Chicago Tribune reporter, Wailin Wong, recently wrote an article, “Would Motorola departure burst Chicago’s tech bubble?”

She points out that Illinois has many of the fundamentals of a successful tech community:

Illinois boasts the engineering schools, startups and blue-chip companies needed to create a vibrant tech scene.

However she also notes that many believe the city can’t quite keep up with the coasts:

…momentum toward building a robust community has been halting, with the ever-present lure of the coast conspiring to slow progress. Some of the most successful names in technology, including co-founders of YouTube, PayPal and Netscape, got their starts in Illinois. Then they went west.

As a technology community we need to identify how we can create an environment here in Illinois that is more conducive to nurturing and retaining start-ups.

According to Sean Harper, co-founder of Chicago-based TransFS, a Web site for businesses to compare credit card processors, who was quoted in Wong’s article:

“What you need to have in a startup ecosystem is investors and companies. Investors aren’t interested in being where there are no companies, and companies need money. It’s hard to break that gridlock.”

ITP is contributing to this effort by advocating forward-thinking public policies that keep up with the rapid pace of technology, and we will keep you posted on legislation we can support to create an environment in our state that encourages technology growth and innovation.

We are also always looking for innovative, new and existing technology companies here in Illinois that are creating jobs and contributing to our economy. If you have a tech success story to share, e-mail us at info@iltechpartner.org.

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