By law, Passenger train is to have priority. It's just never enforced. Those things are changing thankfully.
I have been at work for the past 12.5 hrs and haven't read through the thread. It seems like I get the sense, unsurprisingly, that many people's argument has come down to.. "BUT...BUT....Pittsburgh is NOT Midwestern! NO MIDWEST! NO MIDWEST! We're EAST COAST THROUGH AND THROUGH!"... Tangents like this have no clout in your agreeing or disagreeing with this proposal and I myself propose that those who continue to pursue this argument take it to the "Chip on Your Shoulder" thread...
In real talk now... I'm surprised by people who "don't see the value" in this project. Just because you can fly to Chicago in less time means we should just have no interest in this....but then again everyone is head over heels for an East Coast high speed rail connection. If the Great Lakes and it's many cities want to build a rail network like this country has never seen before and include Pittsburgh in the mix (bullet train on top of that), I see no negatives. Like I and others have said, this only opens the sky for further HSR development throughout the country, including making Pittsburgh the first connection to the East Coast from the big cities in the Midwest, and even branching the other way to the South East. The Great Lakes is becoming increasingly important..live here or read valid news sources and you'll see why. Chicago proper alone is already recovering from its 2000's census hit, ChicagoLAND continues to grow, unemployment is dropping, 4 large corporate HQ's have claimed stake in the city within the past few months, CTA ridership numbers are breaking records each month, and the smaller cities in the Great Lakes/Midwest are also increasing in importance. I believe there was a thread about the Great Lakes and its increasing importance in the General forum.
FRB: Beige Book - April 11, 2012
GrubHub Inc., a web-based food-ordering service is moving into the top three floors (60,000 square feet) of 111 W. Washington, the landmark Burnham Center. GrubHub has raised $84 million in venture capital in recent years and recently acquired Dotmenu, a food-ordering service that serves college towns. The company currently employs more than 250 people in Chicago who are expected to move from Bucktown in September.
Many other companies have grown in Chicago this quarter too. Here's a list of more than 50.
•1871, a new hub for tech startups, announced it will open in May, utilizing 50,000 square feet on the 12th floor of Chicago’s Merchandise Mart.
•Adelmans Truck & Equipment, a heavy duty truck, trailer, parts and equipment company, plans to invest $2.5 million to expand its offices at 3033 E. 106th St., adding 24 jobs.
•Adjusters International, a provider of public insurance adjusting and disaster recovery consulting services, announced the opening of its new office at 500 N. Dearborn.
•B2B International, a global business-to-business market research and business intelligence specialist expanded its presence in North America with a new office in Chicago’s Willis Tower.
•Bank of the West, full range of personal, commercial, wealth management and international banking services company, opened an office at 155 N. Wacker Dr. in Chicago.
•Biggins Lacy Shapiro & Co., a New Jersey-based company specializing in corporate location decisions will open its first Midwest office in Chicago.
•Burke, Warren, MacKay & Serritella P.C., a law firm, is expanding its office at the former IBM building, 330 N. Wabash, which will soon be renamed AMA Plaza.
•Central Building and Preservation L.P., a nonprofit organization, purchased a 7,400-square-foot building at Ohio St., Racine and Ogden avenues in order to accommodate expanding growth.
•Chicago Lakeshore Hospital, a North Side psychiatric hospital, is planning to renovate a vacant 60-bed facility at 4720 N. Clarendon Ave.
•Coyote Logistics, a Chicago-based freight company, plans to increase its employees to 1,000 in Chicago’s Green Exchange at 2545 W. Diversey Ave.
•DeVry Inc. is opening a 77,000-square-foot office at 300 S. Riverside Plaza to support its online college courses, which could employ as many as 1,000 people.
•DKC Public Relations, Marketing & Government Affairs, a New York-based firm, announced its expansion in Chicago to accommodate a growing roster of Midwestern clients.
•DW Legal, a managed document review, e-discovery solutions and legal talent acquisition company, expanded its Chicago document review facilities to include an additional 15,000 square feet of space.
•Emmi Solutions LLC, an interactive healthcare media company, is doubling its space and creating a new corporate headquarters at 300 W. Adams St.
•Ercom, a telecom solution provider, opened an office at 1770 W. Berteau Ave. to accommodate North American growth.
•Experimur LLC, a full-service, GLP-compliant toxicology testing and research laboratory announced plans for $17.1-million redevelopment of its 72,000-square-foot facility at 4045 S. Morgan St.
•Fidessa Group plc, a provider of trading, investment management and information solutions for the world’s financial community, announced the expansion of its U.S. presence with an office in Chicago’s Willis Tower.
•GraphEffect, a social marketing software company, announced the official opening its Chicago office at 203 N. LaSalle St.
•HCP & Company (HCP), a middle-market private equity firm headquartered in Chicago, announced the acquisition of Career Training Academy, Inc. (CTA).
•HeplerBroom LLC, a law firm, announced it is expanding its Chicago office to 17,000 square feet as part of a move to 30 N. LaSalle.
