WBC         
March 2009 :: Volume 53
In the Headlines



Read More		 Willis Group Names Chicago its New Regional Headquarters and Brings 500 Jobs to Sears Tower

Willis Group Holdings, a global insurance broker, recently announced that it will become a new tenant of the Sears Tower. In addition, under an agreement with the building's owners, the Chicago icon and tallest building in the Western Hemisphere will be renamed Willis Tower.

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Serious Materials to Reopen Former Republic Plant Creating Green Collar Jobs in Manufacturing Energy Efficient Windows

Serious Materials, Inc. recently announced that it would reopen the former Republic Windows and Doors plant in Chicago and hire back its union employees, shifting the positions from blue to green collar jobs. Republic Windows garnered national attention in December when it declared bankruptcy, closed its doors, and left 300 people unemployed.

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 And, Chicago Continues to Grow

In the November edition of Economic Focus, World Business Chicago published a list of companies that had recently announced growth plans in the Chicago area. The impressive list surprised many of our readers. We are happy to report that despite tough economic circumstances throughout the country, we continue to see companies expanding and adding jobs in the Chicago area.

Read More
Willis Group Names Chicago its New Regional Headquarters and Brings 500 Jobs to Sears Tower

Willis Group Holdings (NYSE: WSH), a global insurance broker, recently announced that it will become a new tenant of the Sears Tower. In addition, under an agreement with the building's owners, the Chicago icon and tallest building in the Western Hemisphere will be renamed Willis Tower.

Willis plans to consolidate six area offices and move nearly 500 Associates into Willis Tower, initially occupying more than 140,000 square feet on multiple floors. The Willis Group has 400 offices worldwide, and its Chicago regional headquarters will be the company's largest North American office and its second largest in the world.

"Having our name associated with Chicago's most iconic structure underscores our commitment to this great city and recognizes Chicago's importance as a major financial hub and international business center," said Joseph J. Plumeri, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Willis Group Holdings. "We are delighted to be making this bold move and firmly establishing our leading presence in one of the nation's biggest insurance markets."

"We are pleased that Willis Group will be consolidating their Midwest operations in Chicago, demonstrating their commitment to this city by retaining almost 500 jobs here in addition to planning for future job growth. Their decision speaks to the quality of Chicago's workforce, and our vibrant and supportive business community. We welcome this strong global corporation and look forward to working with Willis in the years to come," said Rita Athas, Executive Director of World Business Chicago.

Relocating to Willis Tower will be three current Willis HRH offices in Chicago, located at 10 South LaSalle Street, One East Wacker Drive and 222 North Riverside Plaza, along with three suburban locations in Oak Brook, Lombard and Schaumburg. The company also plans to add at least 100 new jobs to the office over the next few years. The move is expected to be completed by late summer.

The company's North American business is now known as Willis HRH following Willis' October 2008 acquisition of insurance intermediary Hilb Rogal & Hobbs (HRH). The majority of Willis HRH Associates moving to Willis Tower work in the company's retail brokerage business, which is supported by Willis' key specialist capabilities in areas such as construction, executive risk, healthcare, property, real estate and employee benefits.

Willis Tower will also be home to Willis Commercial, a business unit dedicated to serving the insurance needs of small and medium-sized enterprises. Willis Commercial utilizes the technology platform and capabilities of the company's Chicago-based InsuranceNoodle™ unit, a web-enabled wholesaler of commercial property and casualty insurance products that Willis acquired in 2007. In addition, Willis' Innotech business, a high-tech service center for healthcare benefits clients, will be housed in the Willis Tower offices.

Headquartered in London, Willis Group is a multinational insurance corporation with more than 20,000 employees worldwide in nearly 120 countries around the world.

For more information visit www.willis.com.

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Serious Materials to Reopen Former Republic Plant Creating Green Collar Jobs in Manufacturing Energy Efficient Windows

Serious Materials, Inc. recently announced that it would reopen the former Republic Windows and Doors plant in Chicago and hire back its union employees, shifting the positions from blue to green collar jobs.   Republic Windows garnered national attention in December when it declared bankruptcy, closed its doors, and left 300 people unemployed.

Serious Materials received approval from the bankruptcy court, closed the acquisition of certain assets, and completed an agreement with the union to move forward and reopen the plant for the manufacturing of its energy-efficient SeriousWindows™ and SeriousGlass™.

"We appreciate all of the support we have received from the community thus far and we are hopeful that we can quickly reopen the plant and get people back to work," said Kevin Surace, CEO of Serious Materials.

Serious Materials plans to have its Chicago plant up and running in April, and expand gradually, eventually rehiring all of the former Republic workers.  

"World Business Chicago welcomes Serious Materials and their efforts to rehire Chicagoans, moving us toward a sustainable environment and energy future.  We look forward to supporting their work here," said Rita Athas, Executive Director of World Business Chicago.

