Downtown Talent Magnet: Semi-Annual Highlights

The ever more powerful magnet of Chicago's in-city talent pool continued in the first half of 2006 to attract corporate investment downtown. And there's more in the pipeline. World Business Chicago (WBC) wants to highlight some of the companies we've worked with successfully.

BIO 2006 was held at McCormick Place, April 9-12. Combined City & State efforts for BIO's international scientific conference brought record breaking numbers across all categories making it the most successful global biotech event ever. Local industry leadership, including WBC, participated in the initial 2001 pitch efforts that brought BIO to Chicago. All members of the expanded life sciences community should stand up and take a well-deserved bow.

BP—the global energy group—has occupied a trading facility for redundant/remote data operations at Lakeside Technology Center.

The global recreation company Brunswick is the world leader in each of its product categories—pleasure boats, marine engines, fitness equipment, bowling equipment and billiards tables. Brunswick's new worldwide design center for boats and marine accessories, located at 200 South Wacker, will create 50-60 new jobs.

120 South Riverside has been renamed CDW Plaza after a 250,000 sq. ft. lease was signed for an expansion of Chicago operations. CDW will be consolidating 950 jobs and will be adding 400 over the next four years.

Chicago Sky, the city's seventh Major League franchise, has brought the Women's National Basketball Association's (WNBA) unique blend of team competition and community involvement to home court at UIC Pavilion for its inaugural season, currently underway.

Electronic Arts (EA), an entertainment/gaming software company, recently signed a long-term lease at 215 West Ohio to build a new tech development team in the River North Area.

Fifth Third Bank's Midwest regional headquarters is consolidating to downtown (222 South Riverside) from Rolling Meadows. The company's original 250 employees are projected to grow to 800 in two years.

Google has leased a new Chicago office at 20 West Kinzie, with plans for employment to reach 100+ and to build engineering capabilities in Chicago, as well as to expand existing advertising & sales divisions.

Grubb & Ellis, the real estate brokerage firm, announced the relocation of its corporate HQ from Northbrook, moving 200 jobs into three floors of space at 500 West Monroe. The company had moved its national HQ here from California in 1997.

Hostway, the world's second largest internet hosting corporation, recently expanded into 50,000 sq.ft. of an advanced data center facility located at 100 N. Riverside. HQ for the Chicago-based company remains at 1 N. State Street. University of Chicago graduates, Lucas Roh & John Lee, have played critical leadership roles inside Chicago's expanding tech community and beyond.

The New York-based insurance company—S.USA Insurance—opened its Midwest headquarters and a retail outlet at 55 East Jackson.

True Partners, the tax and business advisory firm started by former Arthur Andersen partners, chose Chicago for its corporate HQ, employing 30 people. The company signed a 10-year lease at 225 West Wacker and is hiring professionals at a rapid pace.

Chicago Students Get Excited About Science & Technology

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) held its national robotics championship competition in Atlanta, Georgia, in April. It was the climax to weeks of competition involving over 1,130 teams from the United States and six other nations, including Brazil, Canada, Ecuador, Israel, Mexico, and the United Kingdom.

FIRST was founded by Dean Kamen, the inventor of the Segway® Human Transporter (HT), to inspire young people's interest and participation in science and technology.

Teams earned their invitations to the Championship by excelling in competitive play, sportsmanship, and the development of partnerships between schools, businesses, and communities. Teams compete in Regional Competitions, including the Midwest Regional held in Chicago every March at the UIC Pavillion.

Team 111 "WildStang" of Rolling Meadows High School and Wheeling High School from Schaumburg, Illinois—sponsored by Motorola— won the prestigious FIRST Robotics Competition Championship Chairman's Award, recognized as the team that best represents a model for other teams to emulate and best embodies the purpose and goals of FIRST.

Teams are sponsored by local businesses that supply funding and/or professional mentors that work with the students to build robots to compete in this competition. Inspired by participation in this program, a significant percentage of students have gone on to careers in Engineering and Technology, at a time when interest in these areas by our youth is waning.

In Chicago this year, teams participated from Roosevelt, St. Patrick, Simeon, Julian, Ace Technical and Lindblom High Schools, plus a community based team consisting of students from multiple schools on the city's South Side. Chicago involvement is increasing as it attempts to catch up with other large cities that have more schools participating, such as New York, Detroit and Los Angeles.

