CHICAGO | Economic & Business Development

[MayorOfChicago]

I have a friend who's a consultant working with Amazon on the decision. She flies back and forth all over every week and is fairly involved. She absolutely refused to give any indication of where it will be as she would be fired for spilling anything. She stated that they're down to a final three for the most part. I asked if Chicago was one and she just smiled and said obviously she can't let me know, but we were fairly drunk and she then kinda smiled in a consoling way and I said "no?" and she said "I don't know, but don't get too excited....". It was an obvious no. She implied if it was Chicago she would be the most surprised person on earth. I said I would guess DC and she just shrugged her shoulders and said that's a pretty good guess. She said Bezos thinks with his ego and she's realized how much of his decisions are based off that. He likes power and being near it, so DC is kinda an obvious contender.

that' was two months ago, I didn't say anything before because of course it's all hearsay, etc. So for whatever it's worth, that was the conversation.

[IrishIllini]

Originally Posted by MayorOfChicago

I have a friend who's a consultant working with Amazon on the decision. She flies back and forth all over every week and is fairly involved. She absolutely refused to give any indication of where it will be as she would be fired for spilling anything. She stated that they're down to a final three for the most part. I asked if Chicago was one and she just smiled and said obviously she can't let me know, but we were fairly drunk and she then kinda smiled in a consoling way and I said "no?" and she said "I don't know, but don't get too excited....". It was an obvious no. She implied if it was Chicago she would be the most surprised person on earth. I said I would guess DC and she just shrugged her shoulders and said that's a pretty good guess. She said Bezos thinks with his ego and she's realized how much of his decisions are based off that. He likes power and being near it, so DC is kinda an obvious contender.

that' was two months ago, I didn't say anything before because of course it's all hearsay, etc. So for whatever it's worth, that was the conversation.

I'm somewhat hoping Amazon gets broken up in the next few years. Still want the jobs though. I'd be a bit surprised to hear Amazon's reps took a second visit to Chicago at the end of August if the city was out of the running. I'm not getting my hopes up though.

[rgolch]

Chicago’s 2018 VC funding tops $1 billion

https://www.bizjournals.com/chicago/...1-billion.html

As we head into the fourth quarter, PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association released a new report showing venture capital investing is up nationally and in Illinois.

In Illinois overall, PitchBook’s data shows that more than $509 million was invested across 63 deals in Q3 alone, up from $442 million in Q3 of 2017. Nationally, $27 billion was invested across 1,937 deals in Q3 of 2018, up from $24 billion across 2,240 deals in Q3 of 2017. With three quarters of the year complete, 2018 deal value on a national scale has already reached a decade high with $84.3 billion invested so far in companies across the country, showing the country is on track for a $100 billion year.....

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by MayorOfChicago

I have a friend who's a consultant working with Amazon on the decision. She flies back and forth all over every week and is fairly involved. She absolutely refused to give any indication of where it will be as she would be fired for spilling anything. She stated that they're down to a final three for the most part. I asked if Chicago was one and she just smiled and said obviously she can't let me know, but we were fairly drunk and she then kinda smiled in a consoling way and I said "no?" and she said "I don't know, but don't get too excited....". It was an obvious no. She implied if it was Chicago she would be the most surprised person on earth. I said I would guess DC and she just shrugged her shoulders and said that's a pretty good guess. She said Bezos thinks with his ego and she's realized how much of his decisions are based off that. He likes power and being near it, so DC is kinda an obvious contender.

that' was two months ago, I didn't say anything before because of course it's all hearsay, etc. So for whatever it's worth, that was the conversation.

Don't give Bnk a heart attack.

Of course, I remain baffled by the idea that having HQ2 in DC puts you closer to "power" when a simple lobbying office achieves the same thing.

