Governor Bruce Rauner Visits 1871 to Announce His New Innovation Illinois Council That Aims to Boost Illinois Job Technology Sector
Published: Feb 14, 2015
February 13, 2015 - 1871 Tech Incubator, Chicago, IL, 60654
Governor Bruce Rauner visited 1871 Chicago to announce the creation of the new Innovate Illinois Advisory Council, which will foster opportunity and increase Illinois’ global competitiveness.
Governor Rauner has charged the council to with developing an agenda to grow the state’s innovation economy, including developing high-growth industry clusters, attracting resources, developing and retaining top talent, fostering collaboration among all parties in the state’s technology and innovation community.
The Innovate Illinois Council will be co-chaired by Laura Frerichs, director of the University of Illinois’ Research Park and by Mark Glennon, a venture capitalist and managing director of Ninth Street Advisors.
“We don’t need more talk. We need results. We need action and growth. Real jobs, real revenue, real economic development, real companies really succeeding. That’s what is all about. And I will do everything as governor to make that happen, ” said Governor Rauner to the audience of entrepreneurs who gathered for the press conference at 1871.
The Governor toured 1871’s, 75,000-square-foot facility and held a roundtable discussion with startups from 1871 and MATTER, which recently opened adjacent to 1871 on the 12th floor of the Merchandise Mart.
The Innovate Illinois Advisory Council will meet regularly to develop and facilitate the execution of the key growth initiatives. It will work closely with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
The first meeting of the newly formed Innovate Illinois Advisory Council will take place this spring at 1871 with CEO Howard Tullman who is also on the advisory board in the state’s technology sector.
In January 2015, Accenture ranked Chicago sixth among the top ten tech destination in the country by Accenture. Chicago startups has created 347,000 technology jobs which places Chicago ahead of Boston, Seattle and San Francisco.
The first meeting of the newly formed council will take place this spring at 1871.