Currently installed in over four million square feet of both residential and commercial buildings, SeriousWindows exceed the current Energy Star standards by up to 400 percent.  With this expansion, and its recent acquisition of Kensington Windows, the company expects to ramp up production this year by tenfold for its SeriousWindows and SeriousGlass product lines.

Serious Materials develops and manufactures sustainable green building materials that save energy, save money, improve comfort and aggressively address climate change. The company was voted #1 at Cleantech Forum XII, won Global Gypsum Product of the Year in 2008, won the first Aspen Institute award for innovation in Energy Conservation and was awarded Green Product of the Year by Popular Science. It has also been recognized by TIME/CNN, Fortune, Business Week, AlwaysOn and Red Herring as one of the top green technology companies.

The company is working to create thousands of cleantech jobs in the U.S.  For more information visit www.SeriousMaterials.com.


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And, Chicago Continues to Grow

In the November edition of Economic Focus, World Business Chicago published a list of companies that had recently announced growth plans in the Chicago area. The impressive list surprised many of our readers. We are happy to report that despite tough economic circumstances throughout the country, we continue to see companies expanding and adding jobs in Chicago. Here is a sample of companies that have announced an increased presence since December.

Alpine Access, a provider of contact center solutions for companies, announced it is expanding and will hire additional customer care professionals in and around Chicago

ammado, a Dublin, Ireland-based online giving platform, opened its first U.S. office in Chicago, alongside offices in other key cities.

The Caldwell Partners International Inc., Canada's national human capital services firm, announced the expansion of its operations into the United States with the addition of partners in Chicago and other key cities.

CDW Corp., a provider of technology products for businesses, has completed a 24,000-square-foot build-out of its downtown Chicago office at 120 S. Riverside Plaza.

Clearwire Corp. plans to extend its wireless data network, a competitor to the latest cellular networks, to Chicago this year.

Data Development Worldwide (DDW), a leading global marketing research firm, opened a new office in Chicago.

Datactics, a Belfast, Ireland-based data management company, established its North American representative office in the Loop in February.

E.ON Climate & Renewables North America Inc. signed a 10-year lease to expand into about 28,400 square feet at 353 N. Clark St.

Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (FNF) announced the expansion of FNF 1031 Exchange Company with the opening of offices in Chicago.

First Chicago Bancorp plans to move its headquarters to 15,593 square feet at 1040 W. Randolph St., which will house a retail site and commercial office.

Freshii, a restaurant chain which moved its headquarters to Chicago from Toronto
last year, will be opening additional stores in Chicago this year.

FTI Consulting, a Baltimore-based business and economic consulting firm, leased 91,265 square feet at the Franklin Center complex in Chicago's West Loop.

Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, a St. Louis-based law firm, opened its first Chicago office at 200 W. Madison St.

HSBC North America Holdings plans to move its primary and backup data center functions from New York State to Chicago over the next two years.

Hudson Insurance Group, the U.S. insurance division of Odyssey Re Holdings, opened a new regional office in Chicago.

IDEO, an industrial design firm, has increased the size of its Chicago office by about 25%, to 20,442 square feet, as part of a move from Evanston to 626 W. Jackson Blvd.

IMC Chicago, an Amsterdam-based trading firm, has more than doubled its space in the Sears Tower, expanding by nearly 34,000 square feet and giving the firm the entire 43rd floor.  The office has about 95 employees and expects to grow 30%-35% this year.

International Transload Logistics, a warehouse, packaging, loading and domestic transport company, signed a deal to occupy 98,000 square feet at Phase I of Gateway Park in Chicago.

Interstate Bakeries moved part of its Wonder Bread production to Chicago from Ohio.

National Able Network (NAN), a Chicago-based nonprofit employment and training agency, signed an 11-year lease for 22,000 square feet.

OfficeLinks, a provider of ready-to-use offices and meeting rooms, opened its first location outside of New York City in the Sears Tower, with 30,000 square feet, 100 offices, 241 workstations and a High Definition videoconferencing studio.

Pfingsten Partners LLC, a private equity firm, is moving its headquarters downtown from north suburban Deerfield, and has leased about 15,000 square feet in the new office tower being built at 300 N. LaSalle St.

Playboy Magazine is moving its editorial offices back to Chicago, consolidating print and online editorial and moving an unspecified number of positions from New York.

Promos Milan, the city of Milan's chamber of commerce, established a Chicago presence at the Italian-American Chamber of Commerce-Midwest.

Proskauer Rose LLP, a law firm with 800 lawyers worldwide, announced the continuation of its Chicago expansion with a move into 25,000 square feet of office space in Three First National Plaza at 70 W. Madison St.

Roundy's Supermarkets Inc., a Milwaukee-based company, signed a lease to open a two-level, 55,000-square-foot grocery store at the southwest corner of the Lakeshore East development near Chicago's Millennium Park.

