Commentary:
Amazon
sweepstakes? Move on, Chicago!
Amazon isn't bringing a second headquarters to
Chicago, but Howard Tullman writes that he sees "powerful evidence that
Chicago’s momentum is unabated." (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
Howard
Tullman
There
hasn’t been a lot of hand-wringing or despair since Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced
the winner of his yearlong quest for a second headquarters and jobs bonanza.
You know why? Because there’s been tremendous
leadership and collaboration working in the trenches the past decade to put
Chicago on the global tech map — led by 1871’s multiyear status as the No. 1
university-affiliated tech incubator worldwide.
So, was it really a loss not landing the
thousand-pound gorilla, where it could potentially inflict damage by crushing
competition, close down a few more retailers and strangle a bunch of our
fledgling startups?
And that’s if you even believed the HQ2 story,
which is now more of an HQ3.5 story (with Virginia, Long Island City, and
Nashville, Tenn., all in the mix). I never did.
As I’ve long observed, the only real
existential risk facing Amazon is something regulatory or legislative, and
those fateful decisions will be made in Washington, D.C., where Bezos already
owns the franchise daily newspaper. The Big Apple play was largely driven by
media and market concerns. Frankly, the Nashville logistics hub is the only
part of this story that was a real opportunity for us, and it’s the thing that
Chicago deserved to win on merit from day one.
But the great thing about our city is its
rock-solid resilience and commitment to perpetual progress and ongoing
improvement. So, the Amazon passion play was merely a hiccup or pothole in the
road on a long journey forward. The resurgence of the city’s South Side with a
developing new tech district, anchored by the $40 million Kaplan Family Institute
at Illinois Institute of Technology; the visionary Discovery Partners
Institute, a purpose-driven, collaborative research institute located in
Chicago that is focused on creating solutions to grand challenges; new
facilities being planned at the University of Illinois at Chicago; the
redevelopment of the Michael Reese property — the list goes on. These are
powerful evidence that Chicago’s momentum is unabated, and our growth will
continue.
Chicago has always been about building a
stronger, brighter future. We continue to be a hub of game-changing leaders,
abundant resources, first-class universities and innovative vision — like the
P33 program, a “Burnham plan for Chicago’s tech future,” which is a remarkable
road map to an even brighter tomorrow.
You’re never really out of the game unless you
wallow in regret more than dream big. Chicago’s dreams are alive and well, and
since Amazon was wishful thinking from the outset to most of us in the tech
world, it’s more like a bullet we dodged than something to regret. It’s time to
move on and move forward, with optimism and a strong, savvy game plan. Now,
that’s Chicago.
Howard Tullman is a
professor and executive director of the Kaplan Institute at Illinois Institute
of Technology, and the former CEO of 1871.