Big Ten Network Unveils New Headquarters
"The Television Home of the Big Ten Conference" Located in Historic Chicago Landmark

The Big Ten Network announced today the official location for its studios and business offices in Chicago. The network will be headquartered in the historic Montgomery Ward building located in Chicago's Near North neighborhood. The announcement was made at a press conference at the site by Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Director Jack Lavin, Big Ten Commissioner James E. Delaney, Fox Sports Networks President Bob Thompson and Big Ten Network President Mark Silverman.

The Big Ten Network studios will be located in a 44,000 square-foot office space at 600 West Chicago, formerly the Montgomery Ward & Co. Catalog House. The original section of the building was designated as a national historic landmark in 2000 for its significant role in American retail history. The space will include two studios and three control rooms as well as a 20,000 square-foot office space.

"It is fitting that the Big Ten Network, a channel dedicated exclusively to collegiate athletics and university life, will make its home in Chicago, a city that is so passionate about college sports and education," said Delaney.

"Like our Olympic bid, the launch of this network in Chicago is one more indication of Chicago's long-term commitment to amateur and Olympic sports," said Mayor Daley. "We love athletics at every level, and that includes the Big Ten. Chicago is filled with Big Ten graduates. If you walk through many of our neighborhoods on a Saturday afternoon in the fall, you'll see banners of Big Ten schools hanging on front porches and apartment windows."

The Governor and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity are providing a nearly $3.2 million business investment package to support the Big Ten Network.

"Chicago is the country's third largest media market, and the largest market in the Big Ten footprint," said Thompson. "It's centrally located to the Big Ten's 11 member institutions, and they'll all be involved in the network's rich programming content, be it sports- or institutionally-related."

"The space that the Big Ten Network will occupy in the former Montgomery Ward building is perfect for our office and studio needs," added Silverman. "The production facilities we plan to construct will be state-of-the-art, and we're looking forward to building-out the space immediately so it will be completed well in advance of our August launch."

The Big Ten Network will carry many of the games and events previously available only through syndication, providing greater exposure for these and other Big Ten sports. The sports programming on the Big Ten Network and/or through alternative Big Ten Network platforms will include, but is not limited to:

• 35-plus football games, with each school having at least two games aired (at least one of which will be a conference game);
  
• At least 105 regular-season men's basketball games;
  
• At least 55 regular-season women's basketball games;
  
• Big Ten championships and tournaments;
  
• 170 Olympic sporting events; and,
  
• Coverage from the conference's vast library of historic sporting events, including bowl games.

The Big Ten Conference's compelling athletic competition positions the network as the go-to destination for Big Ten alumni and fans across the nation. In addition to traditional distribution through cable and satellite, select Big Ten Network content will also be available through alternative media platforms such as the Internet, iPods, cell phones and/or other emerging technologies.

The real estate agreement was negotiated by Robert Sevim, David Gordon, Kelly Givins with Studley Inc. on behalf of the Big Ten Network and Brad Despot and Gary Kostecki with Jones Lang LaSalle on behalf of the building ownership group of Taconic Investment Partners, Angelo Gordon & Co., Centrum Properties and Amerimar Enterprises. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Chicago-Israel Business Initiative Mission to Israel
World Business Chicago was a proud participant in the Chicago-Israel Business Initiative mission to Israel, November 6-13, 2006

The Chicago-Israel Business Initiative (CIBI), a project of the America-Israel Chamber of Commerce Chicago (AICC), is a first of its kind effort, leveraging cooperation between the Chamber, the State of Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, World Business Chicago, the Israel Trade and Investment Center, and the business and academic sectors, to encourage Israel-based businesses, looking to expand internationally, to locate their North American headquarters in the immediate Chicago area. November saw the second annual CIBI-branded mission.

Participants included representatives of the business, governmental, academic and health sciences communities. As befits Israeli prominence in science and technology, this year's target sectors included homeland security, life sciences and telecommunications. Governor Blagojevich and Mayor Daley each supported the group and sent messages of welcome to Israeli companies.

The mission was well-organized, packing innumerable events and meetings into a tight schedule. Events began with a State of Illinois sponsored reception attended by the Hon. Richard H. Jones, US Ambassador to Israel. There, Vigilon, Inc., an Israeli-US security software company, announced it would be establishing its new data protection center in Chicago. Next was a half-day business seminar in Petach-Tikva (home to many technology companies, and Sister City of Chicago since 1994) outside Tel Aviv. This reinforced ties already boosted by Mayor Daley's May visit as well as previous State and CIBI/Chamber visits.

In Tel Aviv, there were receptions with the Israel Bi-National Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce, and international business and trade representatives. There were also meetings with Israeli governmental trade officials. Delegates participated in the annual Telecom Israel conference, the Prime Minister's Conference for Export and International Cooperation (with appearances by high ranking officials including Prime Minister Ehud Olmert), and the Israel Gateway trade conference. A panel presentation promoting Chicago and Illinois was staged at the Gateway event; the CIBI booth was the only American entity among all Gateway exhibitors. Another promotional presentation later in the mission focused on venture capital and Chicago/ Illinois strengths in that area.

Participants traveled to Jerusalem for presentations and dialogue at prestigious Hebrew University. They also traveled north to the impressive art-filled Tefen Industrial park in western Galilee, touring the park's anchor, cutting tool company Iscar, recipient of a $4 billion majority investment by Warren Buffett earlier this year. The Tefen economic development model has been repeated at several industrial parks in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. The visit to Iscar's world-class facilities was followed by presentations and meetings at Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology, at the port city of Haifa.

