CHICAGO | Economic & Business Development

[Mr Roboto]

I thought Rahm was supposed to change all that, even without the olympics. In the past 6 or 7 years, nothing has changed. The PR still sucks.

[the urban politician]

^ Not Rahm's fault.

The huge PR campaign got yanked due to Springfield's lack of a budget

[IrishIllini]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ Not Rahm's fault.

The huge PR campaign got yanked due to Springfield's lack of a budget

Figures, lol. We need a budget and that PR campaign ASAP. It's astounding how many people still believe Chicago is unaffordable, the economy is trash, and you're basically moving target practice on the streets. The lack of a budget is just the cherry on top. Chicago and Illinois politicians are going to need to work around the clock to change perceptions. Look at Dallas. People move there expecting great jobs and 3,000 sq. ft. houses in great school districts for less than 300k and that couldn't be further from the truth. That's what good PR does for you.

[Justin_Chicago]

State-Backed Chicago Blockchain Center Launches to Catalyze Collaboration

Over the last decade, blockchain technology, a public, accessible ledger for digital assets, like Bitcoin, has received increased interest not just by banking and financial services -- 15% of big banks are expected to start using blockchain starting this year -- but also from supply chain management, insurance services, emerging technologies like self-driving cars and drones, and even the public sector.

Now, a new public-private partnership is launching the Chicago Blockchain Center (CBC), a physical space for both established and emerging businesses interested in applications of this technology. The space features about ten working desks (at the time of launch) and is located next door to fintech trade association FinTEx's new innovation center, Currency, at WeWork’s Kinzie location in downtown Chicago.

CBC’s programming will include guest speakers, workshops, hackathons and meetups. With a tiered membership and sponsorship model, it is especially hoping to provide a platform for emerging technologies looking to collaborate both with government services as well as larger corporations.

Article: http://chicagoinno.streetwise.co/201...collaboration/

[ithakas]

Originally Posted by IrishIllini

Figures, lol. We need a budget and that PR campaign ASAP. It's astounding how many people still believe Chicago is unaffordable, the economy is trash, and you're basically moving target practice on the streets. The lack of a budget is just the cherry on top. Chicago and Illinois politicians are going to need to work around the clock to change perceptions. Look at Dallas. People move there expecting great jobs and 3,000 sq. ft. houses in great school districts for less than 300k and that couldn't be further from the truth. That's what good PR does for you.

The city should approach Edelman about consulting on PR on a pro bono basis. They're big enough to do something like that, the biggest PR firm in the world in fact, and homegrown here in Chicago...

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by IrishIllini

Figures, lol. We need a budget and that PR campaign ASAP. It's astounding how many people still believe Chicago is unaffordable, the economy is trash, and you're basically moving target practice on the streets. The lack of a budget is just the cherry on top. Chicago and Illinois politicians are going to need to work around the clock to change perceptions. Look at Dallas. People move there expecting great jobs and 3,000 sq. ft. houses in great school districts for less than 300k and that couldn't be further from the truth. That's what good PR does for you.

Yep. Actually yesterday the affordability came up in a conversation I had yesterday. My girlfriend's co-worker was saying "Yeah Chicago's cheaper but downtown is basically the same as Manhattan." He knows the truth now after I corrected him and showed the actual prices. I was showing other people there pictures of Chicago who had never been there and they were amazed. "It's so clean and wow it has beaches!?!?" Then I told them prices for downtown luxury high rises and it was a big "WTF? really, that cheap compared to here?"

People are pretty clueless about the city in general. On Dallas, maybe - but their housing is actually pretty cheap in the suburbs as far as actual buying goes, but that's another story. Chicago 100% needs better PR, and yes Rauner basically reduced the budget for stuff like Choose Chicago by a ton. The people who know about it know how good the city can be, but then there's a whole slew of people who literally think the only cities in America you can get good walkable areas with public transit is NYC and maybe SF.

As weird as this sounds, Chicago basically needs some non-douchey celeb who actually knows about the city in a lot of different aspects and to share that via social media and whatever. You either have one extreme or another when it ever comes to that.

