Chicago's Hurricane Response

As the nation mobilizes to help the survivors of the devastating Hurricane Katrina, Chicagoland has organized an impressive response. The city's largest corporations, smallest businesses, civic community, religious groups and other sectors are striving to get those affected by this tragedy back on their feet.

Nearly every industry is doing their part to raise money for hurricane victims. For instance, members of the Chicago commercial real estate community are uniting to host a major fundraising event to support the American Red Cross. The event, "Chicago Turning the Tide," will feature live New Orleans-style music as well as hors d'oeuvres and refreshments provided by many of Chicago's top restaurants.

"Chicago Turning the Tide" will be held on the plaza at the Sears Tower, 223 South Wacker Drive, on Wednesday, September 21 from 4:00p.m. - 9:00p.m. Tickets are $75 in advance and $100 at the door. Attendees will be asked to make additional donations at the event above the admission cost. The event committee has promised over $50,000 already and the goal for the event is to raise more than $500,000. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.chicagosturningthetide.com.

Mayor Daley has established the Chicago Helps Fund to aid hurricane victims and called upon every resident of Chicago to donate as much as they can afford. The city has teamed up with Bank One, allowing residents to contribute at any Bank One branch. "The people we see suffering on television are our brothers and sisters. It's incumbent on all of us—as American citizens and fellow human beings—to do our part to help them through this terrible tragedy," Mayor Daley said.

In addition, the mayor has called upon all city departments to do what they can, and is assembling a list of key city department heads to assist in the rebuilding process. Chicago has set up welcome centers for evacuees and is allowing children to enroll in the Chicago Public Schools, as well as college students at the City Colleges of Chicago.

The city's broadcast community also banded together to support the Red Cross through a statewide fundraising drive. On Friday, September 9, stations throughout the city encouraged people to give to the Illinois Broadcasters United for Red Cross Hurricane Relief, which will provide long-term assistance to the affected areas. The drive raised $6,488,793.

As of September 15, The American Red Cross of Greater Chicago is providing immediate disaster assistance at six locations to survivors of Hurricane Katrina who have relocated to Chicago. Additionally, services are available at Chicago Red Cross and United Way facilities throughout the Chicago area. The chapter has met with more than 5,495 individuals who have come to metropolitan Chicago communities.

The Chicago area Red Cross has provided $1.5 million in assistance to date to relocated survivors, and is operating a Chicago call center to respond to the local community's concerns regarding displaced family members, donating and volunteering. Since the hurricane hit, more than 24,000 phone calls have been fielded at 312-729-6100.

Chicagoans are not just giving monetarily. Fifty-six local Red Cross volunteers and three emergency vehicles from the Chicagoland area have been deployed to aid survivors of Hurricane Katrina in the affected areas. Another 750 Chicago area volunteers are supporting the relief efforts. In addition, two thousand individuals have registered to be Red Cross volunteers and two hundred disaster-trained volunteers are awaiting assignment.

In effort to relocate some of the conventions canceled in New Orleans and give back to the hurricane relief, the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau announced an innovative rebate program. "First and foremost... we're going to be able to return proceeds to the hurricane relief efforts in New Orleans," said Bill Utter, acting chief executive at the Chicago bureau.

The program will refund $10 per room night to the relief effort. With two major shows already slated to move to Chicago—the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons—the rebates add up to more than $780,000.

Despite the city and nation's tremendous responses, more help is still needed. Donations to the Chicago Helps Fund can be made in a variety of ways. To make a donation, click here.

--Karley Sweet, Public Relations Specialist
World Business Chicago

For more information on how you can help, contact these aid agencies contributing to the Hurricane Katrina Relief Effort:

American Red Cross
Visit www.redcross.org or call 800-HELP-NOW.

America's Second Harvest
Visit www.secondharvest.org or call 800-344-8070.

Salvation Army
Visit www.salvationarmyusa.org or call 800-SAL-ARMY.

