Regional Review

Everyone's Business: Building Minority Businesses to Scale for Our Region's Future defines the obstacles to reaching that next level and suggests public and private sector support strategy. ...more

What describes the unique blend of visionary energy and tactical smarts so often found in people who get things done? The phrase we think fits is "strategic impatience." Good leaders are impatient to spark action but understand that good strategy can make sure the action yields the result they want. Last September, when the Economy League sponsored the Leadership Exchange visit to Chicago, we wanted to see what happens when enough people get both strategic and impatient. ...more

More and more business people, focused on the labor pipeline fueling their companies, are coming to see early education as a smart investment that pays off many times down the road -- a return increased by the "social costs" avoided if a kid gets a good start to his or her education. That's the theme of this issue: exploring the connections between early education, economic development, and ultimately, the economic future of our city, region, and state. ...more

Is there any topic that’s been the subject of more civic “beer talk” than “regionalism”? Probably not. ...more

In the words of Daniel Burnham, the great architect and planner who had an enormous influence on the development of the city of Chicago, “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work . . . Think big.” ...more

John F. Kennedy said, “Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education. The human mind is our fundamental resource.” This is even more true today than when he spoke those words 40 years ago — particularly for Philadelphia. ...more