2000: The Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center was officially launched in 2000. The Chamber scored a legislative victory in Springfield by working through the Department of Revenue to include an amendment with language addressing the elimination and scale reduction of interest on penalties for late business tax payments in State House Bill 3240, the Uniform Penalty and Interest Act in 2000. This same year, the Chamber released Information Technology Education and Workforce Development Study to help City lay foundation for IT workforce preparation. The report predicted a shortage of IT workers in non-technology companies and noted direct correlation between post-secondary education and career advancement.

The Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center (the Center), initially funded by DCCA, AT&T, the Chicagoland Chamber and 11 other organizations, celebrated its 1 year anniversary in 2001 by announcing the results from its first year of programs designed to create a powerful, single resource for small to mid-sized Chicagoland businesses. More than 800 Chicagoland businesses had taken advantage of the Center’s training and learning programs.

That same year, the Chamber successfully lobbied in collaboration with the City, the State and World Business Chicago to relocate Boeing Company’s corporate headquarters to downtown Chicago from Seattle. A blue ribbon panel of business and civic leaders, including Chamber President Jerry Roper, Chamber Chairman Norman R. Bobbins and a host of other Chamber Board members, was assembled to promote the region’s benefits to Boeing in comparison to the cities of Dallas and Denver that were also in the running.

The Chicagoland Chamber and its Midwest Aviation Coalition (MAC) lobby efforts helped bring Governor Ryan and Mayor Daley together to reach a deal to allow expansion of O’Hare International Airport, making it the largest economic development project in State of Illinois history. The improvement and expansion of O’Hare, Chicagoland’s primary economic engine, had been a political priority for the Chamber for the eighteen years.

The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce also launched the National Business Coalition for Rapid Transit (NBCRT) to obtain increased federal funding for new and existing rapid transit systems for cities nationwide. Business leaders and organizations from Boston, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, Salt Lake, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, New Orleans, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Lancaster, PA, joined the NBCRT. The coalition allied with other public sector advocacy organizations: New Start Working Group, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the American Public Transportation Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The Chamber was also responsible for forming the Business Leaders for Transportation (BLT), a coalition of more than 10,000 employers, transportation providers and associations representing business interests. The Coalition works to inform the public and our elected officials about the urgency of addressing the Chicago region’s surface transportation needs and recommends strategies to address these needs. The Coalition serves as the collective voice of business by urging increased public support for transportation and new and innovative strategies for addressing congestion.

Over 25 local chambers of commerce and convention bureaus gathered in November of 2001 at the Chicagoland Chamber offices to form the Midwest Business Coalition for High Speed Rail in support of the inclusion of the High Speed Rail Investment Act in Congressional economic stimulus packages. The continual goal of the coalition is to articulate the business community's belief in the need for federal funding for high speed rail and to work with local businesses, chambers of commerce, convention bureaus, and other stakeholders to develop high speed rail networks that serve the Midwestern region.

In 2002, the Chicagoland Chamber was awarded four-star accreditation by the US Chamber of Commerce, the highest rating received up to that time by any chamber in the US. Accreditation recognized the fact that the Chamber has effective organizational procedures and programs in place that allow it to meet the needs of its members.

The Chamber continued to give support to the O’Hare expansion project through a variety of initiatives including providing testimony at an FAA O’Hare environmental hearing. The Chamber also called for a renewed commitment by the business and civic communities to pass the National Aviation Capacity Expansion Act.

In 2003, “The Right Award for Workplace Excellence” was created by the Chamber and Right Management Consultants to recognize Chicagoland companies that have the vision to meet critical business challenges by engaging and leveraging their greatest asset, their people. Three winners were chosen: US Postal Service, Krusinski Construction, Interface Software.

In conjunction with the Business Leaders for Transportation, the Chamber worked for passage of the $375 billion, six-year transportation funding bill, known as the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century. The Chamber also continued to lead R.A.I.L. (Rail Advocates for Infrastructure Legislation), a coalition that advocates for federal legislation to create a national rail infrastructure-funding program, and co-led Business Leaders for Transportation, which released its final progress report on the Illinois FIRST transportation infrastructure investment program.