•International Furniture Direct, a mixed media and solid wood case goods supplier, opened a distribution center in Chicago to offer lower freight rates and improved lead times to Midwest and Northeast dealers.
•Kinecta Federal Credit Union relocated its Midwest Operations Center from Rosemont to Chicago.
•LocalResponse, a New York-based geo-targeting advertising company announced the opening of a new office in Chicago at 203 N. LaSalle St.
•Mars, Inc. recently invested $48 million in its Chicago-based factory, creating 65 jobs over the past two years; the factory manufactures about 25 million candy bars a day.
•The National Futures Association, a self-regulatory organization for the U.S. futures industry, expanded its office space at 300 S. Riverside Dr. to 71,108 square feet, an increase of 17,290 square feet.
•NBC Universal announced that comedian Steve Harvey will host a new syndicated daily TV show at WMAQ/NBC 5 studios in Chicago, creating an estimated 100 jobs.
•Northwestern Memorial Health Care unveiled plans to open six additional physician offices in Chicago and five surrounding north suburban markets.
•Northwestern Mutual, a Milwaukee-based life insurance company, announced plans to fill more than 150 full-time and 200 intern positions, a 72 percent increase from its local employee-base.
•PPC Associates, a San Francisco-based search engine marketing company opened a new, expanded 3,100 square-foot office at 223 W. Jackson Blvd. in Chicago.
•Proxima, a London-based procurement services provider, announced its North American operations expansion plan with the opening of its first Chicago office, located in the Willis Tower.
•Proshred Franchising Corp (PFC), a subsidiary of Redishred Capital Corp., is expanding its shredding franchise and opening a Chicago North office.
•Publicis Groupe S.A.,the global advertising company, increased its office space at the Merchandise Mart by 80,000 square feet for a total of more than 202,000 square feet, to include expanded space for digital marketing agency, Razorfish, in addition to housing healthcare communications firm, Williams Labadie, and current tenant, pharmaceutical and biotech communications firm, Medicus International.
•Revolution Brewing is currently building a 50,000 square-foot brewing facility at 3340 N. Kedzie, to expand beer production to the greater Chicagoland area; the new brewery will produce 25,000 barrels a year and the facility will employ about 30 people.
•Richwill Enterprises, a food service industry distribution warehousing company, leased 142,000 square feet at the Midway Business Center, 5363 S. Archer in Chicago, to serve as a distribution center.
•Riskonnect, Inc., an independent risk management software company based in Atlanta, announced a new Chicago location in the River North area.
•Safety National Casualty Corporation, a company specializing in excess workers' compensation and multi-line large casualty business, announced newly established Chicago Regional Office at 200 S. Wacker Dr.
•Siteworx Inc., an interactive agency specializing in Web content management, opened an office at 180 N. LaSalle to better serve the increased Midwest demand for its services.
•Southern Trust Securities Holding Corp. (STSHC), a financial services holding company, opened a new branch office at 281 N. Jefferson in Chicago to perform futures, equity and fixed income brokerage services.
•SS&G, a full-service certified public accounting, business advisory, and management consulting firm, announced the opening of a downtown office to complement its presence in nearby Des Plaines, and accommodate recent growth.
•Sword Ciboodle, a global provider of customer engagement solutions, announced it is expanding into a new North American headquarters at 30 South Wacker Drive, three times the size of its previous space.
•Tap.Me, a Chicago mobile advertising startup, raised $3.2 million in venture capital from investors led by Hyde Park Venture Partners, and including I2A Fund, Western Technology Investment, Great Oaks Venture Capital, FireStarter Fund and Hyde Park Angels.
•Telecom Brokerage Inc. (TBI), a provider of telecommunication services, expanded into a new 16,000 square-foot headquarters facility near O’Hare, to accommodate growth; the company added 32 employees in the last year.
•Universal Scrap Metals (USM), a Chicago-based scrap metal recycling company, has acquired the assets of Premier Metals Recycling, adding extensive copper recycling to its current capabilities.
•U.S. Cellular Corp, the Chicago-based carrier, plans to hire approximately 350 people across the Chicago area throughout the year.
•Ventas, a seniors housing and healthcare real estate investment trust (REIT), moved into a new environmentally-friendly building at 353 N. Clark in order to accommodate recent growth.
•Vibes Media, a Near West Side mobile marketing technology company that employs 95, expects to hire 40 more people this year, as cloud computing expands.
•Vosges Haut Chocolat, the Chicago-based high-end chocolatier, plans to buy and renovate a vacant 42,400 square-foot facility at 2900 N. Oakley Ave., to house a manufacturing plant, warehouse and offices.
•Westwood College, a higher education institution based in Denver, completed the build-out of a 45,000-square-foot facility at 1 N. State, which includes classrooms, computer labs, design labs and staff offices.
•Willdan Energy Solutions, a specialized resource conservation firm based in California, opened an office at 445 N. Wells Street.
•World CNG a Washington based company that specializes in alternative fuel packaging and applications, opened a new Chicago facility, located at 540 W. Genshaw.
•zColo, an interconnection focused colocation services company, announced the opening of an 8,500 square-foot-facility at 600 South Federal St.
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