News Item

10.10.2015

Crain’s Chicago: Inside the private group that guides Chicago’s economic development policy

By Lynne Marek, Crain’s Chicago Business

crains chicago2About three dozen companies have moved to Chicago during Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s time in office—including, most recently, packaged-foods giant Con-Agra—a testament both to the mayor’s zealous pursuit of economic development and the money and connections of World Business Chicago, a group run by the city’s corporate chiefs.

But the organization’s close identification with the city’s political power structure has opened it to criticism that it hasn’t done enough to create jobs outside of downtown and that most of its deliberations happen behind closed doors.

Since Emanuel was elected in 2011, the nonprofit’s board, which he chairs, has swelled to 81 members from 24, and its annual budget tripled to $8.1 million last year.

That has allowed the mayor to tap resources outside cash-strapped City Hall for wins such as the city’s new digital manufacturing institute on Goose Island, hosting the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade last December and a venture-capital summit last year that won $40 million in investments for Chicago-based startups.

FULL CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS ARTICLE

 

Related News

News Item

03.24.2023

A Chat about Alicia Ponce’s Work

Tell us a bit about the industry you are in and the work you focus on. Architecture is an industry where we get to define a city’s culture and history. …

View article

Blog

NEWS

News Item

03.20.2023

Getting to Know DCASE Commissioner Erin Harkey

Tell us about where you grew up and tell a special high school memory/story. I was born and raised in Los Angeles and went to Santa Monica High School; high…

View article

Blog

NEWS

News Item

02.28.2023

Black History Spotlight - Blake Anthony-Johnson

A Conversation with Blake-Anthony Johnson, CEO and President of Chicago Sinfonietta Blake-Anthony Johnson’s multifaceted career has included work as a performer, collaborator, recording artist, and

View article

Blog

NEWS

News Item

02.28.2023

Black History Spotlight - Leon Walker

Meet Leon Walker Over the past 20 years, Leon I. Walker, Esq., has spearheaded cutting-edge community development projects that have generated thousands of new jobs and brought grocery stores and&hell

View article
Translate »