Business & Jobs

Chicago cannot tax its way to prosperity. We need an economy that is growing, creating good-paying jobs and expanding opportunity in all 77 neighborhoods.

Chicago has world-class universities, a diverse economy, transportation infrastructure, a talented workforce and a position as one of America's great global cities. City government should be focused on turning those advantages into investment and opportunity.

Make Chicago a Place Where Businesses Want to Invest and Stay

We should support the businesses already here while competing aggressively for new employers and investment.

That means making it easier to start and grow a small business, revitalizing neighborhood commercial corridors, and ensuring Chicago is competitive for the industries shaping the next generation of the American economy.

Chicago has an opportunity to become a global leader in fields including technology, manufacturing and clean energy. We should be pursuing those opportunities with urgency.

Make Sure Chicagoans Can Get the Jobs We Create

Economic development cannot simply be measured by the number of jobs announced. It should be measured by whether Chicagoans can actually get those jobs.

The economy is changing quickly. Many of the jobs being created require different skills and credentials than the jobs being eliminated. Without deliberate preparation, workers and communities can be left behind, even while the broader economy grows.

Workforce development should be part of Chicago's economic-development strategy from the beginning. When the city helps attract a major employer or industry, we should simultaneously be working with Chicago Public Schools, City Colleges, universities, unions, employers and workforce organizations to prepare Chicago residents for those opportunities and future ones.

Invest in Neighborhoods

Chicago also needs to rethink how it invests in neighborhoods that have experienced generations of disinvestment.

Where the need is greatest, we should concentrate resources at a scale capable of changing a neighborhood's trajectory: supporting housing, businesses, infrastructure, public spaces and jobs together.

A growing Chicago and an equitable Chicago are not competing visions. We need growth to create opportunity, and we need Chicagoans in every neighborhood to be able to participate in that growth.