heineken takeover certainly didn't help their brand image.

[ardecila]

They're just retreating. I've been amazed how Heineken tried to position them as a ubiquitous brand like Sam Adams or Goose Island - seems like every little dive bar now has a Lagunitas beer or several. Convenience stores sell them right alongside the macros.

I think their footprint was probably way too big for the actual demand, and the NorCal stoner brand image didn't connect with a lot of people.

[left of center]

Heineken getting involved in the first place was the beginning of the end for Lagunitas. A repeat of Goose Island and AB InBev. I simply stopped drinking both brands when they underwent their corporate takeover, and I'm sure a lot of people did the same.

It doesn't help that the craft beer space has gotten incredibly crowded in the last few decades, and the beer market overall is somewhat struggling as consumers switch over to hard seltzers and spirits.

I will miss the tap room. Was a fun spot to pre-game before going to Riotfest

[twister244]

This article is inherently political, but I think it's worth highlighting the $500 million for quantum computing did make it into the final budget for Illinois. It passed both chambers and will be signed into law.

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/poli...ar-2025-budget

That includes $500 million to support the development of a regional quantum information science and technology campus, allocated from a specific economic-development focused bond fund known as Build Illinois.

Another bill allowing the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to designate “quantum campuses” also lays out infrastructure and business incentives to lure developers of new-age higher-speed computing technology to the state. That measure also expands and extends several other popular tax credit programs, such as the Reimagining Energy and Vehicles Act and the Economic Development for a Growing Economy, or EDGE, program.

[twister244]

I debated on posting this since there's no real specifiic news, but it's worth noting the continued interest from various partners the Quantum front:

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/tech...m-play-chicago

The company won’t detail exactly what it has in mind. “At IBM, we are excited to see continuously growing interest and investment in quantum computing across Chicago and the state of Illinois,” Jay Gambetta, vice president of IBM Quantum, says in a statement.

Big Blue, as the company is known, is one of the few companies that has built a quantum computer. It joins PsiQuantum, a Silicon Valley startup that is preparing to build a large-scale quantum computer, among companies that are considering setting up shop in Illinois.

[Via Chicago]

riot fest is out of douglass park. writing has been on the wall for a while, but i really question what chicagos long term strategy is to remain competitive in this landscape. of course the obvious answer is they dont have one, and we're going to continue to bleed opportunities to fill hotels and restaurants at a time when the city is already struggling with an image and perception issue.

[Steely Dan]

^ while I agree with your overall concern, at least seat geek stadium is still somewhat close-in.

It's not like they're moving it all the way down to Tinley Park or wherever.

That said, seat geek is still stupidly annoying to get to for a Northsider like myself. The lineup looks great, but I'll probably end up passing.

[Chisouthside]

i mean it seems like theres already a gazillion concerts and fests in the city and the concerns of the local residents also shouldnt be completely dismissed. between salt shed, ramova, radius opening recently i dont think theres a shortage of concerts in the city. crying about this seems like pearl clutching to me.

[left of center]

Wow, that is a shame. SeatGeek isn't too far out, but its a nightmare to get there for most city residents. Almost a total lack of transit, with Midway Orange and Summit HC Metra probably the closest train stops, and both are 4-5 miles away. Pace stops running after 8pm. The traffic on Harlem and 55 is horrendous anytime there is an event at the stadium, and the almost certain sky high surge pricing for rideshare will probably mean most city residents will opt out. Out of towners will also probably opt for suburban hotels instead of staying in the city, losing out on more tax dollars.

Originally Posted by Chisouthside

i mean it seems like theres already a gazillion concerts and fests in the city and the concerns of the local residents also shouldnt be completely dismissed. between salt shed, ramova, radius opening recently i dont think theres a shortage of concerts in the city. crying about this seems like pearl clutching to me.

