Carlini's Comments, ePrairie's oldest column, runs every Wednesday. Its mission is
to offer the common man's view on business and technology issues while questioning
the leadership and visions of "pseudo" experts.

CHICAGO - This week, we saw the grand opening of the DuPage National Technology Park in West Chicago. A new 800-acre national technology park is exactly what Illinois needs to catch up to the world, writes adjunct Northwestern professor James Carlini.

On Sept. 26, the ceremony to open the new DuPage National Technology Park (DNTP) was held in a large tent on the property just south of the DuPage Airport. About 150 people attended. The group consisted of local, state and federal dignitaries as well as those representatives of companies involved with the planning, development and operations of the park.

As someone who worked on the initial planning and review of various network infrastructure issues and intergovernmental agreements, I was honored to receive an invitation. The main speakers were:

1. Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the House 2. Dan Goodwin, chairman of the DuPage Airport Authority 3. Jack Lavin, director of commerce and economic opportunity for the state of Illinois 4. Robert Shillerstrom, chairman of the DuPage County Board 5. Mike Fortner, mayor of West Chicago

Also, there were many private-sector people and government officials from around the state who should be recognized for their work and contributions in trying to build up the viability of this state on this project as well as other endeavors.

People Are Starting to Understand
Some of the other people who should be recognized for their work include Fred Reynolds, the CenterPoint Properties executive in charge of the DNTP project; Jack Pressman, the CenterPoint technology advisor; Illinois Sen. Carole Pankow; Peter and Annie Collins, who are leading the charge for fiber connectivity in the Tri-Cities area; and Chet Olson, the mayor of Rochelle, Ill.

Olson exemplifies the municipal leader of the future as he understands that broadband connectivity equals jobs. He did what so many other mayors can't do: he understands the importance of providing a state-of-the-art network infrastructure in order to attract and maintain economic development. There were also many others from Fermi Lab, Argonne National Labs, Northern Illinois University, Battelle, SBC and many other organizations. All of them are very important because they share the drive and motivation to build a new platform and infrastructure for Illinois that most others can't even comprehend.

The whole idea of opening up the new 800-acre DNTP is to attract R&D centers, high-tech companies and others that need to utilize broadband connectivity to conduct global business. We aren't talking about a copper DSL or T-1 connection. This is the real deal where broadband connectivity means a 10-gigabit connection on Starlight, which is a specialized high-speed network.

To get an idea of how fast this is, see the chart below. The chart is a dramatic comparative metric of the time it takes to download a movie. Speed translates into faster applications, new applications and new approaches.

Critical schematics, blueprints, medical imaging or complex video could be downloaded in fractions of a second whereas the same information might take days on dial-up. This will be the real estate differentiator that will attract top-tier clients needing broadband connectivity in order to be globally competitive.

People in real estate have to recognize that the adage is no longer "location, location, location". Instead, "location, location, connectivity" is the new measure for value. This is exemplified by the intelligent amenities offered by places such as the DNTP.

Jack Lavin at the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity predicts that the park will create at least 2,000 new jobs. He says this is an occasion for pride and optimism in Illinois while the state is still trying to shake out all the effects of the last recession.

Dan Goodwin, the CEO of the DuPage Airport Authority as well as CEO of Inland Real Estate, had some good comments as well. He says this park is definitely the highest and best use of this property. He had some very high praise for both the developer, CenterPoint Properties, as well as executive director Jack Tenison.

Turning a Dream Into Reality
This was a bipartisan effort by many state, local and federal people as well as many private-sector companies.

Hastert, who was on hand for the opening ceremony, added to that feeling in his speech. He said this effort wasn't just a couple people working on this but many people at many levels coming together to make this happen for a project that he and others started back in 1998. He put aside his prepared speech and said: "You need two things in Washington, D.C.: patience and persistence. If you have these, things can get done."

The state has to start looking at more job-creation initiatives like this instead of the typical stagecoach projects like road building. Those kinds of industrial-age labor jobs won't fuel the economy of today and tomorrow.

Roads for commerce have become electronic and future viability is based on having a global perspective and a state-of-the-art platform on which to conduct business. The state of Illinois is still lagging behind many other states that have already assembled a broadband initiative for their entire state. We still have a ways to go.

City of Chicago Isn't Alone
How many Millennium Parks could they have built if they first dedicated $500 million into infrastructure improvements for commerce?

What huge economic engine would Chicago have hatched if that money was spent on building a high-tech complex downtown or in one of its underdeveloped neighborhoods? What would Chicago and the region have gotten in real economic returns and growth? These were questions asked around the refreshment table by several different people.

This is where Chicago should be in regards to developing areas of high-paying industries and career-building jobs. What about reclaiming the huge area of the south side steel mills? Is anyone on Daley's staff a real visionary? This technology park shouldn't be the last project for Illinois and the federal government.

With the South getting billions of dollars to rebuild, we have to do more to ensure future viability. We've been hit with a silent tsunami of job cuts before and after 9/11 and we're still trying to recover. While certainly not insignificant, a hurricane appears to be more glamorous for the media to cover and exploit than the disaster of thousands of people getting laid off due to a plant relocation, a bank merger or a slowdown in the tech business.

Getting a new Starbucks built on the corner doesn't create a huge employment opportunity for those wanting to buy a house or raise a family.

We need several more large platforms of state-of-the-art infrastructure in order to supercharge our economic viability. This is how you should judge who you vote for in the next election for every local and state office. The DNTP is the right vision and direction for Illinois and the country. I was very glad to contribute in a very small way to help launch it into a reality.

Carlinism: The roads for commerce have become electronic. There are no stagecoaches needed on the Internet.

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James Carlini is an adjunct professor at Northwestern University. He is also president of Carlini & Associates. Carlini can be reached at james.carlini@sbcglobal.net or 773-370-1888.

Click here for Carlini's full biography.

Copyright 2005 Jim Carlini

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