Category Archives: Economy

Chicago is Reopening

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Chicago is open for business! After 18 months of Covid-19 concerns, Chicago’s museums, restaurants, and attractions are back.

Businesses across Chicago are reopening.

For many of the diners and eateries in the Loop, the reopening has been a nuanced blessing. Their primary customer base- employees and visitors of local companies- have not yet fully returned to the office. They need a steady stream of customers to supplement the delivery and take-out business that has kept them going thus far. And those professionals who are beginning to head back to the office favor these establishments for a quick coffee break,  lunchtime, or post-work meal.

Eateries and attractions in and out of the Loop are eager to welcome customers.

With many new restaurants to check out across Chicago, there are countless options for a long-overdue meet-up with friends, a business lunch with colleagues, or a romantic date night.

Local Startups and Accelerators

Economy, , , ,

Chicago has recently been quite the hub for both accelerator programs and the start up community.  Here we take a look at two: the launch of Duality and 1871.

Duality is America’s first accelerator program which is dedicated 100% to quantum science and technology startup firms. This specific industry is on track to become crucial in the development of numerous other related sectors.  Duality itself is seeking to help quantum startups “bridge the gap between the laboratory and the marketplace… a critical barrier to success for emerging technologies.”   

Chicago has become a key address for Global Quantum activity. For example in 2020 an announcement was made by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science  Foundation to make Chicago the address for three out of the eight-federally funded quantum information science research entities.

The Chicago technical community has also recently been privy to the impact of startup incubator 1871, a company that “create the experiences and space that early stage, growth stage, and corporate innovators need while they build extraordinary businesses. We are actively committed to building a more inclusive and diverse community in order to provide those who are underrepresented a pathway into technology & innovation leadership.”

Now that Duality has acquired Hub88 – a company that offers an integration platform to guide gaming suppliers easily and efficiently through just one API for all casino operations – the merger will enable 1871 to provide increased access to emerging technologies. As Betsy Ziegler, CEO at 1871 explained:

“At 1871, we firmly believe in the transformative power of ‘and,’ that as a unified organization we can accelerate our members’ journeys across the maturity curve and embrace a deep technical focus in our programming, our physical spaces, and across the broader community. This is a remarkable opportunity to better support our members and expand our collective reach across Illinois and the greater Midwest. We are excited to welcome hub88’s innovators and university partners into the 1871 community.”

Chicago is fast becoming a tech hub where technology firms and startups are considering making their address.

Public Finance Agenda

Economy

In this video, Mayor Lori Lightfoot discusses the importance of officials, individuals, communities and those in the private sector coming together to establish a new agenda. In an attempt to face the post-COVID-economic world a new public fiscal strategy needs to be created.

Financial Aid Promises

Economy, , ,

The City of Chicago has promised aid of up to $10m. The Department of Planning and Development will be earmarking grants for emergency cases.  Both business owners and individuals are hopeful that they will qualify.

Jewel, the City of Chicago and community partners are also working hard to provide assistance for small businesses during this time.  An $11m fund has been created in the hope of helping them re-build.  According to Mayor Lori Lightfoot:

“Thanks to this fund, many Chicago businesses will be able to address the critical obstacles that businesses are facing and help them make the reopening in our Phase 3 a true reality for them, their employees and their customers. Getting our businesses back on their feet is vital to really moving our city forward and restoring vibrancy and hope in our neighborhoods.”

As well, White Sox has started selling T-shirts to raise money for the Chicago Community COVID-19 Response Fund, with White Six logos, the slogan ‘Chicago Together’ and the Chicago City Flag embellished.

Lockdown Protest

Economy,

On May 2nd at 5pm here will be a scheduled protest against the economic lockdown of Chicago.  Many people want Illinois to be re-opened.  For those who are healthy and wish to work the situation is frustrating as they are being prevented from doing so by city and state local governments.  They are using the Bill of Rights to exert their right to protest the shutdown. 

All those who attend the protest will be required to wear masks and keep 6+ feet distance from each other.  The march will take place on Randolph and Dearborn at 10am on Saturday, May 2nd.

Local Aid for Small Businesses

Economy, , ,

Given the financial trauma that has resulted from the shutting down of economies worldwide, some local Small Business Administration bodies throughout America are offering aid.  In an attempt to curtail the economic deceleration that has resulted from coronavirus, assistance loans up to $2 million and being provided to those most impacted. In this video Kate Rogers of CNBC, reports.

Is Chicago Business on a High?

Economy,

Business in Chicago seems to be on a high, perhaps quite literally.  This seems to be in particular due to the success of the recreational marijuana industry.  On January 1 of this year Dispensary 33 started selling and immediately brought in a large revenue.

