Why Headquarter in Chicagoland?

Why Associations Choose Chicagoland

Today more than ever, Chicagoland is the ideal site for national and international associations and nonprofit organizations to headquarter. Centrally located, associations based in Chicagoland have easy access to their members, experience savings in travel and operation costs, and can draw upon a large community of association professionals.

Chicagoland encompasses downtown Chicago, including the famous Loop and Michigan Avenue, and a menagerie of suburbs in a six-county area.  Chicagoland is the nation's second largest association community, representing nearly 2,000 membership organizations that contribute more than $22 billion in economic impact globally.  Collectively, Chicagoland associations control more than $8 billion in meetings and convention expenditures and employ more than 47,000 association professionals, with annual collective salary budgets exceeding $3 billion.

The Association Forum of Chicagoland, which has more than 3,000 members, provides an array of educational and networking opportunities to advance the power of associations through effective association management.

Chicagoland is Accessible
Chicago is the most accessible city in the country.  The transportation hub of the Midwest, Chicago boasts the world's busiest airport and is located at the intersection of the busiest interstate highway system.  Approximately, 180,000 travelers pass through O'Hare International Airport daily.  Chicago is the only U.S. city with three airline hubs, plus 50 commercial, commuter, and cargo airlines at O'Hare alone.  When combined, O'Hare, Midway, and several small local airfields serve nearly 70 commercial, commuter, and cargo airlines with more than 300 daily flights to approximately 200 cities.  All told, the Chicago area offers more nonstop flights than any other city.

And, in an increasingly important global economy, airline carriers offer direct service from O'Hare to 60 cities around the world.

Operating Costs are Lower
In Chicagoland, commercial real estate is abundant, diverse, and less expensive than cities on either coast or of similar caliber.  And, in Chicagoland, there are pooled purchase-power arrangements permitting associations to save on various association office needs.

Because Chicago's office market is the third largest in North America and Europe, associations can easily find the space that meets their size and budgetary requirements.  An association renting class A space in Chicago spends considerably less than for comparable space in Washington, D.C., and New York.  Associations with headquarters in many of Chicago's suburbs experience even greater cost savings.

At both the executive and staff levels, association wages are lower in Chicagoland than other major association communities.  Because most associations have such a large percentage of their budget attributed to salaries, the difference in wage scale is a major benefit for associations headquartered in Chicagoland.

In addition, Chicagoland's central location means lower postal, shipping, telephone, and teleconferencing rates than from either coast.

Associations also benefit from the fact that Illinois' not-for-profit incorporation act features no service taxes and no lease taxes.

Support Services and Networking Opportunities Strengthen Associations
Chicagoland is rich in resources, both physical and professional.  Augmenting the area's pool of association management professionals is an unusually large and knowledgeable bank of vendors who specialize in associations, such as legal, financial, technology, printing, meetings, and insurance.  These local industry specialists understand associations and their needs.

The Association Forum successfully serves the nation's second largest association and nonprofit business community and its suppliers by capitalizing on high customer intimacy and accessibility to:

• Deliver superior professional education for all levels of expertise and special interests.
• Serve as an information broker between internal and external audiences via member services, networking, technology, and traditional communications vehicles.
• Enhance the careers of its members and identify qualified talent for association employers.
• Represent the public service role of associations and nonprofit organizations to members, government, media, and the public.

In addition, the Association Forum publishes a monthly magazine for association professionals and operates a popular Internet-based job and resume referral service.

Meeting Facilities are Abundant
Meetings, conventions, and trade shows are synonymous with associations, and Chicagoland is a mecca for meetings.  From the spectacular city and suburban hotels to gigantic exposition centers to resort retreats, Chicagoland meeting and convention facilities meet every need and every budget.

Two of the most popular meeting venues are McCormick Place and Navy Pier.  Often called the hub of convention industry, McCormick Place has 2.2 million square feet of exhibit halls.  The facility has 114 meeting rooms and offers assembly seating for more than 10,000 people.

In 1999, McCormick Place became an even more accessible meeting and convention center through several improvements, including relaxed work rules, a unified labor pool, more affordable overtime and electrical savings.  In the future, McCormick Place will also have additional parking facilities and a direct bus route between many downtown hotels and the meeting halls.

Navy Pier has more than 170,000 square feet of exhibit space, with nearly 44,000 square feet of adjacent meeting room space.  And, the exhibit and meeting facilities are complemented by more than 100 acres of shops, museums, and restaurants.

There are also many options available for those who prefer to meet in the suburbs, including the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center (formerly known as the Rosemont Convention Center) in Rosemont, situated just five minutes from O'Hare International Airport and at the junction of Chicago's major area expressways.  This facility is the nation's tenth largest meeting, convention, and trade show facility with 700,000 square feet of flexible exhibition space.  The adjacent Conference Center and Ballroom offer an additional 52,000 square feet for up to 28 meetings.

Hotel rooms in the Chicagoland area are abundant.  The city of Chicago alone boasts 30,000 hotel rooms ranging in price from $89 to $500 per night for a standard room.  The area surrounding O'Hare has 8,306 rooms available, with Rosemont offering more than 4,500 rooms.

Who's Chosen Chicagoland Lately?
Here's just a handful of organizations that have recently relocated to the Chicagoland area.  Come join them ... and us!

• American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (from Boston, MA)
• APICS - The Association for Operations Management (from Alexandria, VA)
• Professional Convention Management Association (from Birmingham, AL)
• Society of Critical Care Medicine (from Los Angeles, CA)
• Steel Service Institute (from Cleveland, OH)
• Trade Show Exhibitors Association (from Washington, D.C.)

To Learn More
The Association Forum welcomes the opportunity to show you firsthand why so many associations have chosen Chicago and its outlying suburbs to locate their headquarters.  To learn more about relocating to Chicagoland, obtain customized proposals, or to arrange a site-inspection trip, please contact Association Forum President & CEO Gary LaBranche, CAE at labranche@associationforum.org or 312-924-7070.

The Association Forum looks forward to serving you and to adding your organization to the Chicagoland association family!