The Chicago Tri-State metro region is an economic powerhouse with global consequence, significant potential and many challenges. Recently, you should have received an update regarding the formation and early accomplishments of the Tri-State Alliance for Regional Development at the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce “Alliance”. The Alliance will be responsible for creating and executing an implementation plan for the Chicago Tri State Metropolitan Area Territorial Review published by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development this past March.

 

One of the key findings states the region faces challenges associated with implementing region-wide plans to address workforce development, innovation capacity, transportation and logistics, and green growth. Key public and private stakeholders understand what needs to be done and why changes need to be made for the region to be globally competitive. At issue is how to go about developing these action plans in a meaningful way, how to put them into place effectively, and how to monitor progress and measure success over time.

There are few economies that can tout significant achievements in 2011. Brazil, however, is one of the few. With the fifth largest population in the world and the largest economy in South America, Brazil has been catching the attention of investors worldwide. Recent reports estimate that Brazil’s economy is now the sixth-largest in the world, surpassing the United Kingdom. Sugarcane, coffee, tropical fruits, cattle and petroleum have all contributed to helping put Brazil on the map. Not to mention, in 2014 Brazil will host the World Cup and in 2016 the Olympic Games, years that will generate billions of dollars particularly for the tourism and infrastructure sectors.

 

The Illinois General Assembly failed to take any meaningful action on public employee pension reform at the special session on August 17th. The fiscal health of the State, County and City remains in doubt because state leadership cannot agree on the details of a public pension reform proposal.

 

The Illinois Senate had previously passed a bill that would make some changes to the state’s public pension system, but did not include changes for teachers, and authorizing language for the City of Chicago and Cook County. The House failed to act on that bill and the legislature is now not expected to address public pension reform legislation until after the November 6th election.

When it comes to order fulfillment, inventory management, and customer billing, CCOC Members are always looking for ways to be more efficient and reduce costs in their outbound operations. Enter UPS - by integrating UPS shipping technology with your existing order management and accounting systems, you can reduce order fulfillment time, eliminate repetitive key entry of customer data, and reduce errors.

 

You can also prepare your shipments choosing from the broadest portfolio of package and freight services in the industry designed to get your goods where they need to be when they need to be there, by air, ground, or ocean