Commentary and Analysis

From Medellín to Chicago, digital nomads are on the rise, contributing significantly to the global economy. But locals worry these visitors are pricing them out.

Plenty of companies around Chicago talk, or at least dream, grandiosely about global expansion. Many never make it. This one did.

There is an elite group of people around the world willing to travel anywhere to see Shakespeare well done.

From the United Kingdom to China, youth unemployment has been a point of concern. But across the world there is also a growing number of young people who aren’t in school, don’t have a job, and aren’t in any sort of vocational training.

"The future of mankind will be dominated by 20 to 25 super-regions, with Chicago prominent among them," says Michael Fassnacht, who exits the economic development agency this month.

"Little Italy is no longer a thing,” says one restaurant operator. “It has come and gone.”

Chicago's transit system may need to make cuts and raise fares after COVID relief funds phase out, but riders won't likely see a systemic collapse like Venezuelan commuters experienced in the 2010s.

In the elite realm of haute cuisine where Alinea resides, the influence, name recognition, and drawing power of the restaurant extends well beyond Chicago to the dining capitals of the world.

Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and drought in the Panama Canal are delaying shipments and could increase emissions.

Dave Sloan retires after this year's McCormick Place confab. In an exclusive chat, he reflects on how this car biz showpiece has changed — and how it's kept Chicago on the industry's global map.