Local business executives and employees working nearby have noticed a jump in their own sales.  One staff member of SoFo Tamp close by said that people waiting to get into the Dispensary end up “buying a couple of drinks” in the meantime.  In addition, Jenny’s Nail Salon reported having “picked up a couple of new customers” due to the traffic at the Dispensary.

As well as being beneficial to other local businesses, it is also expected to impact the local economy given the tax revenues coming from the first month of sales, valued at $40 million.

While every good story has the naysayers, Dispensary 33 is no different.  There have been some complaints from those saying they are against having a store selling pot in their midst but overall it seems the economic benefits are outweighing the disapprovals.

Furthermore, people from outside of Chicago are coming to visit so that they can make their purchases, and, of course, while in the Windy City will make other purchases, utilize local services and ultimately spend quite a bit of money while there.  Some financial experts believe that this could lead to a huge revitalization in the area which has some great businesses that may have been inadvertently overlooked.

And, aldermen from Aurora are hoping to re-authorize four ward programs to bolster revitalization in local neighborhoods including:

  • Ward 1 Business Grant Program: 50-50 match up to $5,000 a project annually for qualifying businesses.
  • Ward 2 Fence Improvement Program for residents requiring assistance in repairing/renovating yard fences.

In other financial regional news there was an announcement by Fifth Third Bank that an estimated $20 million will be directed to projects in the South and West of the City in housing, creating jobs.  Plus, a $12 million capital fund money program will be launched by Gov. JB Pritzker in an effort to bolster private investments in the 300+ opportunity zones in Illinois. 

Chicago’s Economy: What to Expect in 2020

Economy, , ,

In a recent article in Crain’s Chicago Business, three business experts were consulted on how they see Chicago shaping up in 2020.  While there has been some less-than-positive predictions for Chicago’s economy as we move into the new year, we choose here to focus on the optimistic side of things. 

Thanks to developed in various high-skilled industries (including technology and data), Chicago is starting to re-gain its global-player reputation.  With Amazon, Google and Uber having recently announced local expansions as well as the region’s universities attracting top quality students, Chicago is developing a good reputation.

In the article’s Q&A format, founder of the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Geoff Hewings said:

“We have a very low unemployment rate; we are creating jobs at a healthy rate, although not a dramatic one. While we’ve never expanded at the rate of New York or Seattle, I’m honestly not sure that we want that. I don’t think we need to be the fastest-growing metropolitan economy—we just need economic growth that’s manageable. Part of the draw of Chicago is its affordability. We’ve got enormous assets in that regard, and they’re necessary conditions to help us achieve economic growth.”

Director of the Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois at Chicago Teresa Cordova explained it like this:

“Since the mid-1970s, more and more people—particularly African Americans—have been increasingly left out of the economy. The decline of manufacturing and other middle-income jobs led to the creation of geographic pockets of chronic joblessness that just becomes entrenched for decades. And today there are incredible disparities. We did a report showing that while Cook County leads the nation in white employment, we also lead in black joblessness. The people leaving the state are disproportionately African American. This inequality affects economic growth, and it will only get worse unless we do something.”

There is some work to be done though.  According to DePaul University’s Professor Emeritus of Economics and Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago economic consultant, William Sander:

Addressing the pension issue is fundamental. All states struggle to some degree with pension liabilities, but it is acutely worse here. We have no choice but to pay it, and the longer we put it off, the more expensive it’s going to become. It’s complicated, though, because real action requires changes to the whole system. Politically, that’s hard, but the alternative is even harder on the taxpayer.

These are just some of the issues to observe in 2020 in Chicago.

Building up Local Businesses

Economy,

Four local development groups in underserved communities will be the recipients of $2.5 million each thanks to the generosity of Starbucks.  The US coffee company and coffeehouse chain is hoping that this will result in economic growth for the area. Awardees are: Accion Chicago, Chicago Community Loan Fund (CCLF), Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), and the International Film Festival.

This money will be used to finance 500+ loans for small businesses in Chicago via the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI). Struggling businesses will be able to get advice and in some cases financial help – resources they could not have accessed otherwise via traditional sources such as financial institutions.  According to Kevin Johnson, Starbucks CEO:

“We believe the pursuit of profit is not in conflict with the pursuit of doing good. We know that our business performs at its best when the communities we serve are thriving. This sustained investment will provide borrowers who often face barriers with access to capital and mentorship to grow their business and create more jobs in Chicago.”

Starbucks is not the first corporation to offer such help.  A little over a year ago JPMorgan Chase & Co. invested $10million for the provision of properties for black business development in the Windy City.