Serious Materials, Inc. will reopen the former Republic Doors and Windows facility on Goose Island and gradually hire back its union employees into green collar jobs.

Sittercity.com, America's first and largest online caregiving network, closed $7.5 million in equity financing. The Chicago-based company currently has a network of over 150,000 caregivers across the country.

Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, a Chicago-based corporate law firm, hired 100 attorneys, bringing the firm's total number of lawyers to 800 in 15 offices worldwide.

Stefanini IT Solutions, a Brazilian IT consulting firm, has opened an office in Chicago, its fifth unit in North America, to strategically develop new deals in the automotive, pharmaceutical, technology and financial sectors.

Tesla Motors Inc. is opening a Midwest regional sales and service center in Chicago at 1053 W. Grand Avenue. 

UFood Restaurant Group, Inc., an operator of "better-for-you" fast-casual restaurants, will open the third UFood Grill location in the Chicago metropolitan area in less than a year at 2218 N. Lincoln Avenue.

Velocity Futures, a non-bank-owned independent Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) that provides active traders all over the world with access to the electronic futures markets, opened a Chicago office in the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Building.

VOA Associates Inc., a Chicago-based architectural, planning and interior design firm, has completed a 40,000-square-foot, LEED Silver-certified build-out of its office at 224 S. Michigan Ave.

Willis Group Holdings, a global insurance broker, chose Chicago for its regional headquarters and will bring about 500 jobs to 140,000 square feet in the Sears Tower, which will be renamed the Willis Tower.


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In the Headlines

National, state and local unemployment rates have continued to climb since the current recession officially began in December 2007. In January 2009, the most recent month for which metropolitan-level data is available, the Chicago Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) posted an unemployment rate of 8.4% (before seasonal adjustments). That rate is essentially on par with those of the state of Illinois (8.5%) and the country overall (8.5%), for the same month.

These figures represent levels not reached in nearly two decades in Illinois & the Chicago area (17 & 16 years, respectively), and not for 25 years at the national level. An increase in unemployment of this magnitude is no doubt a sobering fact.

This month, In the Headlines will address the question of how unemployment rates in metropolitan areas (MSAs) around the country have shifted in the past 13 months, and specifically how the Chicago area has fared compared to other large MSAs. In which MSAs have the biggest increases occurred, and are those areas concentrated in certain parts of the country? Has the local unemployment rate risen more or less quickly than elsewhere?

MSAs with the Highest Unemployment Rates

When the recession began in December 2007, the 20 highest MSA unemployment rates ranged from 11.9% in #1-ranked Merced, CA to 7.0% in #20-ranked Florence, SC. This "top 20" list was heavily concentrated in two Census regions: 10 MSAs in the Pacific region (8 in CA alone) & 8 in the East North Central region, comprised of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio & Wisconsin (for a map of all US Census regions, see http://www.census.gov/geo/www/us_regdiv.pdf). Six of these were in the state of Michigan, and one MSA each in the Mountain (Yuma, AZ) & South Atlantic (Florence, SC) regions rounded out the list. In December 2007, the Chicago MSA ranked #97 among all 310 MSAs, with a rate of 5.0%


Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

As of January 2009 the range of MSA unemployment rates among the "top 20" shifted upward by 6-7% versus 13 months earlier. Merced, CA continues to have the highest rate at 18.9% (+8.0% since December 2007), while #20-ranked Detroit, MI posted a rate of 13.0%.

Geographically, MSAs in the Pacific & East North Central regions continue to dominate the list, claiming 16 of the 20 spots, with California (8 MSAs) & Michigan (3 MSAs) having the largest concentration. However, MSAs with the highest unemployment rates are somewhat more geographically dispersed than they were at the beginning of the recession. Yuma, AZ (Mountain region) remains on the list, while the South Atlantic region posts three MSAs (vs. 1 from this region in December 2007). In January 2009, Chicago ranked #128 among all 310 MSAs, with a rate of 8.4%.


Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Chicago's Performance vs. Other Large Metro Areas

Among the largest MSAs in the country - the 15 MSAs with a workforce of 1.5 million or more - the Chicago MSA has improved its relative unemployment rate ranking between December 2007 & January 2009.


Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

In December 2007, Chicago's rate of 5.0% resulted in a tie for #2 with Los Angeles (Detroit was #1 at 7.6%). By January 2009, Chicago's rate had grown by +3.4% - the median increase among this 15-MSA group - to 8.4%. However, it fell to a tie for #4 with San Francisco, while Detroit remained in the #1 position with a rate of 13.0%.

During the current recession, the Chicago area unemployment rate has so far closely followed the US rate & generally fallen somewhere in the middle third of the range (e.g., ranked #128 of 310 MSAs in January 2009) when compared to all MSAs nationwide. Chicago's rank has improved relative to the largest MSAs, having risen less over the past 13 months than about half of the 15-MSA group.


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