The mission received coverage in the Jerusalem Post and other media. Participants made a considerable number of contacts with Israeli companies in, and in addition to, the target economic sectors, and this business attraction mission provided an important boost to getting the word out about Chicago and Illinois.

--Tom Bartkoski
Director of International Business Development
World Business Chicago

Chicago Aviation: Butch O'Hare would be a proud father…

Chicago earned its executive spot on the aviation Monopoly board starting back in 1927, when the elder statesman of our local airline industry was simply known as Chicago's Municipal Airport. Just a few years later in 1932, it was recognized as the busiest airport in the world, handling 100,847 passengers on 60,947 flights. And then, in 1949, honoring the Battle of Midway fought during WWII, the airport was renamed Midway. By 1952, with its spanky new name, Midway blew past the 5 million passenger mark.

And we were just gettin' started...

On the heels of success from Chicago's Municipal Airport rose O'Hare International on Chicago's northwest side, proudly named after WWII ace pilot, Butch O'Hare. From its humble beginnings as an aircraft assembly plant on Orchard Field (ORD), it didn't take too long before O'Hare started knocking the broad shoulders of its south side parent, Midway.

With the first plane leaving the runway back in 1955, O'Hare welcomed 176,902 passengers during its inaugural year. Soon after in 1958, Chicago officially popped the cork on its international terminal, ushering 22,498 travelers to foreign destinations that year. With neighbor McDonald's Corporation just down the road proudly boasting "hamburgers served to millions," O'Hare took note. By 1962, within just 7 years of opening, O'Hare International was crowned the "World's Busiest Airport," having served just over 10 million.

Today... both airports are hitting on all cylinders. In total, O'Hare and Midway generate over $45 billion per year in economic activity, creating 540,000 jobs for the region.

Midway's recent modernization and expansion brought back direct international service after 40 years. With new and expanded concourses, the pedestrian bridge, parking for over 13,000 autos, and a dramatic overall facelift, Midway has become a major asset for low-cost carriers. With 43 new gates in total, both Southwest and Air-Tran have pumped up their presence big time. In 2005, Midway became Southwest Airlines' second largest operation, adding 13 new destinations to the roster. At the same time, AirTran added four new destinations. Chicago's very own United Airlines brought its low-cost carrier, Ted, to Midway, offering twice daily nonstop flights to Washington Dulles and three nonstop flights to Denver.

But just up the road, O'Hare continues to lead the global pack. More than 77 million passengers passed through the airport this year, while almost 1 million total flight operations occurred. With a $1.7 billion Capital Improvement Plan accompanying the O'Hare Modernization Program, O'Hare has been catching the attention of several new international and domestic operators:

• South African Airways has announced new service from Chicago to Johannesburg, South Africa beginning May, 2007;
  
• Austrian Airlines has announced it will begin nonstop Chicago-Vienna service in May, 2007;
  
• EL AL Israel Airlines began direct flights to Tel Aviv in October, 2006;
  
• All Nippon Airways resumed daily Chicago-Tokyo nonstops in October, 2006 (Japan totals: Chicago now has 2 daily nonstops to Tokyo on United, American and Japan Airlines respectively. United also offers daily nonstops to Osaka)
  
• AeroMexico added a third nonstop daily flight to Mexico City in September, 2006;
  
• American Airlines began daily nonstop service between Chicago and Delhi, India in November, 2005, and new nonstop service to Shanghai last April;
  
• JetBlue Airways announced it will begin nonstop service to O'Hare from New York's Kennedy International Airport and LA/Long Beach Airport effective January 4, 2007.

And it's not just people traffic…O'Hare is currently North America's seventh busiest cargo hub. With nearly 1.7 million tons of mail and freight moving through O'Hare, over 140 domestic and 30 international destinations are served by 22 airlines providing "all cargo" services.

We should expect much more on the horizon from our aviation giants, O'Hare and Midway. Even at press time, the London-Chicago leg is the second fastest growing global air route.

Airlines Operating From Chicago Aiports:

Aer Lingus	AeroMexico	AeroMexpress
Airborne Express	Air Canada	Air Canada Jazz
Air China	Air France	Air Hong Kong
Air India	Air Jamaica	Air New Zealand
AirTran	Air Wisconsin	Alaska Airlines
Alitalia	All Nippon Airways	America West
American	American Eagle	Asiana Airlines
ATA	Atlantic Southeast	(ASA)
Atlas Air	Austrian Airlines	Aviacsa
bmi	British Airways	Cargolux
Cathay Pacific	Cayman Airways	Chautauqua
Chicago Express	China Airlines	China Cargo Airlines
China Eastern	China Southern	Comair
Condor	Continental Airlines	Continental Express
Delta Airlines	DHL	El Al
Eva Airways	Evergreen	FedEx
Frontier	Gemini	Go Jet
Iberia Airlines	Independence Air	Japan Airlines
Jet Blue	Kalitta	KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
Korean Air	Kuwait Airways	LOT Polish Airlines
Lufthansa	Lufthansa Cargo	Martin Air Holland
Mesa Airlines	Mexicana	Miami Air
Northwest	Pace Airlines	Pakistan International
Pinnacle Airlines	Polar Air Cargo	Qantas
Republic	Royal Jordanian	Ryan International
Scandinavian (SAS)	Shuttle America	Singapore Cargo
Sky West	South African Airways	Southern Air Cargo
Southwest	Spirit Airlines	SWISS
TACA	Ted	Transmeridian
Trans States	Turkish Airlines	United
UPS	US Airways	USA

--Dan Lyne
Director of Technology Development
World Business Chicago

Chicago by the Numbers

World Business Chicago
177 N. State Street, Suite 500
Chicago, Illinois 60601

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