United Way of Metropolitan Chicago
Visit www.uw-mc.org or call 312-906-2350.

Is the Midwest the New Middle East?

As the nation grits its teeth and grimaces as it fills up the SUV at the gas station, those of us in Illinois, whether we know it or not, have quite a few reasons to smile. Today's high oil prices, unlike those in the 70s and early 80s, have not been caused by any artificial constraint to supply. Demand, fueled by the insatiable growth of the world's economies (especially India and China), continues to rise exponentially while supply has remained relatively constant.

There is no doubt that short-term considerations, especially Hurricane Katrina, have played a role in the higher cost of fuel. But most in the industry agree that while oil prices may decline in the short-term they are almost certain to continue to rise over the course of next 10, 20 and even 30 years. This rise in the price of our most important commodity will open up the global market for transportation fuel to competitive forces and will likely create some of the biggest industries of the 21st century. The Midwest in general, and the Chicagoland area in particular, are well positioned to lead these emerging industries of the future with today's forward thinking leadership.

Chicagoland has all the components necessary to compete in these industries: strong natural resources, infrastructure, and world-class research and universities. Agricultural based fuels including ethanol and biodiesel are already booming industries consuming a growing percentage of the market for transportation fuels. Both of these technologies are locally grown coming from Illinois corn and soybeans respectively. In addition, rising oil prices will eventually lead to coal becoming an important resource for the production of transportation fuels and synthetic natural gas.

According to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, there is more energy buried in Illinois than in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait combined. Estimates vary as to what oil prices it would take to make coal economically viable as an alternative source of fuel, but many models have considered a projected long-term oil price of over $30 per barrel as a starting point. At prices rapidly approaching $70 per barrel, more than a few projects are under development in Illinois.

(A sustained higher price for crude oil will also accelerate the development of Canada's vast oil sands, the pipeline of which terminates in northern Illinois.)

Both agricultural fuels and coal-based fuels will benefit from increased investment in research. The most recent research trends have focused on turning domestic refining from coal or agricultural products into integrated industries like oil refining. These developments will have the potential to significantly reduce the cost of production. In addition, bioplastics and industrial chemicals will potentially be produced as byproducts of transportation fuels.

Multiple domestic industries can spring up overnight. Illinois is blessed with some of the strongest energy research programs in the nation. The U.S. Department of Energy sponsored Argonne National Lab and the Des Plaines based Gas Technology Institute are considered two of the country's best for energy-related research. Meanwhile, educational programs at the Illinois Institute of Technology and The University of Illinois' Energy Resource Center are providing the region with the talent it will need to build capacity in the future.

The region already benefits from strong leadership. Mayor Daley has made attracting environmentally friendly businesses a priority and Governor Blagojevich has expressed strong commitments to both the Ethanol and Coal industries. What we need now is a commitment to this industry because it is one of the fundamental drivers of tomorrow's economy. As Northern California did with information technology years ago, Illinois leaders must foresee the coming shift in global industrialization and make bold moves to catapult this state into the driver's seat.

A bold vision, such as an industrial park dedicated to advanced energy technology on Chicago's Southeast side may be a good place to start. My hope is that next time Illinois politicians head to the gas pump, they will realize that a portion of those ever-escalating prices could be coming right back into their pockets. And smile.

--Chris Tynan, President
Spartacus Energy

For more information please visit www.spartacusenergy.com.

Live Theatre is Big Business in Chicago

With more than 200 live theaters and a diversity of offerings second to none, Chicago has earned an international reputation as "the current theater capital of America."

That's what the London Guardian recently called Chicago, citing our vibrant downtown theater district, top-flight regional theaters, gritty storefront stages found in virtually every Chicago neighborhood, and overall devotion to creating new work for the American stage.

But they don't call it show business for nothing. From an economic standpoint, Chicago's live theater industry fueled an estimated $347 million in spending and 6,500 jobs in 2002—doubling its impact on the region's economy in just seven years.

