Manufacturing business incubator launched in Chicago

When you think of the term “business incubator,” you typically think computers and software, but Illinois’ newest business hub will be geared toward new manufacturing business.

mHub is a joint collaboration between the city of Chicago, and private companies and organizations. The project’s leaders joined Mayor Rahm Emanuel Wednesday at the West Chicago facility to explain the goal of fostering innovation and ultimately creating new manufacturing jobs in the state.

Emanuel boasted of the new innovation center’s potential effect on Chicago’s industrial sector.

“mHUB will unite the manufacturing sector with our vibrant technology-focused entrepreneurial scene, and will encourage new and existing manufacturing as a driver of growth for our city thanks to new applications in product development and manufacturing,” Emanuel said.

The announcement comes at a perilous time for Illinois’ manufacturing sector. With consistent monthly job losses, employers facing the nation’s highest property taxes and Chicago needing hundreds of millions in tax hikes to shore up its mismanaged pension funds, Illinois’ goods-producing sector needs all the help it can get. One analyst with credit firm Moody’s Financial said last month that the city would have to raise $1 billion more in taxes beyond what it has already imposed to stop its growing unfunded pension obligations.

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