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LAW: Can this California firm capitalize on Chicago tech startups? PAGE 3 BOOTH INSIGHTS: Stay ahead of changes that kill businesses. PAGE8 CHICAGOBUSINESS.COM | SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 | $3.50 COLLEGE ACCESS RECRUITING WITH INTENTION Colleges with high minority enrollments see the George Floyd effect as companies seek to ramp up their diversity and inclusion efforts — PAGE 15 Lila Aryadwita, UIC chapter president of the Society of Women Engineers JOHN R. BOEHM R. JOHN City Hall’s design Replacing a legend panel has its critics at the AbilityLab A new advisory group seeks to uphold Chicago’s Trailblazing rehabilitation hospital grapples with architectural reputation. Developers aren’t thrilled. change as it faces a future without Joanne Smith BY DANNY ECKER privately about the new Commit- the specialty hospital a premier tee on Design within the city’s BY STEPHANIE GOLDBERG destination for patients recover- Real estate developers trying Department of Planning & De- Big questions loom for the na- ing from strokes, traumatic brain to navigate a pandemic, rising velopment, an advisory group tion’s top-ranked rehabilitation injuries and other complex condi- property taxes and stricter af- formed in July of highly creden- Planning Commissioner Maurice Cox hospital following the death of its tions. And during her 15 years as fordable housing requirements tialed architects, urban planners longtime leader this month. CEO, Smith pioneered a new clin- in Chicago are getting antsy and assorted members from the e 24-person panel, which Over the course of three de- ical model that combines research about another possible obstacle: development community that is common in other major cit- cades, Dr. Joanne Smith trans- and technology to tackle medical eir buildings might not be styl- will review certain projects each ies but the rst of its kind in formed and de ned Shirley Ryan problems in real time. ish enough to win over the city. month and weigh in with aesthet- AbilityLab, formerly the Rehabili- It’s a concern some are voicing ic and other suggested changes. See DESIGN on Page 27 tation Institute of Chicago, making See ABILITYLAB on Page 26 NEWSPAPER l VOL. 44, NO. 38 l COPYRIGHT 2021 CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC. l ALL RIGHTS RESERVED CRAIN’S LISTS ARTS We take the Steppenwolf pulse of the readies its biggest hospitals comeback from a and hospital pandemic pause. systems. PAGE 12 PAGE 4 P001_CCB_20210920.indd 1 9/17/21 4:08 PM 2 SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS COVID costing Chicago hotels $2.2 billion this year With business travel still suffering and a turnaround months away, Chicago’s lodging industry heads into winter at a disadvantage to warm-climate rivals Chicago’s drop is worse than proved from the worst,” he said, BY GREG HINZ competing convention markets pointing a large metal-indus- The still-raging COVID-19 pan- Orlando, Fla., which saw an 82% try trade show, Fabtech, that is demic will cost Chicago-area ho- reduction, and Las Vegas, down meeting at McCormick Place this tels a staggering $2.2 billion in 71%. week and is expected to attract lost revenue from business travel Statewide, Illinois hotels saw about 31,000 attendees. this year, a national trade group revenue fall $2.4 billion, or 80%, But a more substantial turn- reports. the largest on a percentage basis around won’t even begin to The American Hotel & Lodg- except for Massachusetts, New surface until at least the end of BLOOMBERG ing Association projects hotels York, Wyoming and the District the year, Jacobson said. That’s An industry group projects an 86% drop in Chicago-area hotel revenue this year compared with 2019. in the metropolitan area will end of Columbia. a particular problem for the in- the year with just $346 million Michael Jacobson, president dustry here because, unlike “For some hotels, it’s going to COVID relief bill. “They’re listen- in revenue, an 86% cut from the and CEO of the Illinois Hotel & warm-weather competitors such be really difficult to survive with- ing,” but have made no commit- $2.53 billion grossed in 2019. Lodging Association, said the as Orlando and Dallas, Chicago out help,” Jacobson said. ment, he said. “Dialog is ongoing.” Other major markets had it figures strike him as sadly true, hotels won’t be able to rely on His group is urging Mayor Lori Jacobson says he believes Chi- worse: San Francisco (down 93%), based on research his group has tourists this winter and will suf- Lightfoot to allot to hotels a por- cago eventually will regain all Boston (-89%), New York (-88%) done. fer from the continuing decline in tion of the $2 billion the city is of its lost business but not until and Washington, D.C. (-87%). “Things certainly have im- business travel. receiving from the latest federal 2024 at the earliest. State must stop pandering to public-sector unions here’s another element