As editor of While the plastics industry waits on SPI to decide on a location for NPE, another big trade show has already decided to move away from Chicago.
The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society has decided to hold its 2012 gathering in Las Vegas, instead of Chicago, because of the high cost of labor at McCormick Place, according to a story on the Chicago Tribune's Web site.
The story quotes an unnamed source, and describes the annual show as "a choice piece of business for the city. It draws 24,000 delegates and generates about $52 million in spending locally."
The show rotates between cities -- the next one is scheduled for March 1-4, 2010, in Atlanta.
2012 had been the next time it was scheduled for Chicago.
The medical society's decision "comes less than a month after Mayor Richard Daley told the Tribune editorial board that he will seek a major overhaul in the way Chicago markets itself as a destination for tourism and conventions," the story says.
This decision seems to put more pressure on Chicago to put together a proposal to keep NPE in Chicago in 2012 and 2015.
Plastics Blog readers know SPI plans to choose between Chicago and Orlando, Fla., soon.