Regional Scoop
CHICAGO
Nicknamed
the Windy City, Chicago is home to the Sears Tower, an impressive lakeshore, and
incredible shopping on the Magnificent Mile of Michigan Avenue.
BUSINESS
Home to the second-busiest airport in the world, Chicago is a bustling vibrant
city with 15 Fortune 500 companies headquartered downtown, including transportation
giant Boeing, media corporation The Tribune Company, and food industry leaders
Sara Lee and Quaker Oats.
Chicago has more than 300,000 businesses in the metro area, ranking the city third
in the country behind New York and Los Angeles.
While the majority of Chicago workers are employed in finance, real estate and
insurance companies, the city stays true to its blue-collar roots with steel and
construction firms like Inland Steel Industries and Smurfit-Stone Container. Other
large corporations that call Chicago home include printer R.R. Donelly and Sons,
telecommunications giant AT&T, accounting firm PriceWaterhouse Coopers, and
LaSalle Bank, sponsor of the world-famous Chicago Marathon.
CULTURE
There is no shortage of activities available for any tourist or resident of the
city and its many suburbs.
The Windy City borders Lake Michigan, boasts the world's second tallest building,
and hosts a variety of sports teams including the Cubs and White Sox, the Bears,
the Bulls, the Chicago Fire, and the Blackhawks and Wolves. Music lovers flock
to the popular Chicago Blues and Jazz Fests. Shoppers check out a wide range of
stores from the luxury of Michigan Avenue to Little Chinatown to Navy Pier. Chicago
also is the home of several world-renowned museums, including the Art Institute,
the Shedd Aquarium, the Field and Science Museum, and the Museum of Science and
Industry.
Other entertainment options include joining the TV audience of nationally syndicated
shows, "Oprah," "The Jenny Jones Show," and "The Jerry
Springer Show," all taped in Chicago.
CHICAGO BY THE
NUMBERS (2000 data)
| Greater
Chicago population |
8,272,768
|
| Median
rent |
$1,723.00
|
| Average
house price |
$155,960
|
| Average
household income |
$41,549 |
| Unemployment
rate |
7.2% |
| Number
of Drake alumni |
5,000 |
|
 |
"The
advertising business has changed greatly in 30 years, and Chicago has changed
along with the times. More technology, more competition, more magazines. Here
the business and social environments are ideal for young people starting a career.
It is a lively environment, and one where the restaurant scene is a major attraction.
If anyone becomes bored, it is his or her fault."
- Edward A.
Schimmelpfennig, JO'64, manager of advertising, The Rotarian magazine, Rotary
International
|
 |
"This
is a great place for a career in alternative journalism. It's always changing
and evolving."
- Tracy Baim, JO'87, publisher and managing Editor, Lambda Publications
|
"As
a major hub for marketing communications, Chicago offers a variety of avenues
for Drake journalism graduates. Advice for those relocating includes: don't wait
until you graduate to begin networking in Chicago, read the Chicago Tribune (online)
everyday, plan a visit and pre-schedule information interviews."
- Pete Brace, JO'89, public relations counselor and director, Burson-Marsteller
|
ALUMNI CHAPTER
Thinking of visiting or moving to Chicago? Connect with other Bulldogs in the
area through Drake's Chicago Alumni Chapter by contacting Carol Noyce Molino,
BN'85, at 630-260-9953. Or, contact Stacy Rungaitis, alumni director of the Chicago
Office at 847-397-9400.
Or you can connect
in cyberspace by visiting Drake's online alumni community at www.drakealumni.net. |
|
