Marc J Lane

Strengthening Chicago's Manufacturing Base the Easy Way

mlane@MarcJLane.com (Marc J. Lane) — Thu, 09 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500

Kudos to Gov. Pat Quinn, the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Illinois Medical District Commission on last month's announcement of a new hub for Chicago's thriving bioscience industry. This latest achievement is proof positive that biotechnology means business in Illinois.

According to Ernst & Young LLP, the industry generates more than $98.6 billion in economic output here, employing 81,000 people in more than 3,500 biotech companies. Innovative biotechnology startups have benefited from $1.3 billion in research and development expenditures by Illinois' top seven universities.

But the bigger story is a disappointing one. While the University of Illinois at Chicago's Center for Urban Economic Development reports that from 2010 through the third quarter of 2012, the number of Chicago-area manufacturing jobs grew 5 percent, compared with 4 percent nationally, and the area's manufacturing jobs actually dropped by 185,000 between 2001 and 2011, to 411,000. The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning has reported that the Chicago region's innovation base is deteriorating: The city and its environs lost nearly half their private research and development jobs in the last decade. With less R&D and, consequently, less patent output, next-generation technologies and productivity gains are likely to suffer.

The explanation is a complicated one involving an ecosystem under stress. Some manufacturers, including pharma, tech and machinery, may thrive as the economy regains its footing. Others may fall by the wayside.

Over time the big ideas that capture our imagination will take hold. Our workforce eventually will be dominated by people who have strong skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Our energy infrastructure will become more efficient and give the state a sustainable competitive advantage. A superior transportation network will earn us an edge in the global economy.

OPPORTUNITIES NOW

But, for now, it's the opportunities at hand that warrant action.

Small manufacturers that design and produce components for finished goods should be invited to innovate through collaboration with more established businesses.
Early-stage companies with meaningful commercialization prospects should be encouraged to pursue the federal government's underutilized Small Business Innovation Research or Small Business Technology Transfer funding.
The city and the state should introduce inventors to service providers who can help them turn their viable ideas into successful companies.
Cook County's inequitable tax assessment, which disproportionately burdens manufacturers in Chicago and its neighboring suburbs, should be phased out.
Following the example of the Clean Energy Trust, which attracts capital for clean-tech companies, the state's most promising innovators should gain easier access to grants, loans and equity from private investors, banks, foundations, universities and research institutions.

Making Chicago a leading hub of advanced manufacturing is the very first of 10 strategies included in World Business Chicago's Plan for Economic Growth and Jobs last year. Let's make that priority a reality.

Marc J. Lane is a Chicago attorney and chairman of the Illinois Task Force on Social Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Enterprise.

Reprinted from Marc Lane's May 9, 2013 editorial which appeared in Crain's Chicago Business. Crain Communication Inc.'s permission is gratefully acknowledged. Copyright � 2013 by Crain

The ETF - Managed Portfolio Solution

jstrom@MarcJLane.com (J. Brad Strom, CFA) — Wed, 01 May 2013 10:00:00 -0500

Marc J. Lane Investment Management, Inc. has been providing portfolio management solutions for high net-worth individuals since 2002. Historically, those services have only been made available to our clients with over $500,000 to invest. But now we are offering a competitive solution for clients with investable assets of $100,000 or more. These portfolios benefit from the same sector-allocation analysis that our higher-balance portfolios do. (The only exception is that exchange traded funds (ETFs) are used to gain exposure to economic sectors, rather than stocks and bonds.)

We don

Illinois Task Force on Social Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Enterprise Six Month Report

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0500

The Illinois Task Force on Social Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Enterprise has submitted its six-month report to the Governor and the General Assembly.

View Full Six Month Report.

Time to Thwart the Sales Tax Gambit

mlane@MarcJLane.com (Marc J. Lane) — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 10:00:00 -0500

Over the past three years, Illinois courts have heard one claim after another that cities and towns outside the Regional Transit Authority's six-county territory have illegally lured businesses whose headquarters are within the RTA's taxing authority to set up satellite offices merely to reduce the sales taxes they owe. Adding to the controversy, the exurban municipalities have sweetened their offers by splitting their newfound Illinois sales tax receipts with the companies whose sales are at issue.

