Chicago shrinks by over 200,000 in the 2000's Part 1 (Atlanta: to buy, taxation)

[Drover]

Originally Posted by oakparkdude

Exactly. No one moves to a big city for low cost of living. They move to a big city for the amenities.

But some do move to a city that has a lower cost of living than where they lived before or instead of a more expensive city they might have considered otherwise. Ask 10 people who left Chicago why they did and I bet 4 to 6 of them will cite COL as a major reason. While Attrill limits his basis of comparison to "truly urban cities," Chicago's competition is not limited to cities with a similar built environment when it comes to competing for the attention of businesses and residents. The explosion of Sun Belt cities should make that plainly obvious.

[Tex?Il?]

Originally Posted by Attrill

An important thing to look at is what truly urban cities have a lower tax burden? Even after the increase - none. There are very few truly urban cities in the US (i.e. you can take public transit, have loads of places to go within walking distance of work or home, etc.). NYC, San Francisco, parts of LA, Boston, DC, Philadelphia, and Seattle are about it.

You can find lower taxes in newer cities like Phoenix, but they are a completely different animal. They sprawl like crazy, have few (if any) public transit options, fewer city services, and have far fewer entertainment options and cultural institutions. You cannot live the same type of life in those places. The corporate tax is just as bad (if not worse) in many of those cities as well.

I also think that Chicago is fighting to bring jobs here. Boeing and MillerCoors were the big ones, but there have been a number of other wins for corporate HQs in the recent past (Evraz being the most recent). Hell, the CME may be buying the NYSE soon. Chicago's PMI numbers have also been very solid recently (looking better than anytime since the 80's) so it is really inaccurate to believe that Chicago is experiencing a net loss of businesses.All in all, Chicago has fared pretty well through the recession of the last few years, and is showing signs of real growth ahead.

Give it time. Those rapidly growing sunbelt cities have made huge strides in this department in the last 20 years. Cultural offerings take some time to develop after economic/population growth.

But there also have been losses. Theres a company called Smurffit-Stone or somethings like that headquartered in that pyramid topped building next to the Prudential building that relocated to Atlanta, There have been at least one major bank to relocate to Charlotte.

But there has also been talk of the CME also moving to New York. The Merc though about moving to Houston in the 80s. Chicago is up against competition, and the amazing things that have given Chicago so much self-confidence has leveled out. (Think getting out of the run for the olympics in the first run, the Spire being a hole in the ground, south loop high rises sitting half-empty, and Oprah, Chicagos big celebrity leaving).

I'm not hating on Chicago, just that city popularity goes in cycles.

[nikitakolata]

Originally Posted by Drover

But some do move to a city that has a lower cost of living than where they lived before or instead of a more expensive city they might have considered otherwise. Ask 10 people who left Chicago why they did and I bet at least 4 of them will cite COL as a major reason. When it comes to competing for the attention of businesses and residents, Chicago's competition is not limited to cities with a similar built environment. The explosion of Sun Belt cities should make that plainly obvious.

Yes, that's what I was trying to say. Amenities are a great thing, but they aren't the ONLY thing. A great company can attract great talent, even if they aren't in what some people consider the "best" cities. I would follow my current job if it were to move, and we'd relocate for my husband's job as well. If either company relocated to a place with a lower COL, the one whose job didn't could stop working.

[Chicagoland60426]

Even if there was a 100% participation rate, that still wouldn't give us an accurate count. Remember census only count residents and occupied housing units who were there on April 1st. I did Census take in Harvey around late April and May and have come across some board ups. The Census only care about if the unit was occupied on April 1st. So if the housing unit was occupied on April 1st, but abandon by May, it will be counted as occuppied on the 2010 census. Vice Versa also if the unit was vacant on April 1st, but filled with people a month later. One thing to remember is that the 2010 official count is only the count for a particular day and not for the whole year. You probably have plenty of people who moved in Chicago after April or July and are not counted as Chicago residents on the census.

[Attrill]

Originally Posted by nikitakolata

The problem I have with your logic is that companies are not people. A company probably doesn't care if there are great cultural amenities near its office. A company doesn't need public transit to function.