Washington DC is full of politicians representing other States and regions, they don't give a fuck about DC.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by MayorOfChicago

...
She stated that they're down to a final three for the most part. I asked if Chicago was one and she just smiled and said obviously she can't let me know, but we were fairly drunk and she then kinda smiled in a consoling way and I said "no?" and she said "I don't know, but don't get too excited....". It was an obvious no. She implied if it was Chicago she would be the most surprised person on earth.
...
that' was two months ago, I didn't say anything before because of course it's all hearsay, etc. So for whatever it's worth, that was the conversation.

Originally Posted by IrishIllini

I'm somewhat hoping Amazon gets broken up in the next few years. Still want the jobs though. I'd be a bit surprised to hear Amazon's reps took a second visit to Chicago at the end of August if the city was out of the running. I'm not getting my hopes up though.

Obviously from Mayor's conversation we're completely missing any emotion or the context of their prior relationship and communication subtext, but just in written form, "I don't know, but don't get too excited" can easily be taken as a subtle attempt to maintain the integrity of denial in order to keep from leaking information. And as far as Bezo's ego - I don't see that as meaning much. Ego can go so many ways. Ego of having a major headquarters in the most important economic center in North America (New York), ego of managing headquarters in two countries (Toronto), ego of being near government (D.C. - even though he already is hear there), ego of having a 'sexy' location (Miami), ego of having the most profitable, successful, valuable company (whichever city actually provides the best business advantages). I've assumed ego has played a role, but that it would play out like that last one, so that he'd go with the location he and his advisors decided would be most advantageous to keeping Amazon the most valuable company in the world.

But, of course, at the end of the day, if she's a loyal (or even just leery of endangering her job) Amazonian, even when tipsy she's not going to let on anything of value and I wouldn't personally read anything into anything she said (assuming she even has any insider information, which isn't certain). Especially since Amazon had a return visit in the same timeframe the conversation is reported to have occurred. So, in my opinion, it's interesting to hear but doesn't add much to the discussion.

[the urban politician]

^ Yeah really, there have been so many people who've stepped up to say that they have some "insider" information that it's pretty much pointless. Like that goofball in the Atlanta forums claiming he has seen "actual plans" by Amazon to build their new office in that city.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by emathias

Obviously from Mayor's conversation we're completely missing any emotion or the context of their prior relationship and communication subtext, but just in written form, "I don't know, but don't get too excited" can easily be taken as a subtle attempt to maintain the integrity of denial in order to keep from leaking information.

This was my first thought in a similar way when I read that. I'm not saying anything for them and their relationship but I've been in the situation before where friends or co-workers have tried to get information from me which I can't share. They keep annoying me so I either start with cliches like "you never know but don't get your hopes up" type of stuff or if I'm annoyed enough I start messing with their head. Also have had this happen to me before where I'm the one pressing and then I later find out that I was reading way too much into what they told me. That's just my perspective and why it's hard for me to get into the situation that's being conveyed.

And as far as Bezo's ego - I don't see that as meaning much. Ego can go so many ways. Ego of having a major headquarters in the most important economic center in North America (New York), ego of managing headquarters in two countries (Toronto), ego of being near government (D.C. - even though he already is hear there), ego of having a 'sexy' location (Miami), ego of having the most profitable, successful, valuable company (whichever city actually provides the best business advantages). I've assumed ego has played a role, but that it would play out like that last one, so that he'd go with the location he and his advisors decided would be most advantageous to keeping Amazon the most valuable company in the world.

Amazon is also a public company and while Bezos is the #1 guy, I doubt he has 100% of the say at the end of the day. He still has to answer to a board but he's also the largest shareholder of the company currently. He doesn't own over 50% though - based on my calculations he owns around 16.17% of the company. IMO it's a bit more complicated than what Bezos and Bezos alone wants at the end of the day (he's obviously a huge factor though).

The "being in DC close to power thing" is also BS. If that was the case , then you'd see a ton of very powerful businessmen in cities like NYC who hold tons of power in government relocate to the DC area. This hasn't happened - you don't need to be in DC to be influential. This isn't the 1940s.

