Gov. Pritzker Celebrates Tech and Business Community at 1871 Alumni Event

Chicago — Gov. JB Pritzker joined his fellow 1871 alumni to celebrate Chicago's flourishing tech and business community.
 
The following are the governor's remarks as prepared for delivery:
 
7 years ago, 1871 was just an idea. I drew it on a napkin and got help from everyone I know to put the plan together.
 
I knew Chicago had the talent, the creativity, and the engineering chops. What we needed was the platform for startups to get off the ground, grow, and thrive.
 
As 1871 hits its 7th anniversary next month, there's no doubt it has far exceeded everyone's expectations.
 
650 startup companies born here.
 
Over 8,000 jobs brought to the Illinois economy.
 
That's a credit to each and every one of the 1871 Alumni and your backers. All of you helped turn this into a place where ideas and creativity flourish, where innovation prospers, where dynamic businesses are born.
 
Chicago is now one of the top tech cities in the country. You did that. 1871 and the entrepreneurial drive of our community did that. You turned our big idea into a factory for innovation and job creation that's become the envy of cities across the world.
 
So many people participated in the creation and founding of 1871. We brought the best-established leaders in our tech community together with our city's entrepreneurs and something very special happened.
 
I'm proud to have joined you all for the ride and I'm ready for what comes next. I don't view what happened here as a one-time occasion. 1871 is a roadmap for what we can do all across the state of Illinois.
 
With some of the best research universities in the world, with one out of ten computer science degrees in the nation coming from Illinois, with nearly 10,000 startups founded on our university campuses alone, the foundation for success is already here.
 
Now we need to bring the leadership and ingenuity found at 1871 to our state government.
 
My administration is committed to doing just that. In fact, just today 1871 alumna Kristi Dula joined our team to run the Office of Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Technology.
 
She joins a Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, led by a former senior leader at Uber, Erin Guthrie, who is hard at work to ensure businesses can start and grow in Illinois, jobs are created, and our students have the training they need to fill them.
 
This is a time of enormous promise and opportunity for this state's economy, and I know I can count on all of you to be partners in the work ahead.