International companies absolutely need those things. Boeing executives noted the cultural attractions in Chicago as being a leading reason for choosing to relocate here. Businesses use sporting events, great restaurants, concerts, etc. as sales tools all the time. Not to mention that the executives who make the decisions are interested in those things themselves, and having access to the things they like in their personal life plays a role. They also like seeing their names on new wings of museums, exhibits, concert halls, etc. Companies as entities also like to fund arts projects as PR - Boeing has an entire department devoted to doing just that. Have ever been to a museum? Every exhibit has Boeing, United, McDonald's, Sara Lee, etc. sponsoring it. Cultural amenities are very import to companies.

Transportation is very important because it directly relates to the labor pool that is available to companies. It is not a coincidence that every major business center in the world has public transit. Public transit is necessary for moving a lot of people into a small area, which is essential for developing a thriving CBD. Conversely, many warehouse and manufacturing facilities need access to congestion free highways - which is why most industries left central cites in the late 20th century.

Originally Posted by nikitakolata

How is Chicago fighting to bring jobs here? I ask because I truly don't know. It seems to me that the best way to bring a company to a given location is to give the company benefits that it will appreciate; for the private sector, that benefit is money in the form of tax incentivies/cuts, low rents, a surplus of highly qualified candidates, etc. A private company needs to be concerned with money, or it isn't going to be around long (unlike the public sector which can apparently borrow endlessly).

Ummm...that's exactly what they are doing. Boeing got $63 million in tax breaks, I believe Evraz just got $7 million. Chicago has a great employee base, but even more importantly great services. Chicago has the marketing/ad agencies, commodities markets, specialized law and accounting firms, and transportation options to compete with any city at the global level.

Other cities can't offer that - take Indianapolis for example. If a company does a lot of business in Europe or Asia they'll have to tack on half a day for all overseas business trips just to connect to international flights. Chicago has many more non-stop international flights. That matters to many companies, and only NYC, LA, and possibly SF (for Asia) can compete with us.

Chicago fights hard for new businesses - the recent visit by Hu Jintao is a perfect example of the type of thing the city is doing. We're also well positioned for two growth areas - wind power and rail. Expect to see quite a few international companies in those businesses locating their NA headquarters here.

[Attrill]

Originally Posted by Tex?Il?

I'm not hating on Chicago, just that city popularity goes in cycles.

I agree that a lot of things factor into a company's decision. We certainly can't just sit back and assume people will locate companies here, and I don't think we are. The visit by Hu Jintao is a perfect example of those ongoing efforts, we need to keep those going.

The loss of Smurffit-Stone isn't a surprise - they basically consolidated their operations. Things like that will happen all the time, the important thing is to be bringing in new companies to replace ones that leave. Right now we're doing that.

[Tex?Il?]

Originally Posted by Attrill

I agree that a lot of things factor into a company's decision. We certainly can't just sit back and assume people will locate companies here, and I don't think we are. The visit by Hu Jintao is a perfect example of those ongoing efforts, we need to keep those going.

The loss of Smurffit-Stone isn't a surprise - they basically consolidated their operations. Things like that will happen all the time, the important thing is to be bringing in new companies to replace ones that leave. Right now we're doing that.

True, but other cities are doing the same. Growth of a city, has to be factored in with other cities, even smaller ones within the same region.

The popularity of movie shooting in Detroit, for example, is one reason why Detroit may very well suprise Americans about how it can be a relatively nice, desirable city in 20 years, even if it will never have the population or economic mass it once had.

[Chicago60614]

Originally Posted by Attrill

I agree that a lot of things factor into a company's decision. We certainly can't just sit back and assume people will locate companies here, and I don't think we are. The visit by Hu Jintao is a perfect example of those ongoing efforts, we need to keep those going.

The loss of Smurffit-Stone isn't a surprise - they basically consolidated their operations. Things like that will happen all the time, the important thing is to be bringing in new companies to replace ones that leave. Right now we're doing that.

Chicago and Illinois are certainly trying hard to get jobs in the state - and actually the Chicago economy looks shockingly upbeat lately.

A few random things going on:

When SunCoke Energy separates from parent company Sunoco Inc. next year, it will move its headquarters to the Arboretum Lakes in Lisle and add 105 new jobs, company and state officials said Monday.

The Knoxville, Tenn.-based company aims to invest about $6.6 million in Lisle.

