As president of the Northwest & Schaumburg Association of Commerce and Industry, Leona Zanetti is perplexed why village officials paid a consultant $8,000 to find an answer to a seemingly simple question: Should Schaumburg have its own chamber of commerce?
“We are Schaumburg’s chamber and have been since our inception in 1976,” said Zanetti. “We also represent other towns in the northwest suburbs, which makes us a dual chamber. Our members get two chambers in one–we are regional, but Schaumburg is still our hub and center of the organization.”
The results of the recent study conducted by the Illinois Institute of Technology indicate many business owners would prefer that Schaumburg have a separate chamber in addition to NSACI, a concept embraced by officials in neighboring communities such as Arlington Heights, Palatine and Rolling Meadows.
Still, critics of the Schaumburg Business Development Commission’s interest in studying the need for a hometown chamber insist that Schaumburg is best represented by a regional consortium of business owners, reflecting a national and global economy. Some officials suggest a regional organization like NSACI can offer its members a separate branch exclusively for Schaumburg, with each group focused on a distinct but united mission.
James Beaumont, vice president of the Illinois State Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Springfield, said he is witnessing two trends across the state: Several countywide and regional chamber groups have been established Downstate, at the same time, chamber groups focusing on one town are gaining popularity as well.
Beaumont points to the Greater O’Hare Association as an example of a regional organization recognizing the need to establish a sub-chamber group. The association established a separate chamber devoted to the Elk Grove Village business community.
“A town sometimes needs a different niche aside from just a regional chamber,” said Beaumont. “The best thing for Schaumburg to do may be starting a chamber under the auspices of (NSACI).”
Schaumburg Mayor Al Larson said Schaumburg may be represented by NSACI, but the organization supports dozens of other communities as well.
“The folks at NSACI feel threatened by the initiative to see if Schaumburg should have its own chamber–that’s a given,” said Larson, adding that it is up to local business leaders, not officials at Village Hall, to determine the outcome of the debate.
For Schaumburg CPA and investor Larry Mazzeffi, it makes no sense for the village to be represented only by a regional chamber group.
“I think there are issues that are unique to every town, and should be unique to every chamber,” Mazzeffi said. “For example, some people talk about zoning issues being decided regionally, but my feeling is it shouldn’t be taken out of the hands of the local residents.”
Others disagree, citing a wish to meet business leaders from outside their hometown. “I think I probably would not join a more local group because in business, we should be thinking nationally and globally,” said Christopher Galassi, a software engineer from Schaumburg. “A larger chamber is much less limiting.”
WHERE CORPORATIONS CALL HOME
Here are the publicly traded companies with corporate headquarters in Schaumburg and Hoffman Estates and their national figures:
Career Education Corp., 2800 W. Higgins Rd., Hoffman Estates. Business: Educational services. Sales: $144 million. Employees: 1,200. Founded: 1994.
Insurance Auto Auctions Inc., 850 E. Algonquin Rd., Schaumburg. Business: Automobile auctioneer. Sales: $287 million. Employees: 625. Founded: 1982.
Intercargo Corp., 1450 E. American Lane, Schaumburg. Business: Transportation and trade insurance. Sales: $61 million. Employees: 150. Founded: 1985.
Motorola Inc., 1303 E. Algonquin Rd., Schaumburg. Business: Communications equipment manufacturer. Sales: $29 billion. Employees: 133,000. Founded: 1928.
Sears Roebuck and Co., 3333 Beverly Rd., Hoffman Estates. Business: Retailer. Sales: $41 billion. Employees: 324,000. Founded: 1886.
Sundance Homes Inc., 1375 Woodfield Rd., Schaumburg. Business: Home builder. Sales: $108 million. Employees: 140. Founded: 1975.
TRO Learning Inc., 1721 Moon Lake Blvd., Hoffman Estates. Business: Computer software developer. Sales: $37 million. Founded: 1989.
Source: Sorkins Directories, courtesy of Uri Toch, reference librarian, Schaumburg Public Library.