Certainly, the marketing power of Chicago's new downtown theater district is formidable. Broadway In Chicago, which books the majority of our downtown houses, estimates an audience of 1.3 million in 2005 and 1.4 million for 2006. Twenty-five percent come from outside Chicago. Newly armed with its smash hit production of "Wicked," Broadway In Chicago is now rolling out national marketing campaigns touting "Wicked" weekends in Chicago, further cementing this city's reputation as a destination for live theater.

Based on economic-impact figures developed by the Theatre Communications Group, the Chicago Tribune reported "a heavily sold two-year Chicago run of "Wicked" could easily be worth as much as $500 million in additional spending, much of which will go to the restaurants, retail outlets and parking facilities that surround the 2,200-seat Oriental Theatre."

As Mayor Richard M. Daley put it, "Theater brings tourists to Chicago who stay in our hotels, eat in our restaurants, and visit our museums and other attractions. That creates jobs for working families all across Chicago. It also creates a vibrant city, the kind of place that attracts corporate investments."

Indeed, multinational corporations like Boeing and Innovene have recently located their headquarters here, citing a strong arts and culture base as critical in determining a home for their companies. "Don't underestimate the power of theater and other arts to build the city and to build the economy," contends Paul O'Connor, Executive Director of World Business Chicago. The consensus is for corporations needing to attract top knowledge workers, a city with a strong arts base is a draw because it allows companies to connect with the highest level of talent when they locate in a city where people want to settle.

Contrary to popular belief, however, not all theater dollars are being spent at the downtown commercial theaters. Collectively, the 170+ members of the League of Chicago Theatres—from Steppenwolf Theatre in Lincoln Park, to Raven and Strawdog Theatres farther north, and many others throughout the metropolitan area—account for more than half of our local industry's economic impact. "We just welcomed our millionth patron," said Joan Mazzonelli, Executive Director of Theatre Building Chicago, located on West Belmont in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood. With three theaters used by dozens of theater companies, Theatre Building Chicago operates almost as a movie house with a variety of offerings of live theater on a given night. "When we moved here there was nothing here," said David Zak, Artistic Director at Bailiwick Repertory Theater, located next door. Both theaters now sit across from a variety of restaurants that know they can depend on a steady flow of customers from the nearby theaters.

Ken Karlson, Director of Marketing and Promotions for Taste America Restaurant Group, which includes Catch 35 and Lloyd's among others, acknowledges the value of theater to his business, citing theatergoers as the "bread and butter of our business."

Chicago's theater community reaches from Broadway to Broadway Street, and to hundreds of neighborhoods, including more than 25 communities surrounding Chicago and the value of theater extends to every community it touches. "The economic impact that the Paramount Theatre has on downtown Aurora is significant and exceeds millions annually," says Diana Martinez, Executive Director of the Paramount Theatre. "Many businesses can bring financial impact into a community... but only a theatre can unite droves of people from diverse backgrounds together with enthusiasm and excitement to celebrate culture."

If Chicago's burgeoning theater scene is any indication, we are well positioned for the future. At the League, our clarion call—live theater—is one of the fastest-growing sectors of this economy, contributing jobs, attracting tourists and spending substantial sums of money in a wide variety of industries. That makes the arts a dynamic business partner.

--Deanna Shoss, President & CEO
League of Chicago Theatres

The League of Chicago Theatres is an alliance of theaters that leverages its collective strength to promote, support and advocate for Chicago's theater industry locally, nationally and internationally. Currently, the League serves a diverse membership of 170+ theaters and theater companies, ranging from small storefront, non-union companies to major cultural centers with multi-million dollar facilities and productions.

To learn about putting the arts in a productive partnership with your business, contact Deanna Shoss at 312-554-9800. For information on the League of Chicago Theatres visit www.chicagoplays.com.

Chicago by the Numbers

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Chicago, Illinois 60601

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