The Chamber became a founding member of the Illinois Coalition for Jobs, Growth & Prosperity, a coalition that provides voters with information about government-related issues that have a direct effect on jobs and challenges state lawmakers to consider the negative impacts that tax and fee increases will have on Illinois jobs.

The Chamber continued to push for the implementation of the O’Hare Modernization Program as it worked its way through the federal approval process, and for passage of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA 21) – the federal government’s six-year transportation funding bill for road and transit infrastructure. The Chamber also continued to lead the National Business Coalition for Rapid Transit which worked to raise awareness of the need for increased development of public transit systems.

In a giant leap forward in improving the climate for growth in Illinois, the Chamber and other business organizations reached an historic agreement with organized labor leaders to reform the state’s outdated and expensive workers’ compensation system.

The Chamber led “Yes Chicago!” – a collaborative effort among Chicago’s business, civic and labor leaders to leverage the economic benefits of a publicly-owned, land-based gaming development in the heart of downtown Chicago.

2005: During 2005, the disabilityworks enterprise was launched as a collaborative effort among the Chamber, the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities and DCEO to implement solutions to the issues that confront people with disabilities.

In transportation, The Chamber’s efforts to push for the implementation of the O’Hare Modernization Program culminated in September with the FAA granting its record of decision in favor of the O’Hare project. The Chamber also successfully pushed for passage of the eighth extension of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA 21) – the federal government’s six-year transportation funding bill for all federal surface transportation programs.

In conjunction with the R.A.I.L. coalition (Rail Advocates for Infrastructure Legislation), the Chamber and the six Class 1 railroads serving Chicagoland continued to advocate for federal and state support and funding for CREATE (Chicago Region Transportation Efficiency) – a plan to reduce freight transit times through Chicago and kicked-off the Midwest Business Coalition for Passenger Rail, a group of 30 Midwestern chambers seeking to provide business support for inter-city passenger rail in the Midwest.

The CEC’s efforts to help entrepreneurs and high-growth businesses build viable, sustainable and profitable enterprises were considered instrumental in helping Chicagoland move-up in Entrepreneur Magazine’s annual ranking of “Hot Cities for Entrepreneurs” to #12 (up from #52 in 2003).

disabilityworks was one of four organizations in the US to receive the US Department of Labor’s “2006 New Freedom Initiative Award.” The honor recognizes the organization’s one-of-a-kind pioneering efforts on behalf of people with disabilities.

The Chamber and Chicagoland Chamber Foundation sponsored three forums to discuss strategies for improving the competitiveness of the region’s transportation industry: “The Future of Aviation,” a “Global Supply Chain Forum” and an “Air Cargo Forum.”

The Chamber worked with a coalition to fight an industry-specific mandate, Living Wage for Big Box Retailers, that targeted all retailers in the City of Chicago with store property larger than 90,000 square feet and annual company gross receipts over $1 billion. The Mayor vetoed the measure and the Council upheld the veto.

The Chamber created the Business Alliance for Public Policy (BAPP) to help educate its members, elected officials and the general public about public policy issues that affect the business community and promote a business climate that creates economic development and job growth.

The CEC began administering the Illinois Innovation Accelerator Fund (i2A), a $10 million fund that fills a void in early-stage investing by providing a for-profit fund that specifically meets the need for the first external formal capital raised by new companies. The CEC also began administering Innovate Illinois, a mentoring and peer-based learning program that provides advisory services and resources to high-growth companies throughout the state to help them take their innovations further.

Innovate Now! was launched by the Chamber, World Business Chicago and DCEO to promote business innovation as a key strategy in the economic development of Chicagoland and Illinois. The goal of Innovate Now! is to make Chicagoland and Illinois globally recognized centers of innovation. The centerpiece of the initiative was the “Chicagoland Innovation Summit,” an annual event held in October (2006 and 2007) bringing together over 500 participants to listen to the nation’s top innovation experts drawn from the business, academic, non-profit and public sectors.