But, of course, at the end of the day, if she's a loyal (or even just leery of endangering her job) Amazonian, even when tipsy she's not going to let on anything of value and I wouldn't personally read anything into anything she said (assuming she even has any insider information, which isn't certain). Especially since Amazon had a return visit in the same timeframe the conversation is reported to have occurred. So, in my opinion, it's interesting to hear but doesn't add much to the discussion.

Also, I'd be curious to know how "high up" in the project she is anyway. Again not saying anything, but I used to be a consultant and I was definitely not privvy to everything going on in my projects even when I thought I was. There's definitely been more than 1 situation where I was flat out lied to or just thought 1 thing and it ended up being something else Who knows though. Again, just my own personal perspective.

I want to believe it's Chicago, and I'm not trying to convince myself that it is. However, as TUP said...there's so many people who claim inside info who don't have a clue on this that it's not even funny - it's hard not to be suspicious at this point of anybody who claims to be in the know.

[marothisu]

In other news..

Big bucks for e-books: Redshelf raises $25M Series C to scale team and platform

https://www.builtinchicago.org/2018/...aises-series-c

College textbooks aren’t cheap, but RedShelf just raised a hefty round of funding to make them more affordable — and easier to carry around.

The company, whose platform allows publishers and educational institutions to digitize their reading materials as e-textbooks, making them available on any connected device, just raised a $25 million Series C.

...

“Over the next year, we’ll be adding anywhere between 30 to 40 new members to the team, with a focus on development and product talent. The depth of our development teams will be vital to our product expansion.”

...

The company, which ranked at No. 121 on the 2018 Inc. 500 list, currently partners with over 600 campus bookstores to offer over half a million titles from 400 publishers. According to a press release issued at the time of the funding, the company has doubled its user growth year over year since 2012

I think I read in another article that it started the year at 50 people and it's at 80 now. So another 30 to 40 means they'll have over doubled headcount.

[IrishIllini]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ Yeah really, there have been so many people who've stepped up to say that they have some "insider" information that it's pretty much pointless. Like that goofball in the Atlanta forums claiming he has seen "actual plans" by Amazon to build their new office in that city.

I got a sense he could be on to something initally with how intensely he doubled, tripled, and quadrupled down, but each week it was something along the lines of "Amazon will announce the Gulch as HQ2 this week!!". He's banned now, which is a shame. He may be off the mark on HQ2, but he sure is passionate. I'm sure they'll miss him in the ATL forums. I read through some of their comments when it was announced that Chicago had received a second visit and they immediately started bashing the city for crime issues as if Atlanta isn't just as bad (or worse). No one knows anything at this point and it doesn't seem like Amazon is in any rush to get moving on HQ2.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by IrishIllini

I got a sense he could be on to something initally with how intensely he doubled, tripled, and quadrupled down, but each week it was something along the lines of "Amazon will announce the Gulch as HQ2 this week!!". He's banned now, which is a shame. He may be off the mark on HQ2, but he sure is passionate. I'm sure they'll miss him in the ATL forums. I read through some of their comments when it was announced that Chicago had received a second visit and they immediately started bashing the city for crime issues as if Atlanta isn't just as bad (or worse). No one knows anything at this point and it doesn't seem like Amazon is in any rush to get moving on HQ2.

If Chicago got HQ2 (or even half if Amazon decided to split it up into 2 cities), then be prepared for the tsunami of Chicago shit slinging articles talking about things like what you're saying. A lot of cities would be giving Chicago shit for it. Unfortunately, a lot of people (and journalists) are too dumb to understand how cities actually work and the reality of the cities they're giving shit to. I mean hell, if over 5 year period, Chicago still added 50,000 jobs in a tech type of space but quietly then it might actually be better in this regard. Then again - no hype train to get other people to move.

