alt Hacker NewsConsidering that push into Chicago started with Rauner, I’m not surprised.
It was suppose to also include a large campus in the Loop but that floundered for years and was eventually cancelled when UIUC decided to instead be a partner in the new quantum computing center on the south side.
The push into Chicago was independent of Springfield. It was almost entirely private sector driven and Pritzker's PortCos also participated.
The Quantum Exchange being in South Side occured becuase it's tied to Argonne, Fermilab, and by extension UChicago.
Once you climb high enough the ladder everyone basically has the exact same interests, especially in cities like Chicago.
Something something 1871, ChicagoNEXT, Techstars Chicago, UChicago, Northwestern, UIUC, Purdue
It's the same way Penny (JB's sister and former Secretary of Commerce under Obama) and Ken donate oodles to Harvard because it is their undergrad alma mater (eg. Pritzker Commons, Pritzker Hall, Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences).
Also, Ken couldn't control Rauner given that Rauner was equally wealthy (he founded and chaired GTCR with Carl Thoma of Thoma Bravo fame).
Pritzker and Rauner is basically two sides of the same coin where both were essentially retired but in the same circles and decided to compete because of personal ambition.