CHICAGO | Economic & Business Development

[Randomguy34]

Originally Posted by marothisu

That tool is really interesting - definitely needs an update from a UI perspective but I think I figured it out. However, when I look at category it just said most of these are removal cases...so of course they're in these places but they're also having cases to be deported so I'm not sure I 100% follow.

I had to consult their glossary to understanding what they're defining as a case in immigration court, and I think I've figured it out. The cases listed under removal are instances of people crossing and surrendering themselves at the border, which is how many migrants seeking asylum arrive in the past few years. Let's call that group (1). Group (2) refers to several scenarios. There are asylum cases, which are differ from removal cases, where one submits a petition arguing they can't return to their home country and is requesting to live in the US. Refugee cases are the same thing, except someone petitions from a country outside the US. Then there are cases where someone is requesting a green card.

So this data set covers what I've listed as groups (1) & (2), with (1) being much higher than (2) in recent years. Of course, there are other means of people immigrating to the US such as government sponsor programs, visas, undocumented crossings, etc. Those are much harder to find data for, but I wouldn't be surprised if they also point towards Chicago rising as an immigration hub in recent years

Glossary: https://trac.syr.edu/immigration/glossary/

[marothisu]

2023 ACS is out -- here's the 10 best cities for lowest percentage of house poor renters (30%+ income on rent) of all US cities with 250K+ population (101 cities). Chicago is top 10 - which is actually ridiculous.

1. SF: 41%
2. Seattle: 42.9%
3. DC: 44.7%
4. Lincoln, NE: 44.9%
5. Minneapolis: 45%
6. Chandler, AZ: 45.1%
7T. Anchorage: 45.6%
7T. Jersey City: 45.6%
9. Wichita: 45.9%
10. Chicago: 46.1%

..

Bottom 15 worst:
101. Port St. Lucie, FL: 68.3%
100. Fresno: 63%
99. North Las Vegas: 62.4%
98. Glendale, AZ: 62.2%
97. Orlando: 61.8%
96. St. Petersburg, FL: 61.2%
95. Miami: 61%
94. Anaheim: 60.3%
93. Tampa: 59.8%
92. Arlington, TX: 59.7%
91. Chula Vista, CA: 59.6%
90. Detroit: 59.5%
89. Chesapeake, VA: 59.3%
88. Riverside, CA: 59%
87. New Orleans: 58.8%

[pullmanman]

Found an article that helps explain why Blommer Chocolate closed its Chicago plant.

Costly US sugar tariffs drive candy makers over the border to Canada

Last fall, Hershey Co. repurchased a factory outside Ottawa that it closed more than a decade earlier. Blommer Chocolate Co., a US rival, is expanding in Ontario while it shutters an 85-year-old Chicago plant. Oreo-maker Mondelez International Inc. says it has invested $250 million in Ontario manufacturing facilities just in the last few year.

Although Canada ​​​​is far too cold to grow enough sugar for its candy industry, it has managed to attract hundreds of millions of dollars of investment in recent years to expand capacity. Some of that can be attributed to a rising population, but many in the industry say it’s the long-standing protectionist measures in place south of the border that are sweetening Canada’s appeal.

“High US sugar prices over the long term is the driver of chocolate and candy production in Canada,” said Sébastien Pouliot, an agricultural economist and consultant based in Québec…

In 2013, the difference between US and global sugar prices was only a couple of pennies per pound. But production challenges at home and in neighboring Mexico have driven US sugar futures to almost twice the global benchmark price. That makes it increasingly attractive for companies to make candy and cookies in Canada instead, then ship some of their production to US consumers. Many of those finished goods can enter the US and avoid quotas that dictate the more “tightly managed” trade in refined and raw sugar, said Alex Smith, a project leader at consulting firm Agralytica.

So due to tariffs protecting US sugar producers, sugar costs about 20¢ more per pound here than abroad. Makes it hard to justify making big, necessary capital investments to keep old plants running instead of just moving across the border. On top of the redevelopment potential for their Chicago facility, which has already been discussed in detail.

[pullmanman]

Swedish pharma brings on Horizon execs to launch U.S. HQ in Chicago

Immedica Pharma, a rare disease-focused pharmaceutical company based in Stockholm, has made Chicago its U.S. headquarters and brought on former Horizon Therapeutics executives to lead business development here.

Immedica appointed Daniel Camardo as president of Immedica North America earlier this month. Camardo was an executive vice president at the former rare disease pharmaceutical company Horizon Therapeutics and held executive roles at Clarus Therapeutics and Astellas Pharma… Another Horizon executive, Joe Whalen, is also joining the Chicago office's business development team…

Camardo will be responsible for establishing a commercial infrastructure for Immedica in North America and recruiting a team, the release said.

Nice to have a new pharmaceutical company in the area. Curious to see where they’ll locate. Important to note their employee count is tiny (around 120) and they focus on rare diseases, so it’s vastly different than something like Takeda, which employed 1000 people in Deerfield before moving to Boston.

[Chisouthside]

saw this about another quantum operation setting up shop in humboldt park
https://blockclubchicago.org/2024/09...tech-facility/