I find it funny how Atlanta is giving shit to Chicago on crime considering Atlanta is not exactly the shining example of low crime. The homicide rate in the city isn't exactly low, and before 2016, Chicago and Atlanta were pretty similar to one another in rate. As Chicago decreases back to how it was pre-2016, these rates are evening out again. Also funny is that the 2017 aggravated assault rate for Atlanta and Chicago are virtually the same - 567 per 100K for Atlanta and 570 per 100K for Chicago. Atlanta has a little bit of a lower robbery rate than Chicago and Atlanta has a much higher property crime rate than Chicago. SOURCE --> https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s...ble-8.xls/view

I wouldn't call either a shining example of low crime - Atlanta really doesn't have room to speak about this. If it was Seattle, San Diego, Austin, etc then by all means they have room to talk. Atlanta? LOL...that's just being delusional. Let's be real.

[LouisVanDerWright]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

Don't give Bnk a heart attack.

Of course, I remain baffled by the idea that having HQ2 in DC puts you closer to "power" when a simple lobbying office achieves the same thing.

Washington DC is full of politicians representing other States and regions, they don't give a fuck about DC.

Yeah, if anything DC is the LEAST likely place to locate if you want to be "closer to power" since their motto is literally "taxation without representation". I mean DC has NO senators, there are not representatives from DC with full voting rights.

Again, if people say he want's to be close to power, then let's go back to my conspiracy theory about Rahm where he quit the Mayor's race because he knows Chicago is getting Amazon and is making a run at the presidency. Wouldn't it make Bezos just a little "closer to power" if he used his HQ2 to propel a replacement for Donny to the White House? Just a little FYI:

Third Week of August: Amazon visits Chicago for a second time
September 4: Rahm surprises everyone with no reelection bid
September 5: Axelrod relists his condo in Chicago

Coincidence? I think not...


PS: I really really really want this to happen because it would make my Vista sketch look like a joke. I can become the Nostradamus of SSP with this prediction!

[bnk]

My theory Rahm is going for a real payday with HQ2 some high end VP making millions, vs running for POTUS. And or also helping Bezos become POTUS, he could even/should refuse denotations and pay for the run himself. Rahm could become chief of staff for 3 presidents.







These seasonal jobs might not mean much to the general economy but it might to some struggling unemployed.

Also its interesting they are more than doubling the numbers hired compared to last year.




FedEx to hire 3,000 seasonal employees in Chicago

Posted 5:29 PM, October 10, 2018, by WGN Web Desk

https://wgntv.com/2018/10/10/fedex-t...es-in-chicago/

CHICAGO — FedEx announced Wednesday it plans to hire more than 3,000 seasonal workers in Chicago this holiday season.

In a news release, the shipping company said the positions will be for frontline employees, specifically handler positions. Last year, FedEx created about 1,250 seasonal jobs in the city, the company said.
...

For details on the positions, visit

groundwarehousejobs.fedex.com/groundwarehousejobs.

[Vlajos]

Industrial Vacancy to Hit Decade Low

Developers completed tens of millions of square feet of new product in just three years, including 25 million in the I-55 Corridor near Joliet alone.

https://www.globest.com/2018/10/11/i...it-decade-low/

[marothisu]

G2 Crowd raises $55 million to widen business

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/john...widen-business

G2 Crowd got its start crowdsourcing reviews of business software. Now it wants a bigger piece of the action.

The Chicago-based company raised another $55 million, led by IVP, a Silicon Valley venture fund that backed Coinbase, Dropbox, Kayak, MuleSoft, Netflix, Twitter and Uber.

...

G2 Crowd accumulated about 23 million users with free reviews of software. It also makes money selling subscriptions to software makers that allow them to add customized content to their profiles and obtain data about companies who have looked at G2’s information on their software, as well as competitors they checked out. Subscribers also can offer a link to request a demo.

...

G2 Crowd is growing fast. Its staff has doubled in the past year to more than 200, including about 150 in Chicago. Abel predicts its headcount will be five times higher within five years. Abel, a serial entrepreneur who sold SteelBrick and BigMachines to big software makers Salesforce and Oracle, has said he plans to take G2 Crowd public.

..

G2 Crowd’s revenue is growing faster than headcount, Bonnici said, though he would not provide specific figures. He says the company is preparing to expand into Europe. It’s also looking at possible acquisitions.