The city is still losing out on quite a bit of revenue here, from the lost tourist revenue I stated earlier, as well as the ticket sale fees, sales tax on merch, food and beverages/booze, etc. I can understand the concerns of some of the residents around Douglass Park, but as someone who lives a block from Humboldt Park and for years has had to witness and endure the endless parade of honking cars with huge flags, fireworks, loud music, zero parking, gridlocked traffic, speeding cars with blasting stereos, gunfire/fights/violence, etc. all day and all hours of the night for Puerto Rican People's Parade weekend (in addition to various other festivals that occur in Humboldt Park over the course of the year), all I can say is that's what big city living entails. If I wanted absolute peace and quiet and to not be bothered at all, Sandwich, IL is calling.

[Via Chicago]

Originally Posted by Chisouthside

i mean it seems like theres already a gazillion concerts and fests in the city and the concerns of the local residents also shouldnt be completely dismissed. between salt shed, ramova, radius opening recently i dont think theres a shortage of concerts in the city. crying about this seems like pearl clutching to me.

theres a big difference between single stage one night concerts, and 3 day multi stage festivals that draw nationally and internationally

one can argue if these ultimately cannibalize shows that would otherwise be occurring at local stand alone venues. but if you were to go back and tally up the collective permitting fees/revenue from precovid days where you had North Coast/Pitchfork/Riot Fest/Spring Awakening/Arc/Chosen Few/Summer Smash (im probably forgetting some) not to mention Lolla, its obviously a huge chunk of change for the city.

the issue is the park district is not coming off as conductive to business, and i think they need to determine once and for all the strategy for festivals in neighborhood parks. is this something we want as a city, is it not. it creates way too many mixed signals saying some parks can/some parks cant, deferring to local "activists", etc - they need a streamlined and easy to understand process for how events enter these spaces and what it takes to keep them there. or be done with it and build a festival grounds somewhere so we dont keep re-litigating the same old shit. what organizer would want to put themselves up on the cross after seeing what RF went through? at a certain point its just not worth the headache, and there are cities all over the country that would kill to poach even one of these.

[Via Chicago]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

^ while I agree with your overall concern, at least seat geek stadium is still somewhat close-in.

It's not like they're moving it all the way down to Tinley Park or wherever.

That said, seat geek is still stupidly annoying to get to for a Northsider like myself. The lineup looks great, but I'll probably end up passing.

the experience is completely different. besides the logistical issues of even getting people in/out of there and not being anywhere near the downtown hotels, its clearly a sub par venue, hence why only bottom feeder stuff gets booked there. the difference between seeing a set in a shady park in a vibrant urban neighborhood (an opportunity to show off the best the city has to offer at a local level) with seeing one on an asphalt suburban parking lot devoid of trees or other nearby amenities, is clearly an enormous downgrade

[twister244]

Some interesting developments on the Quantum front....

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/tech...article1-image

It's interesting to see Johnson and Pritzker aligned pretty well here. I suspect Pritzker can help deliver the goods and Johnson can tout it as a victory for the South Side - It's a win all around.

Obviously can only quote so much of the article, but from what I see:
- The city has prepared a very competitive package to lure this company to the SouthWorks site
- The site doesn't require much remediation, which is a win to get something off the ground quickly.
- We already know Pritzker got the $500 million in the budget he just signed into law. I'm surprised that didn't get more reporting or attention given the amount of money. Everyone was more interested in tax rises, etc, etc.

Two interesting quotes:

PsiQuantum declined comment on the status of its search, but confirmed its facility will go on one of the two Illinois sites

So that's a big deal as I was assuming they were looking at sites outside of IL.

PsiQuantum also is considering building its computing center in southwest suburban Lockport, which, like the USX site, has access to the large amounts of water and electric power required to cool equipment to the needed near-absolute-zero level. A site decision is expected in the next month or so.

I find this interesting as it lends to suggest Chicago, and the Great Lakes area in general, could help usher in a wave of new data farm construction. It could be a way to offset the decades of manufacturing loss. If the maintenance of these facilities requires a ton of water, well..... That makes Chicago and the surrounding region perfect areas for this.

[OrdoSeclorum]

Originally Posted by twister244

I find this interesting as it lends to suggest Chicago, and the Great Lakes area in general, could help usher in a wave of new data farm construction. It could be a way to offset the decades of manufacturing loss. If the maintenance of these facilities requires a ton of water, well..... That makes Chicago and the surrounding region perfect areas for this.

