(Chicago Sun Times) — Chicago tech visionaries will never again need to leave town in order to hit pay-dirt. With Groupon’s backfield now calling the plays, we’re actually becoming an attractive free agent destination. Thankfully, the regular season is just about to begin.
Last week, Mayor Daley’s new Committee on Technology Infrastructure huddled around the offices of 600 W. Chicago for a well-timed pep rally. Formerly the domain of leather helmet-style retailer Montgomery Ward’s, “600 West” today fields a growing roster of tech startups that are literally reinventing how business is done in Chicago and worldwide. Daley, who was sacked for inking dot-com bust divine interVentures to a lucrative Tax Increment Financing deal a decade ago, gladly took credit for giving 600 West a very well played $28 million TIF in 2003.