[the urban politician]

Two cities get second looks from Amazon HQ2s search committee:

http://fortune.com/2018/10/08/amazon...rch-committee/

Media reports say Amazon search committee members have made second trips to Miami and Chicago this fall. The South Florida Business Journal had sources saying a return visit happened in September. The Chicago Tribune reported Amazon representatives in August visited The 78, a 62-acre development in the city’s South Loop neighborhood.

[bnk]

Not sure this means much, and we already mentioned it, but it was from a Dallas business news source.








https://www.dallasnews.com/business/...feelingchicago

This week in Amazon-o-mania: At this point, all we can do is guess about HQ. Feeling Chicago



A year ago this month, some of our Dallas Morning News business editors and writers made HQ2 predictions and we published our guesses. The results were one vote each for Atlanta, Chicago, Columbus, Pittsburgh, two for Denver and four votes for Dallas. It's still anyone's guess. Amazon is expected to make its announcement soon. It's planing to invest $5 billion to build a second headquarters equal to its Seattle headquarters for as many as 50,000 employees it expects to hire over the next decade.

Build the stores first: Watchers are still looking for signs in the year-plus, leak-proof Amazon HQ2 search. The first cashierless Amazon Go store outside of Seattle opened in Chicago last month. Amazon has already announced two more within walking distance of the first. If you were about to hire a bunch of people in a new city, wouldn't you want to already have them smitten with your attention-grabbing new thing, a convenience store with a sign that tells you to just walk out? In Chicago, the Go stores are downtown where Amazon would probably house people temporarily while it builds its new HQ2.





Three Amazon Go stores within walking distance of plenty of temporary buildings to house Amazon HQ2 hires.




...

[jpIllInoIs]

^ If this article were written about Dallas, and Amazon had 3 GO stores in Dallas, I would not give one thought that it meant HQ2 for Big D. And it doesnt mean anything for Big C either,.

Reminds me of the 3rd tier city idiots who regurgitate how many Amazon warehouses they have and why Amazon will locate there and the other idiots who keep saying their city is central to US so better logistics for HQ2.

All the GO market locations prove is that Chicago is a great city for market testing and that Chicago has a dense, diverse population roaming its sidewalks with some disposable income and are adaptive to new tech.

[F1 Tommy]

I originally thought Chicago had little chance of getting Amazon. I thought it would be the best place outside of NYC for it but because of the pension and financial issues I held little hope. Then Rahm announced he was "retiring" early from public office. As much as he pushed for Amazon to come to Chicago I thought it was very strange that he would not atleast hold out until the end of the year before announcing a no run(unless someone told him Chicago for sure was out and he got so depressed he gave up, wich I doubt). He has little chance of winning in public office until the CPD mess settles down so what will he do until then, that is the million dollar question. Could it be go to work for Amazon? I guess we will know soon enough.

This theory is as good as that stupid Atlanta forum theory

[tjp]

Originally Posted by jpIllInoIs

^ If this article were written about Dallas, and Amazon had 3 GO stores in Dallas, I would not give one thought that it meant HQ2 for Big D. And it doesnt mean anything for Big C either,.

Reminds me of the 3rd tier city idiots who regurgitate how many Amazon warehouses they have and why Amazon will locate there and the other idiots who keep saying their city is central to US so better logistics for HQ2.

All the GO market locations prove is that Chicago is a great city for market testing and that Chicago has a dense, diverse population roaming its sidewalks with some disposable income and are adaptive to new tech.

^Agreed.

However, maybe it's a possibility that Amazon is choosing to split up HQ2, and Chicago will be the base of it's brick and mortar retail operations...

[moorhosj]

Originally Posted by tjp

^Agreed.

However, maybe it's a possibility that Amazon is choosing to split up HQ2, and Chicago will be the base of it's brick and mortar retail operations...

This always made the most sense to me. If they want political influence, as many have suggested, having 15-20k employees in three different cities/states would mean 6 Senators and dozens of House Representatives to help drive their agenda. It would also spread the risk and talent pool across multiple metros.