Will Amazon create more Chicago jobs?
Posted on October 1, 2017
A huge effort is going in to recruit Amazon to bring more Chicago jobs.
The city has created a committee that will support the drive to bring Amazon’s HQ2 to the Chicago area. The committee will be co-chaired by Oscar Munoz, CEO of United Airlines.; Penny Pritzker, Founder and Chair of PSP Capital; Jim Reynolds, Chairman and CEO of Loop Capital; and Miles White, Chairman and CEO of Abbott.
The effort will be headed by the Mayor and Governor, who are serving as Honorary Co-Chairs of the Committee, and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, who is serving as Honorary Vice-Chair. In total, the committee is comprised of more than 600 leaders from across the business, financial, technology, arts and culture, civic and education communities.
“This unprecedented coalition brings together the public and private sectors with education, community and faith leaders to speak with a powerful, unified voice that says that Chicago is the ideal location for Amazon to build its new home and continue to grow for generations,” Mayor Emanuel said. “As we prepare the bid to bring Amazon home to Chicago, this committee will highlight the region’s competitiveness and strength as a national and global leader in business, education, research, culture and quality of life.”
“This Committee’s membership compellingly represents the assets that Illinois offers business,” Governor Rauner said. “These leaders take advantage of our resources in transportation, distribution and logistics; technology and engineering excellence; world renowned medical, academic and educational research; and culture, arts, recreation and sports. Most important, they access Illinois’ diverse, highly skilled workforce. Their involvement sends a great message about the value of doing business in Illinois.”
“I am pleased to support this approach in highlighting the many strengths of our region as we convince Amazon to locate its HQ2 here,” Cook County Board President Preckwinkle said. “Our region boasts assets unmatched anywhere else in the U.S., and our collaborative approach is clear demonstration of our will to work together, county, city and suburb, and state as well as across party lines, to pursue our mutual goal.”
Earlier this month Amazon announced it plans to build HQ2 – a second headquarters in North America. The company expects to invest more than $5 billion for construction and employ up to 50,000 people. HQ2 is also projected to create tens of thousands of additional jobs and tens of billions of dollars in additional investment. The company is accepting applications in October from areas across the nation.