More in a series by the Tribune.

Chicago scored a major win April 9, but it barely registered with most local business leaders. The triumph was Novartis’ eye-popping $8.7 billion buyout of a largely unknown startup called AveXis.

By coming to the Chicago area, AveXis was well-positioned to tap into a deep well of local biotech talent, not only at the laboratory level but in the executive suite as well, thanks to the likes of pharma giants Abbott, AbbVie and Baxter International, health care startups run by serial entrepreneurs such as Glen Tullman and Eric Lefkofsky, and world-class researchers at Northwestern University and

But according to STR, a major hotel data and analytics firm, Chicago’s growth in visitors and hotel occupancy in the first quarter is not unique to the city.