The Civic Committee is dedicated to enhancing the economic vitality of the Chicago region. The Committee pursues economic development in its broadest sense by supporting strategies for improving the general business environment in the region. We seek out collaborative opportunities and support efforts that focus on both planning and redevelopment activities so that businesses can prosper and generate jobs. Reinvesting in the inner-city is an essential part of building a strong regional economy. Toward this end, the Civic Committee places a special emphasis on creating new opportunities for inner-city communities. Our goal is to leverage a critical mass of resources and expertise from both public and private partners to build healthy, mixed-income communities. The Civic Committee is currently directly managing or supporting programs and policies designed to stimulate inner-city economic development and to engage our member companies in these efforts. Current Initiatives Commercializing University Technologies In collaboration with the Mayor's Council of Technology Advisors and the region's major research universities (University of Chicago, University of Illinois, Northwestern University, Illinois Institute of Technology and Argonne National Laboratory), the Civic Committee has for the past year been engaged in an ongoing discussion about how Chicago's business community and public sector leaders can better facilitate the commercialization of university-based research. In November 2002, the Civic Committee co-sponsored a roundtable at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago on commercializing university-based research. The roundtable convened a select group of venture capital firms, both locally and from the east and west coasts, to meet and build relationships with key decision makers including Civic Committee member CEOs and other business and public sector leaders. In addition to previewing four new businesses featuring nano-technology, roundtable participants engaged in a thoughtful discussion about how Chicago's business community and public sector leaders can better facilitate the commercialization of university-based research. As an outgrowth of that event, the Civic Committee gathered input from a variety of venture capital, corporate and academic leaders on best practices that support the commercialization process and the creation of tech start-ups. The Civic Committee continues to facilitate introductions between its member companies and Chicago's research universities to help promote new alliances. North Lawndale Community Planning Initiative The Civic Committee is beginning work on a planning initiative in North Lawndale, an underserved west-side community whose economic indicators rank comparatively lower than many others across the City. The Civic Committee's initiative will coordinate a planning process involving several leading community organizations, local public officials, and the City of Chicago. Working closely with this steering team, Civic Committee staff will draft a set of community-specific redevelopment plans, implementation recommendations and cost projections necessary to spur mixed-income housing development as well as retail, commercial, and industrial development. The resulting plan will be an important tool for leveraging a critical mass of public and private sector resources and for creating the necessary infrastructure to attract retailers as well as commercial and housing developers. Lender Advisory Initiative The City's Department of Planning and Development has asked the Civic Committee to facilitate a review process of potential commercial projects in underserved communities on Chicago's south side. This summer, we formed an advisory group comprised of lenders from six banks Bank One, Bank of America, LaSalle Bank, Cole Taylor Bank, Harris Trust & Savings Bank, and Northern Trust. This group meets monthly with DPD staff to review and evaluate a number of development proposals. The lenders are providing valuable feedback to key DPD decision makers, both on the feasibility of proposed developments and the potential for public-private financing. Project Safe Neighborhoods — U.S. Attorney's Office Through one of our member companies, the Civic Committee is providing pro bono assistance to the U.S. Attorney's Office of Illinois as part of local strategy to reduce gun violence. The resulting media campaign will help raise awareness about Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a new federal law. Under PSN, a gun offender with three qualifying prior convictions must now serve a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 15 years without parole for gun possession. An added penalty is having to serve prison time in a federal penitentiary. The media campaign will include a series of advertisements and a placement strategy targeting gang members, convicted felons and parolees as well as youth who live in high-crime neighborhoods. The City of Chicago has some of the toughest gun laws in the country, yet Chicago's law enforcement agencies continue to seize record numbers of guns (over 10,000 in 2002). Last year, Chicago's 666 murders were the most of any city in the nation. Chicago's murder rate is nearly triple the homicide rate of other large cities. The majority of these murders continue to occur in communities on the City's south and west sides where rampant gang and drug-related crime has taken heavy tolls on local residents. PSN is unique in that it enables U.S. Attorneys to craft, in conjunction with state and local law enforcement officials, gun reduction strategies that are most responsive to the needs in their communities. A key part of PSN is convincing felons not to carry guns. PSN's newly created "parolee forums," held in targeted neighborhoods, help ex-offenders understand the harsh consequences of gun possession. The forums also provide valuable information and encouragement about job opportunities, as well as job training and substance-abuse programs. Click here for information on prior economic development initiatives.