Takeda, Walgreens, Mondelez are moving thousands of office jobs out of Lake County. Who’s going to take their place? – Chicago Tribune

Even after years of high-profile office moves from the suburbs to downtown Chicago, Lake County’s current predicament stands out. The far north suburban county is bracing for the loss of about 2,700 office jobs by early next year, from prominent companies Walgreens Boots Alliance, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. and Mondelez International.
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debtsor
4 years ago

“Time will tell whether the young workers that companies are seeking in cities will still prefer Chicago to the suburbs as they get older.” Uh, of course they will mostly move to the suburbs. It’s been happening since the 1930’s, not sure why things will suddenly be different now. Only the foolish parents, or the connected parents, actually stay in the city to educate their child in the CPS system. The major real estate tax increases on the entire north side won’t help either. Most of mcdonalds moved downtown and many of the workers lived in the suburbs. The ones… Read more »

willowglen
4 years ago
Reply to  debtsor

I am from the North Shore (Lake County) in the 70’s and most of the wage earning adults then had jobs in the City. People moved to this suburban village for the schools and the culture surrounding those schools. I just went back for my reunion and things really haven’t changed – the schools are the reason people live there – although taxes and political corruption in the State make it a less pleasant place to live now than when I was there. I live in Northern Virginia – the same phenomena obtains. Unless you can get your kid into… Read more »

4 years ago
Reply to  willowglen

Well Northern Virginia has a growing economy due to all the government bureaucrats interfering in our lives. It would be a good idea to move some of those departments/ bureaucrats out of DC area like Trump just did yesterday … Trump administration says it’s moving Bureau of Land Management headquarters to Colorado to cut costs and improve decisions. Who knows, maybe we then get less of it!

debtsor
4 years ago

Yes, money flows into the Capitol city and most of it stays there. That is reflected by the fact that the wealthiest counties in the country are nearly all in the DC area.

willowglen
4 years ago

I agree with the problems created by the Government – and acknowledge that DC has an economic titanium shield. But local government in Virginia is vastly superior to that of Illinois. Property taxes are at 1% of property value, debt is at reasonable levels. and guess what, we have schools and parks and libraries, too. My kids went to what is considered the best high school in the nation in Fairfax, and they did so under a reasonable tax regime. Fairfax is trending towards big spending – a concern I admit. Illinois and Chicago are great warning signs. As a… Read more »

debtsor
4 years ago
Reply to  willowglen

willowglen, there’s an old saying that you can never go home again. Lake County is not what you remember it to be. Many of your friends and family have grown old, or left, or moved on. The places and lifestyle you remember has changed. Loyola Academy has gone from a conservative catholic high school to a totally left wing woke progressive propaganda factory – and New Trier has lurched even further left than that. The days of the ‘Mark Kirk’ electing north shore are long, long gone, and all that remains are the hateful signs that say “no matter where… Read more »

debtsor
4 years ago
Reply to  willowglen

As for the north shore specifically, there aren’t enough wealthy people to occupy all of the wealthy areas in the Chicago region. Everywhere from Northbrook to Oak Brook to Oak Park to Park Ridge to Arlington Heights to Kildeer has gone ‘upscale’ in the last 20 years and the appeal of an unrenovated 80-100 year old four square in Winnetka or Highland Park decreases as other places look more attractive. And the north shore has a lot of baggage, it’s a lot of old people, the taxes are extraordinary, the consumer and snobbish lifestyle is really oft-putting. Like that article… Read more »

mmack
4 years ago
Reply to  debtsor

My wife has a friend whose son is one of those “young workers” these corporations are trying to recruit. He took a job at McDonald’s corporate in Oak Brook and bought a house in Bolingbrook. Then McDonald’s decided to move to the Loop. He sold his house and moved his wife and infant daughter out of Illinois for a job and a house in a more affordable state. Good job McDonald’s.

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