The RTA has sued Chicago-based United Airlines, a unit of United Continental Holdings Inc., and the town of Sycamore, where United maintains an office but seems to do little or no business. In Sycamore, the company pays a sales tax of only 8 percent on fuel destined for O'Hare International Airport

Marc J. Lane presents "Legal Structures and Funding Strategies for Social Enterprises"

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0500

Marc J. Lane presents "Legal Structures and Funding Strategies for Social Enterprises"
Social Enterprise Alliance Southeastern Regional Summit. October 30, 2012

Time to Thwart the Sales Tax Gambit

mlane@MarcJLane.com (Marc J. Lane) — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0600

Over the past three years, Illinois courts have heard one claim after another that cities and towns outside the Regional Transit Authority's six-county territory have illegally lured businesses whose headquarters are within the RTA's taxing authority to set up satellite offices merely to reduce the sales taxes they owe. Adding to the controversy, the exurban municipalities have sweetened their offers by splitting their newfound Illinois sales tax receipts with the companies whose sales are at issue.

The RTA has sued Chicago-based United Airlines, a unit of United Continental Holdings Inc., and the town of Sycamore, where United maintains an office but seems to do little or no business. In Sycamore, the company pays a sales tax of only 8 percent on fuel destined for O'Hare International Airport

The Federal Reserve, Interest Rates, and Your Income Requirements

kgreen@MarcJLane.com (Kenneth N. Green, CPA) — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 10:00:00 -0600

Today we find ourselves in what arguably is the most difficult environment for income investors in our nation

Collaborative Startup Communities Bolster Entrepreneurship

eprendergast@MarcJLane.com (Elizabeth A. Prendergast) — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 10:00:00 -0600

Collaboration is the name of the game for the entrepreneurial community in 2013. Startup incubators and accelerators are cultivating the seeds of new business that might not otherwise sprout in the wake of decreased venture capital funding for early stage companies, a decline that PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association predict will continue into 2013.

Despite the increased competition for funding, or perhaps because of it, entrepreneurial ecosystems across the country are flourishing within startup incubators and accelerators. These cooperative programs provide new entrepreneurs with mentorship, practical training, resources and other tools they need to build the successful, sustainable businesses that will attract today

Illinois Task Force on Social Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Enterprise Preliminary Report

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 00:00:00 -0600

The Illinois Task Force on Social Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Enterprise has submitted its preliminary report to the Governor and the General Assembly.

The report was prepared by:
� Marc J. Lane, Chairman of the Task Force
� Brandon Bodor, Executive Director of Serve Illinois
� Mavara Agha, Dunn Fellow at the Office of the Governor

View Full Preliminary Report.

Marc J. Lane Named a 2013 Super Lawyer

success@marcjlane.com — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 00:00:00 -0600

Marc J. Lane has been named by Illinois Super Lawyers magazine as one of the top attorneys in Illinois for 2013. Only five percent of lawyers in the state are named by Super Lawyers.

Super Lawyers selects attorneys using a rigorous, multiphase rating process. Peer nominations and evaluations are combined with third party research. Each candidate is evaluated on 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement. Selections are made on an annual, state-by-state basis.

The objective is to create a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of outstanding attorneys that can be used as a resource for attorneys and consumers searching for legal counsel. Since Super Lawyers is intended to be used as an aid in selecting a lawyer, we limit the lawyer ratings to those who can be hired and retained by the public, i.e., lawyers in private practice and Legal Aid attorneys. (� 2013 Super Lawyers�, a Thomson Reuters business. All rights reserved.)

Marc is a business and tax attorney, a Master Registered Financial Planner, a Registered Financial Counselor and a Certified Investment Specialist. He is the author of 34 books on corporate organization, management, taxation and personal finance. Twice a recipient of the Illinois State Bar Association's Lincoln Award, Mr. Lane teaches law at Northwestern University School of Law and has taught business in the MBA program at the University of Illinois. By appointment of Gov. Pat Quinn, he chairs the State of Illinois