Chicago's "brain drain" and culture of "mediocrity" (Time: transplants, 2014)

[TheSunshineKid]

This blogger got me thinking. What can Chicago do keep its talent? What can it do to attract new talent? I know that the city won't be as innovative as LA, SF or NYC, but still. Job wise, the city needs to step it up - a very serious step UP. These are just a couple of questions that are bouncing in my head right now. As much as I love my home city, sometimes I think that its greatness needs more muscle - become more cut and lean in the job sector and its political culture.

Maybe Rachel Shteir Was Right | CHICAGO CARLESS

(Read the comments if you have time. Some interesting points.)

And yet, we also eat our young and that breaks my heart. A decade ago, people outside and inside this city told me how Chicago cannot hold on to talent. How, in order to really achieve success, you do your time in Chicago, and then you leave it behind. All these years later and I have my own stories of watching a steady stream of professionals, artists, planners, techies, plain-old joes and janes, and more than a couple of terrific rabbis–some from here, some from elsewhere–embrace this town with all their hearts and then say good-bye and thank you, and leave.

Over and over and over, even if that means that Chicago is losing out by being paraochial and stubborn. In the latest awesome example, the Sun-Times just lost its social-media honcho, Marcus Gilmer, locally famous for editing Chicagoist and the A.V. Club, to the San Francisco Chronicle. How? The Chron saw what Gilmer was doing in Chicago and created a new social media job for him in the Bay Area to entice him to go. And go he will–because somehow in Chicago recognition of talent by our peer cities means, somehow and sickly, that you’re not worth holding on to in Chicago.

Leaning Towards a Warmer Climate | CHICAGO CARLESS

What I didn’t write last month is what many of us here know but rarely talk about. That is, as my mother would unabashedly put it, **** floats. We simply don’t have a culture of excellence in Chicago. The workplace here is rigid and role-based. Being very good at what you do will not get you ahead in this city as quickly as being mediocre. Truly innovative Chicagoans learn to keep quiet about it, because innovation is the enemy of a rigid workplace.

So he brings up two key points: The Chicago political machine and work culture. I think they're intrinsically linked.

[Chi-town Native]

It's a big and rowdy city, and it isn't for everyone in the long term. I think it's true it's pretty conservative at heart, and that does result in change occurring slowly. But otoh, slow change tends to stick.

I think it's completely normal to see lots of people going - and really, if some didn't leave, there'd be less room for anyone else to move in. 21% of Chicago is foreign-born, and they aren't all buying new construction in a Jeanne Gang building.

This may cheer you up:

From Twinkies to yellow pencils, 175 years of firsts in Chicago - Chicago Sun-Times

[Lookout Kid]

The data doesn't back up the idea of a brain drain from Chicago. In fact, it is widely known that Chicago is a net gainer of brain drain from other Midwestern metro areas.

Why the Smartest People in the Midwest All Move To Chicago | Chicago magazine | May 2013

There will always be people leaving Chicago for California and NYC to hit the "big time". But we are not in danger of any talent shortage, and continue to be a huge draw of the young "creative class", for lack of a better term.

[baileyvpotter]

^^^Thanks it did.

[marothisu]

There is some definite brain drain, and not all the smartest people in the midwest move to Chicago, trust me. One of the things that Chicago could do is encourage companies to sponsor international people. I know literally 15 people in Chicago who moved back home because companies didn't want to sponsor them, because they'd never done it before and were afraid of doing so. It's really sad because most of them were very intelligent.

[Lookout Kid]

Some leave, some come in. The net effect is not a brain drain.

[mjtinmemphis]

Very interesting article and the comments are very much on point.

I never thought of Chicago as any thing but a city to live in and embrace for about 10 years and leave.

The segregation takes its toll on many Black American transplants especially after they find out how limiting it can be on their lives to the point where we leave for smaller cities to thrive socially and professionally.

The culture of corruption is too strong and has impacted daily living to the point it's tough to make things happen.

These are my thoughts and obviously the thought of many others.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by mjtinmemphis

The culture of corruption is too strong and has impacted daily living to the point it's tough to make things happen.

These are my thoughts and obviously the thought of many others.

The corruption for US standards is higher than normal, but compared to cities in a lot of other countries it is nothing. I have friends from other countries who literally laugh their asses off at Americans for thinking Chicago is actually corrupt compared to many other world cities. I've yet to truly feel the "corruption" unless you're talking about a few buildings I wanted to be built and Alderman being shady.

[mjtinmemphis]

Originally Posted by marothisu

The corruption for US standards is higher than normal, but compared to cities in a lot of other countries it is nothing. I have friends from other countries who literally laugh their asses off at Americans for thinking Chicago is actually corrupt compared to many other world cities.

I've been told. I couldn't imagine.

[Chicago60614]

It's not a brain drain, it's the opposite for the most part. People enter and leave every city, but Chicago is EASILY a huge brain gain from the rest of the Midwest, and certainly for a Midwestern city it's right at the top for bringing in people from the coasts.

It loses people to the coasts as well, but the article seems to be taking something and then focusing on just one aspect only to try and push their point.