"Data farms" are better than nothing--they pay taxes--but the employment they generate is barely noticeable. As far as I can tell there's not much difference between a data farm and a cold storage facility. Maybe more in the cold storage facility because at a site like that people drop stuff off and pick things up. At a data center there's just a security guard reading the newspaper and a few people who plug the servers back in if anyone trips over the cord.

[moorhosj1]

Originally Posted by OrdoSeclorum

"Data farms" are better than nothing--they pay taxes--but the employment they generate is barely noticeable. As far as I can tell there's not much difference between a data farm and a cold storage facility. Maybe more in the cold storage facility because at a site like that people drop stuff off and pick things up. At a data center there's just a security guard reading the newspaper and a few people who plug the servers back in if anyone trips over the cord.

Calling this a data farm is like calling Argonne a data farm. Part of the requirement is to house large amounts of data, but the value is in the output of the computer itself. The computer requires many highly-skilled experts to manage, operate, and maintain. Data farms don't run like that.

This is why IBM and another unnamed company have confirmed that are looking to locate a facility close to this one. That doesn't really happen with data farms that I've seen.

[OrdoSeclorum]

Originally Posted by Chisouthside

i mean it seems like theres already a gazillion concerts and fests in the city and the concerns of the local residents also shouldnt be completely dismissed. between salt shed, ramova, radius opening recently i dont think theres a shortage of concerts in the city. crying about this seems like pearl clutching to me.

Pearl clutching? When a large music festival is in the city, the city gets millions from from amusement fees, hotel fees and sales taxes on souvenirs and refreshments at the festival. In Bridgeview all of that is lost. There's also millions of dollars spent in Chicago at hotels, restaurants and stores. Much of that is lost when an event moves out of the city.

The festival employs hundreds of part time vendors and staff. All of them will have to replace income that will mostly go to the suburbs.

Beyond that, you know what some of the best marketing the city has? Events. When tens of thousands of people come in to town for festivals, many of them are young and looking for a place to move after college or someplace to settle down or tell their friends about. Now we've lost out on all of that great free outreach because these people will fly or drive in and spend time in Bridgeview instead of Chicago. And they're going to think, "This sucks" instead of "Wow. Chicago is amazing."

You know what usually sucks? Festivals? You have to camp in the woods in Kentucky or Upstate New York or drive two hours of L.A. to a godforsaken salt flat in the desert and you're exhausted and miserable and probably have acquired a parasite. Do you know where festivals don't suck? Chicago. In Chicago you enjoy the festival and if it rains you simply walk out the gate and go to a museum or hotel or bar or restaurant or take the train somewhere cool. It's a huge bright spot for our reputation and cultural footprint and the Mayor and the Park District are pissing on it because a few NIMBYs complained. It reminds me of how Byron Sigcho-Lopez killed the Paseo trail in Pilsen and Little Village because it would make those neighborhoods better.

Screw these regressive, small minded jerks.

[Chisouthside]

any tax revenue helps but the vast majority of people that like Chicago will like Chicago even if riot fest is in the burbs. the vast majority of people that hate Chicago will also hate Chicago even if riot fest is in the city. at some point you gotta ignore the naysayers, which alot of you are obsessed with coddling it seems.

[Via Chicago]

thats not how brand building works. its also not how you create a vibrant city people want to visit and live in

also with pitchfork being acquired by GQ, id have serious reservations about that fest continuing into the future as well. eventually you reach a point where any domestic/international allure of chicagos summer music calendar becomes hollowed out. especially considering the city no longer has the kind of budget to throw big multi day stuff like jazz fest, that they used to be more well known for. blues fest has been gutted as well. these kinds of indie fests are what young people want to go to, to see bands they are interested in (ignoring the fact Riot Fest is actually a nostalgia fest). if they dont come here they will simply go elsewhere that caters to them

[sentinel]

***MOD NOTE***
Cut the personal attacks, absolutely no reason for that shit. Suspensions are on the table if they continue.