[Justin_Chicago]

Chicago disaster recovery firm gets $41 million safety net

The Rolling Meadows-based company just landed $41 million, led by Catalyst Investors.

Fusion was founded in 2006 by David Nolan and with former colleagues Vic Fricas, John Jackson and Bob Sibik, who ran the disaster-recovery business at Rosemont-based technology equipment-leasing giant Comdisco. They've long toiled in the unsexy niche of helping big companies plan and handle disasters, from hurricanes to terrorist attacks. Nolan says Fusion goes a step farther, from helping companies draw up plans to actually managing them. Its software helps digitize and automate those plans, by enabling simple but crucial elements such as updating the people responsible for certain tasks.

Fusion raised $2.3 million from angels in 2014, then another $8.1 million from Level equity at the end of the same year. Since then, the company has grown from 17 employees to 70. It's doubling both its headquarters space at 3601 Algonquin Road in Rolling Meadows to 11,000 square feet and its downtown office at 2 N. Riverside Plaza to 13,500 square feet.

Article: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...go-firm-fusion


Snapsheet raises another $12 million

Snapsheet, which is in the midst of a major growth spurt, is topping off the tank with another $12 million.

The seven-year-old company makes software that helps insurers automate claims for vehicles damaged in accidents by using the cameras in smartphones. The technology has evolved, allowing the Chicago-based tech firm to land big customers, including USAA and Liberty Mutual, as well as James River, which works with a lot of ride-hailing and delivery companies.

The company has more than doubled its headcount in less than a year to more than 300 people, about half of them in Chicago. Weisberg says the company, which was backed early on by Lightbank and OCA Ventures, has increased revenue at least 100 percent in each of the past four years.

Article: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...ses-12-million


ShipBob gets $17.5 million from Bain, others

ShipBob, a startup that handles the shipping chores for small e-commerce companies, is getting a big boost. The company raised $17.5 million in a deal lead by Bain Capital Ventures, along with previous investor Chicago-based Hyde Park Venture Partners.

Launched in 2014, ShipBob is shipping 200,000 to 300,000 packages a month from warehouses in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. It's opening another in San Francisco and plans to enter several new markets in the coming year.

Article: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...tartup-shipbob

[Justin_Chicago]

I took 4 people visiting me to Dusek's in Pilsen on Saturday. Pilsen Food Truck Social and Spring Awakening were happening during the same time. They were blown away by a Michelin star restaurant located so far from Downtown and the number of people out and about partying at 10pm during these events. The next day, I took them to Longman & Eagle and Hopewell Brewery. Small things like this get the word out. Chicago just needs good local tour guides and word spreads. I have 2 people visiting from NYC next week and already plan to take them to Chicago Ale Fest, Snubfest, and Mamba at the Beach.

[cmmcnam2]

"Chicago basically needs some non-douchey celeb who actually knows about the city in a lot of different aspects and to share that via social media and whatever"

Hannibal Buress was on Colbert a few weeks ago and said he moved back to Chicago from NYC because there are less famous people for competition. "So basically it's like me and John Cusack." LOL Anyway, maybe he and Chance's decision to stay local can help other Chicago are celebs decide to stay here?

[emathias]

Originally Posted by cmmcnam2

Fairly new here, long time lurker.
...
The report is a great read, highly suggest checking it out.

https://www.thechicagocouncil.org/si...tm_content=pdf

Comments:

1) The report state that it uses "city" to mean "metropolitain area," which would certainly seem necessary if one is making international comparisons. In the population figure it uses the metro area population. However, in the table comparing Chicago to eleven other global cities, it says only 0.9% of the nation live here. That figure should be at least 3% of we're talking about metro area.

2) To the point above, why does it use Chicago city proper's geographical size?

3) How is it that 60% of Londoners have a 4-year degree, or that over 40% of people in Shanghai do?

4) Why does it use old GDP numbers and, in using them, use only the nominal number instead of the current-dollar amount?

