Mayor Rahm Emanuel stopped by GrubHub headquarters this morning to view digital startup demos and announce a jobs forecast for the near future. See the full press release here. More photos here.
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"Today is a very important day," he said from the roof of 111 W. Washington St., "We have 21 companies [committed to] creating over the next two years 2,000 jobs in the city of Chicago. There are 2,000 jobs because they have the talent, the funding, the technology, the innovation, and supportive public and private entities to create an ecosystem."
The mayor has previously expressed his desire to turn Chicago into the American technology hub. His announcement today was intended to prove that the city is on its way to claiming that status.
Built In Chicago founder and Viewpoints CEO Matt Moog told the crowd of journalists and entrepreneurs that he believed Emanuel understands and appreciates the importance of technology. "It's healthcare, it's education, it's government itself--nearly every aspect of life will be transformed by digital technology and the city of Chicago will make that transformation happen," he said.
According to Emanuel, a new broadband initiative enacted today will contribute to that transformation as well. This morning, the city enabled free Wi-Fi in Millennium Park, the first of many public spaces that will sport such coverage as part of the Chicago Broadband Challenge.
Emanuel announced that, as the government moves forward with plans to improves the city's water system, which will involve tearing up roads to lay down pipes, they consecutively install high-speed broadband lines.
"While we're repairing the past, it's a unique opportunity to lay the broadband and the dark fiber in the city," Emanuel said. He is requesting individuals and companies to respond with ideas on how to best use the city's existing broadband infrastructure and how and where improvements should be made. "My gut tells me there will be a lot of startup companies that will come up with ideas and then we'll evaluate the process [following the RFP]."
Emanuel believes that the access to gigabit-speed broadband (which is about 100 times faster than cable speeds) will give startups an edge in creating and running new digital businesses. That coupled with nearly two dozen companies' commitment to creating 2,000 jobs by 2015 could help transform Chicago into a truly competitive digital hub.
The following Chicago companies participated in Emanuel's press conference this morning: GrubHub, BrightTag, lightswitch, Gorilla Commerce, Trunk Club, Cleversafe, Sprout Social, BenchPrep, comScore, Spotlite, RECSOLU, closerlook, Tribeca Flashpoint Academy, ShopperTrak, Total Attorneys, SingleHop, kCura, Networked Insights, SMS Assist, SocialKaty and Rise Interactive.
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