Evraz to Relocate North American Headquarters to Chicago

Evraz Group (LSE: EVR) (“Evraz” or the “Company”)announced plans to relocate the headquarters of North American operations Evraz Inc. NA from Portland, Ore. to Chicago, Ill. this June. Evraz selected Chicago primarily for its logistical advantages, which will provide easier access to customers, manufacturing operations and its employees across North America.

The new headquarters office in the Aon Center is scheduled to open in late June, with the transition completed by the end of 2011. The company expects to employ approximately 70-80 people in the headquarters office, many of whom will be relocating from Portland. The move does not affect manufacturing operations or staff at other Evraz facilities.

CHICAGO BUSINESS BAROMETER™ GAINED
The Chicago Purchasing Managers reported the CHICAGO BUSINESS BAROMETER improved to its highest level
since July 1988, indicating expansion for a sixteenth consecutive month.
BUSINESS ACTIVITY:
PRICES PAID indicated increased inflation, increasing to the highest level since July 2008;
EMPLOYMENT strengthened to a height not seen since May 1984;
NEW ORDERS increased to the highest point since December 1983;
PRODUCTION improved with NEW ORDERS to the strongest level since 2004

Chicago unemployment drops to 8.6%

(AP) — The Chicago-Joliet-Naperville metropolitan area saw its unemployment rate drop 2 points in December to 8.6 percent.

Overall Illinois unemployment in December was 8.8 percent.

(Crain's) — Argonne National Laboratory is about to get the fastest supercomputer in the world.

The Darien-based lab will receive IBM Corp.’s fastest machine yet, named Mira, which will be capable of processing about 10 petaflops of information per second — about 10 quadrillion calculations a second — when it is built in 2012.

The computer will be purchased by the U.S. Department of Energy.

U.S. transportation chief says Talgo will relocate; federal, state officials mum

February 10, 2011

Under siege by New Jersey's attempts to lure businesses from Illinois and bruised by the Chicago Bears' loss to the Green Bay Packers, Gov. Pat Quinn went on the offensive and reeled in a maker of high-speed passenger trains that had set up shop in Wisconsin, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Wednesday.

"The governor (of Illinois) just was able to attract Talgo, which is a train manufacturing company from Wisconsin, to come to Illinois to manufacture train sets, which is quite a coup," LaHood said in Washington.

Asked for details, federal and state officials hedged their answers while not quite retracting what LaHood said.

Business Barometer Index - Level 61.0 58.0 to 62.1 62.5

Highlights
Chicago purchasers continue to report accelerating month-to-month gains. New orders rose to 67.2 in November vs October's 65.0 to extend what is an extremely strong trend. Production, at 71.3, is humming and is raising demand for employment which is at 56.3 vs October's also strong 54.6. Strong production is keeping down unfilled orders, which at a sub-50 reading of 48.9 contracted slightly in the month, and is also keeping down inventories which at 48.4 also contracted slightly. Deliveries continue to slow and input prices continue to rise. The headline index, which is a composite of key components, held above 60 for a third month in a row, coming in at 62.5. This report covers both non-manufacturing and manufacturing and points to strength for this week's national purchasing reports from the ISM.

Groupon signs big expansion at HQ

(Crain’s) — A couple Chicago office buildings have managed to land something Google Inc. couldn’t: a deal with Groupon Inc.

The fast-growing daily-deal website company, which last week spurned a reported $6-billion offer from Internet goliath Google, is expanding its headquarters at 600 W. Chicago Ave. by about 57,000 square feet.

The expansion, a jolt of good news to the beleaguered office market, brings Groupon’s total footprint at the former Montgomery Ward & Co. Catalog House to about 140,000 square feet, a company spokesman says.

[Chi-town Native]

Originally Posted by Tex?Il?

Give it time. Those rapidly growing sunbelt cities have made huge strides in this department in the last 20 years. Cultural offerings take some time to develop after economic/population growth.

They're going to have their water cut off long before this happens.

There's something patently wrong with trying to impose people into a desert/part of the world historically known as being inhospitable to life.

[joemits]

The whole desert city and water thing always gets me. The upper Midwest/ Great Lakes region is losing political clout along with population. A scary senirio would be an eventual water pipeline