[IrishIllini]

Originally Posted by marothisu

Yep. Actually yesterday the affordability came up in a conversation I had yesterday. My girlfriend's co-worker was saying "Yeah Chicago's cheaper but downtown is basically the same as Manhattan." He knows the truth now after I corrected him and showed the actual prices. I was showing other people there pictures of Chicago who had never been there and they were amazed. "It's so clean and wow it has beaches!?!?" Then I told them prices for downtown luxury high rises and it was a big "WTF? really, that cheap compared to here?"

People are pretty clueless about the city in general. On Dallas, maybe - but their housing is actually pretty cheap in the suburbs as far as actual buying goes, but that's another story. Chicago 100% needs better PR, and yes Rauner basically reduced the budget for stuff like Choose Chicago by a ton. The people who know about it know how good the city can be, but then there's a whole slew of people who literally think the only cities in America you can get good walkable areas with public transit is NYC and maybe SF.

As weird as this sounds, Chicago basically needs some non-douchey celeb who actually knows about the city in a lot of different aspects and to share that via social media and whatever. You either have one extreme or another when it ever comes to that.

I tend to agree. Housing in Dallas is no more affordable than Chicago these days. May soon be less affordable.

[Justin_Chicago]

For the city, Aetna is another one that got away

"Illinois, which will continue to be an important state for the company, is not under consideration," said the company's spokesman. He declined to elaborate, adding only, "Of note, we currently maintain a significant presence in Chicago, which is headquarters to our Bswift business," which Aetna bought in 2014 to provide an electronic platform for those who want to shop for insurance on the web.

Article: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...ove-to-chicago

By the way, the new CEO of GE, John Flannery, has been running GE Healthcare out of Chicago since 2014. We really screwed up on that HQ relocation.

[Randomguy34]

I wonder how many of them are gonna be in the city

McDonald's To Hire 11,000 Workers In Chicago Area: Here's How To Apply

By Andrea V. Watson | June 13, 2017 2:09pm
CHICAGO — McDonald’s is planning to hire 250,000 restaurant employees this summer, including 11,000 in the Chicago area.

The Oakbrook company — which is moving its international headquarters to the West Loop — hopes to hire the new employees between June and August, officials said in news release Tuesday. There are hundreds of restaurant locations in Chicago, the suburbs and northwest Indiana.

McDonald's is trying a new recruiting approach by using the app Snapchat and also Spotify and Hulu to reach potential job seekers.

“We’re always looking for new and innovative ways to find job seekers. We thought 'Snaplications' was a great way to allow us to meet younger job seekers where they are — their phones,” said Jez Langhorn, a senior director in human relations for McDonald’s USA.

https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/2017...chicago-region

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by cmmcnam2

Hannibal Buress was on Colbert a few weeks ago and said he moved back to Chicago from NYC because there are less famous people for competition. "So basically it's like me and John Cusack." LOL Anyway, maybe he and Chance's decision to stay local can help other Chicago are celebs decide to stay here?

Yeah, just saw that. Haven't watched Colbert in awhile but he mentions Chicago from time to time and how much he loves it. I guess that's good pub - in this interview, he mentions twice that he's jealous of Buress for getting to live in Chicago but that he has "this thing" (late show) and so he can't do it in Chicago.

Imagine if Kanye West moved back to Chicago. Probably wouldn't happen, but that would be kind of crazy. Need some more of these types of people moving there (non crazy celebs). Not that it matters what any of them think, but a lot of people are swayed easily by celebrity types.



I think people are very easily swayed into moving to places like NYC and LA. They have this romantic vision of it, like they'll be living like the cast of Friends or Seinfeld. Reality is much different for most people. These cities are very different when you have money versus when you have a "normal" job. When you are living somewhere, you probably aren't going to be spending $100+ every night going to see shows on Broadway if you are a normal person who has to work 5 days a week with a semi normal paying job. True of anywhere, but people forget this simple thing.

