Chicago is losing Convention Business

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While watching the news I heard a story about Chicago losing Convention Business and how that would effect the local economy. It seems that the Convention business is a billion dollar a year business for the city. The people who attend spend a lot of money on hotels, meals and transportation. There is also a fair amount of general spending. When a convention books or cancels it is becoming a big deal to the city. It impacts jobs and taxes for the city. Why do people choose Chicago for a convention? 1. Location - Chicago is a major transportation Hub. It is also a major business center along with state of the art Medical Facilities. 2. Reputation - Chicago is a place people want to travel to and do things. 3. Facilities - Chicago has excellent hotels and restaurants and a fantastic Convention Center in McCormick Place. 4. many interesting things to do and see in Chicago This does not suprise me because Chicago is a fascinating city. What did suprise me was the list of reason why conventions were leaving Chicago. 1. The cost due to taxes on the Hospitality Industry. 2. The Cost of doing business with the Labor Unions and the Union work rules. 3. The financial benefits offered by other cities. I talked to my daughter who was a vendor at a trade show in Chicago. She told me that in most shows the vendors will set up their booth. In Chicago anything that comes in the door must be handled by Union workers. They had to pay a person to take the boxes from the van to a cart where they had to pay another person to move it 50 feet to their booth. Most other conventions they have the choice and they do have a small cart that they use to haul their few items, but not in Chicago you have to pay Union wages to have every little thing done, even if you could do it yourself. When are the Unions going to realize that they are ruining this country.