Original founding sponsor companies of FIRST include Baxter International, Boston Scientific, DaimlerChrysler, DEKA R&D, Delphi, General Motors, Johnson & Johnson, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Motorola and Xerox. Many other large and small companies act as sponsors to FIRST or individual FIRST teams as well.

-- Dan Green
Director of New Technology Business Operations, Motorola

Visit FIRST online or email for more information on sponsoring a team/school or the Midwest Regional.

A New Way to Get Business Assistance

Building a business friendly city and empowering businesses to grow and succeed is a top priority for Mayor Richard M. Daley. In 2004, the Mayor announced the creation of a new city department to provide businesses a gateway to city services and enhance government efficiency—the Department of Business Affairs & Licensing (DBA).

The DBA is a "one-stop shop" catering to businesses large and small. The new department combines the Mayor's Liquor Commission and Local Liquor Control Commission; the Licensing and Enforcement divisions from the Department of Revenue; and Mayor Daley's Business Express from the Department of Planning and Development. A host of services are provided at the center for Chicago's nearly 80,000 licensed businesses and unlimited potential businesses.

DBA is made up of five divisions:

• The Business Assistance Center—connecting business owners to available public and private sector business resources.
  
• The Business Advocacy and Outreach Division—oversees efforts to partner with other government agencies, foundations and business advocacy organizations to develop programs and policy to benefit small business.
  
• The Compliance and Investigations Division—conducts investigations to ensure that the laws governing business licensing, taxation and public-way use permitting are upheld to preserve public safety and welfare.
  
• The License Adjudication Division—functions as the regulatory authority and hearing body for business license disciplinary cases.
  
• The Finance and Administration Division—oversees contract issues, personnel, budget preparation, and supports IT operations of the department.
  

Already, the department has assisted in a wide variety of undertakings. A business consultant assisted a family in securing proper permits for displaying an elephant at a Navy Pier wedding. The consultant coordinated the licensing process, including securing inspections, federal animal handler's licenses, proper insurance, organizing efforts with Animal Care & Control and obtaining the proper paperwork to make the event a success.

DBA is also making an investment in web-based tools to help those that can't always come to the Business Assistance Center for help. The new website provides an abundance of online resources, including Biz Connection—an interactive tool designed to connect businesses to essential city resources and information such as licensing and permit processes. Other interactive resources assist business owners in renewing and checking the status of their licenses online. Materials are also available to download from the website, including business license forms and information such as The Citizens Guide to the Liquor Application Process.

More innovative tools will be launched to ensure business owners have online access to all city services. This month DBA is kicking off Business Education Workshops—a series of free workshops designed to empower businesses with information including How to Obtain a Liquor License, A Beginner's Guide to Business Taxes, and How to Open and Operate a Restaurant in Chicago.

For more information on the workshops and the Department of Business Affairs & Licensing visit the Business Assistance Center on the 8th floor at City Hall, call 312.74.GOBIZ (312.744.6249), or visit the DBA online.

Upcoming Events

Skill Standards, Education and Manufacturing: Measuring Up to Global Competition
Panel Discussion and Q&A

Moderated by Ray Prendergast, Jane Addams Resource Corporation

Panel
Jim Wall, Deputy Director, National Institute for Metalworking Skills
Bill Vogel, President, DeCardy Diecasting
Joan Wrenn, President, Hudson Precision Products
Jerry Benish, Director of Human Resources, Camcraft

This FREE event is presented by the Chicago Manufacturing Renaissance Council, a new public-private partnership supported by business, government, education and labor, dedicated to creating Chicago's global leadership in high-performance modern manufacturing.

When
Tuesday, June 27th
8:00-8:30 a.m. — Coffee and Eli's Cheesecake
8:30-10:00 a.m. — Panel Discussion and Q&A

Where
Wright College Theater
4300 N. Narragansett Ave.
Chicago, IL 60634

For more details visit the Center for Labor & Community Research website. To RSVP for this event, email Matt Hancock or contact him at 773.278.5418.

Chicago by the Numbers

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

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