The venture money in Chicago is too conservative. It’s not a great city during the winter. There aren’t enough large, innovative employers in silicon hardware, or software. The state has latent brain drain due to taxes and a few other things. Source: have spent years trying to make it better.

Edit: want to be clear that the money isn’t conservative in a good way, encouraging small, sustainable businesses. It’s reluctant to support those at a reasonable price as well.