A few guys on my team and I were talking about this today because one guy who grew up in Brooklyn (after moving from Europe when he was 3) basically keeps giving the city crap for being too expensive when other cities offer similar things for way cheaper (i.e. Chicago). He told me he has friends who were born and raised in NYC who are coming to the same conclusion now and are wanting to move elsewhere. NYC is a wonder land for a lot of things, but there are other cities out there which offer much of the same - maybe at a smaller scale, but still similar things. I think if I would have lived in NYC before Chicago, I'd think it was the greatest place ever - but after having lived in Chicago - my life really isn't that much different. I just pay way more in taxes and rent. At the end of the day though, I feel after being here for long enough that so many people are swayed by either the romantic vision of living like their favorite shows/movies or having low enough self esteem to care about the "New York" title next to their names. Chicago is a more raw and in some ways down to earth city, but if the city wants to see itself rise in a more favorable light again it will get more well known people vouching on its behalf. It's an interesting conversation to have as there's really no right answer, but it's still a mystery to me why the city doesn't have better PR.

[the urban politician]

If Chicago and Illinois eventually untangle themselves out of this budget quagmire, watch it really start to take off. It has so many top notch attributes, and prices here have not become nearly as astronomical as they are in the coasts.

Personally, I'd like to see a cut in property taxes, coinciding with a State income tax bump. This is what they did years ago in California.

[Justin_Chicago]

A Look at Chicago's Tech Unicorn Herd

Outcome Health
Valuation: $5 billion

Uptake
Valuation: $2 billion

Avant
Valuation: $2 billion

Mu Sigma
Valuation: $1.5 billion

SMS Assist
Valuation: $1 billion

ExteNet Systems
Valuation: $1 billion

Article: http://chicagoinno.streetwise.co/201...-unicorn-herd/

[IrishIllini]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

If Chicago and Illinois eventually untangle themselves out of this budget quagmire, watch it really start to take off. It has so many top notch attributes, and prices here have not become nearly as astronomical as they are in the coasts.

Personally, I'd like to see a cut in property taxes, coinciding with a State income tax bump. This is what they did years ago in California.

The way schools are funded in Illinois is unique. Since most of the revenue comes from local property taxes, Illinois would have to restructure school funding. That would probably help children of low income families. Doubt it would have much of an effect on children of middle income and high income households.

[Justin_Chicago]

Real estate-tech startup gets $8 million

Anyone who's ever hawked an office building or storefront knows it's usually a low-tech affair, based on fliers. Although they're delivered electronically, the process of creating them is often manual.

Buildout, a Chicago-based software firm that aims to change all that, has raised $8 million for expansion from Susquehanna Growth Equity, based near Philadelphia. The company, which employs about 35 and is based in River North, expects to double headcount in the next year, says CEO Vishu Ramanathan. Most of the new jobs will be in technology development and client services.

article: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...e-tech-startup


Mental-health startup gets $6 million

Regroup Therapy is winning customers and investors for its business of providing mental-health services long distance.

The company, launched two years ago at health-tech incubator Matter, raised $6.1 million from investors, led by OSF Ventures, the venture-capital arm of the Peoria-based hospital operator. Other investors include Boston-based HLM Venture Partners and local backers OCA Ventures, Impact Engine, Hyde Park Angels and Furthur Fund.

article: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...n-from-osf-hlm

[MayorOfChicago]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

If Chicago and Illinois eventually untangle themselves out of this budget quagmire, watch it really start to take off. It has so many top notch attributes, and prices here have not become nearly as astronomical as they are in the coasts.

Personally, I'd like to see a cut in property taxes, coinciding with a State income tax bump. This is what they did years ago in California.

What I would love is for Illinois to cut out thousands of its local government units. There are over 7,000 government and taxing agencies in the state, far more than any other state, and they all have the same redundant levels of administration and bureaucracy. Why do we need 56% more taxing and local government agencies than California when they have three times as many people?

Almost 25% of all school districts in the state have just one school.

Some areas have 16 overlapping levels of government agencies, all of which have all these tiers of administration, office supplies, buildings, workers, rules and regulations. Cut all this down by a few thousands redundant units and you would save tons of money up front.

[LouisVanDerWright]

Heard Chicago area unemployment has dropped to 4.6% on the news today. I feel like Chicago always lags the rest of the economy due to it's diversey and relatively old school economy, but when it gets going it revs up just as hot as anywhere. This long cycle in particular seems to be having very welcome consequences for our lead sled economy to get up to speed.