Chasing an Olympic vision brought together Chicago’s government, civic and corporate leaders in a way this town has rarely seen. It was an exciting, big idea for the city of Chicago.

There were questions about the real value of the Games, whether the city could afford them, or whether the current leaders could pull them off successfully.  But we heard how a generation of kids might benefit from the Olympic spirit, and how Chicago would build infrastructure to help our city and economy grow.

The amount of money, time and energy marshaled toward chasing the Olympics was unprecedented.  Major corporations stepped forward, local foundations donated money, and small shops proudly displayed their support for Chicago’s bid.

Refocus that effort toward meeting Chicago’s most pressing needs. Chicago 2016 should become an initiative for real education reform in Chicago. These same leaders should shift their focus and considerable heft toward creative ways to fix a failing system.  This is not a problem unique to Chicago, but Chicago could become a shining example for American education.

Make Chicago a world-class city by making our public education system actually work and align it with our city’s future. Instead of inspiring kids with the Games, let’s give generations of kids the skills to create and fill the jobs of their future. Let the infrastructure we build be a foundation to escape poverty and violence that traps many of Chicago’s families and limits Chicago’s economy and global competitiveness.

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An excellent article by Dennis Byrne in the Tribune, and well worth the read.  The civic support for this Olympic vision was significant… if we could channel that into meeting Chicago’s social needs then something great could be achieved.

Keep the name — Chicago 2016 — signaling the community’s intent to create a bright new city, without the motivation of securing the Olympics. Imagine if the same levels of skill and determination were put to use raising bushels of cash for the things that Chicago hasn’t been able to afford.

Money for cash-strapped civic and charitable institutions. Money for badly needed new ones. Not only would these institutions no longer have to worry about their own revenues from charitable contributions getting gobbled up by the Olympics, but also they would enjoy additional funds from the New Chicago 2016 effort.

Chicago’s a great, world-class city, and I’m proud it’s my home.  But there are far too many social needs unmet.

I’ve now seen first hand the abysimal state of public education in our community, and the news is full of crime and violence from kids without real stakeholders willing to engage them. 

If just a portion of Chicago 2016’s passion, organization, money and private sector effort were to go toward real education reform, the community could break cycles of poverty and empower generations of future leaders, entrepreneurs and innovators in the community.

SmartBet 2009

The fourth annual SmartBet charity poker tournament (http://www.SmartBet.org) will be held September 17th in the Chicago Cultural Center. 

And great news… this year one of the prime beneficiaries will be CAAT, the Chicago Academy of Advanced Technology (http://www.chicagotechacademy.org). This is the new public high school focused on technology and entrepreneurship that we’ve worked so hard to launch.  I’m proud to tell you the school opens on September 8 for our new freshman class!

The SmartBet poker tournament is a blast… hundreds of local technology executives and entrepreneurs, an open bar, great food and a staff of professional dealers. You don’t have to be a poker star to play… beginners are welcome, and will definitely have fun.

SmartBet supports charities that develop young people to become Chicago’s future technology leaders. This year the three primary charities are CAAT, i.c. Stars and Future Founders… all great programs that are making a huge difference for the future of our community and industry.  All together, seven charities will benefit from your generous support.

Would you buy a table for $2500, and bring along your friends and associates to play?  Or for a little bit larger donation, we’ll seat you at our special “High Rollers for Charity” table, where I promise you’ll have a great time and help these wonderful charities in our tech community.  Or if you just want to come alone and show off your poker skills, single seats are available for $250.

UPDATE: This even has been postponed to August to acomodate a larger gathering. More details will be announced soon.

If you’re interested in attending this invitation-only dinner and discussion, please feel free to contact me or register through the ITA.

Education and the Competitiveness of Chicagoland Companies

We’ll enjoy a private screening of the documentary Two Million Minutes, which compares the high school education of students in China, India and the United States.

America faces a crisis in education, particularly in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM education). Right here at home, Chicagoland students fall well behind their counterparts around the globe. Nothing has a more direct impact on future competitiveness and innovation for our companies, and private sector leaders can become engaged as part of the solution today.

Two Million Minutes: a four year high school education

ITA Chairman’s Dinners are roundtable discussions where we dive deep on an important subject, and everyone contributes.

Dinner guests include Rick Stephens, senior executive at Boeing and a nationally engaged volunteer on education, Glen Tullman CEO of Allscripts and an education reform advocate, and Bob Compton a successful tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist, and producer of the documentary.

Your chance to influence curriculum, and the new Chicago high school for technology and entrepreneurship

We will also discuss local efforts like the new Chicago Academy of Advanced Technology (CAAT), a public high school opening in September with heavy involvement from the private sector.

Our goal from the beginning has been to promote collaboration,” said Terry Howerton, ITA’s chairman and FastRoot’s CEO. TechNexus is Chicago’s technology clubhouse… home to more than 25 startups and used by more than 2,000 local tech execs each month.

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I’m playing tomorrow night in an annual charity poker tournament with several hundred local tech entrepreneurs… we’ll raise more than $150k for charity and educational programs in Chicago.

First place gets a paid entry into the 2009 World Series of Poker!

There are still a few seats available… visit www.smartbet.org and register to come out and play… open bar, great food and lots of fun.

Obama’s economic polices strike me as pro-business, especially small business, and pretty pragmatic. Here are five things I found to like that support tech startups…

Eliminate the capital gains tax for investments made into startups. This rewards higher risk investors that are providing critical capital for the real economic engine of America, where most new jobs are created. This sort of “targeted” tax relief (as opposed to total elimination of capital gains tax) should be measured in the ripple effect (i.e. did it ultimately create more jobs, more companies, more wealth, and smarter tax revenue).

Provide $3,000 tax credit to small businesses that create new jobs in the next two years. What’s most significant is this is applicable to the employer portion of payroll taxes (which is usually the only real tax startups face). My guess is that it also becomes a net gain in overall tax revenues for America, as companies hire more people and have a little tax relief during the formative years.

Provide tax credits to small business to reduce the cost of health care. Absent a comprehensive change in the way health care is paid for in America, the heaviest burden for health care costs is carried by small businesses, many of which can’t afford to provide, and aren’t insulated from wild fluctuations in group costs.

Making the R&D tax credit permanent, and doubling the federal funding for science and technology research over the next ten years.

Invest $250m a year to fund a national network of public-private business incubators to support entrepreneurs during the start-up phase. I think this is a great  initiative as well, but as we’ve seen with the success of Chicago’s TechNexus (now 25 companies are growing there, and there was no public money to support that initiative), it’s critical for the private sector to lead this. Government should encourage business, but not try to lead it. Perhaps that $250m set aside for incubators could best be used as matching grants.