to the private sector, the threat of retirement costs capture nearly the growing income gap unionization alone is sufficient to 27% of the state’s general funds Tin Illinois: Public-sector induce nonunion companies to budget. In the latest state bud- unions misrepresent the facts to pay higher wages. This is because get, pension costs amounted to ORPHE DIVOUNGUY lobby their political allies to levy raising wages to avoid lengthy, $10 billion. This is more than the higher taxes on private individ- costly collective-bargaining dis- state spends on K-12 education or ON THE ECONOMY uals and businesses to benefit putes tends to benefit everyone. human services. In fact, spending themselves. In reality, collective Businesses could end up more on higher education, children and bargaining in the government sec- profitable because well-paid, hap- family services, human services research shows exposure to resist power plays that give more tor is part of the problem. pier workers are more productive and public health fell since 2010. unionized teachers lowers stu- authority to government unions, Public-sector unions’ absolute while also less likely to see a need That is despite two record income dents’ future earnings. The effect such as Senate Joint Resolution dominance over every facet of to unionize in the first place. tax hikes during that same period. is larger for Black and Hispanic Constitutional Amendment 11. Illinois government has led to The same isn’t true for public- While public-sector unions students. Collective bargaining The future of our home state a pension crisis that has set the sector unions. benefit from unfair contracts, for public school teachers directly depends on the government’s state back hundreds of billions of Public-sector unions represent Illinois’ economy grows less and exacerbates income inequality commitment to stop pandering to dollars. This alliance has hollowed virtually all public-sector em- most Illinoisans—especially the and racial disparities. public-sector unions. out state government’s ability ployees. And these unions are in poorest—suffer. Illinoisans who are concerned to deliver basic services as state the business of raising salaries It gets worse. about inequality and want to Orphe Divounguy is chief econo- leaders placate powerful pub- and benefits and protecting job In the case of teachers unions, see their home state thrive must mist at the Illinois Policy Institute. lic-sector union leaders who then security regardless of employee bankroll many politicians’ war performance. chests. Average compensation for While unions are right to argue government employees in Illinois bargaining power has shifted in exceeds that of private-sector Let us get to know your business. favor of employers, they ignore workers by 38.2%, according to the rest of the story. By raising data from the Bureau of Econom- ic Analysis. This is even BE WINTRUST.COM/PRIORITY THIS ALLIANCE HAS HOLLOWED OUT though college attainment among private-sector GET ASSURANCE. STATE GOVERNMENT’S ABILITY TO workers exceeds that of public-sector workers in DELIVER BASIC SERVICES. Illinois. A deeper dive reveals the labor costs, stronger unions gap is larger for similar workers in YOUR incentivize business to seek sub- some occupations. Public-sector stitutes. Research shows union workers in service occupations density affects business location such as health care, food service GET COMMITMENT. and labor demand. and maintenance with college When businesses face higher degrees earned 60% more than costs, they employ fewer work- similar private-sector counter- ers—especially workers at the parts. Those without a college lower end of the skill distribu- degree earned 50% more than BANKER’S tion—while requiring the work- their peers. ers they do employ to be more When public-sector unions productive. increase their demands, gov- GET ATTENTION. It is important to point out that ernments face tighter budgets, private-sector unions aren’t the causing them to borrow more, to problem. In 2020, only about 10% raise taxes or to cut funding for of Illinois’ private-sector work- other programs. ers were members of a union. In In Illinois, public employee TOP PRIORITY GREG HINZ Banking products provided by Wintrust Financial Corp. banks. WILL RETURN NEXT WEEK P002_CCB_20210920.indd 2 9/17/21 2:51 PM CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 3 City’s tech scene lures a Bay Area law giant Cooley is on the hunt for Midwest clients— and legal talent, too BY ELYSSA CHERNEY Cooley’s expansion in Chicago is heating up. The Silicon Valley-based law firm, best known for its domi- nance in tech and life sciences, is adding to its new Chicago office at a rapid clip, growing from a group of 10 founding attorneys to about 40 since late May. Many of the of- fice’s 14 partners were poached from elite rivals like Latham & Watkins, Winston & Strawn and, most recently, DLA Piper.

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