Brian Walker | CEO of AE Marketing Group

Incredible city. Grew up there. Architectural legacy and stock is just wonderful. The lakefront is a treasure, as are its parks. The people are fantastic. So much going for it. There are many obvious problems (crime being the most obvious), but there's a deeper one: Chicago itself already believes it's a world-class city like NY and LA. But it's not. But it thinks it is. And that's a major hold back. Chicago lacks self-awareness of where it really stands. All that said, it doesn't need to be anything more than it is. It could be, but it doesn't need to be. But if it thinks it's something it's not, then the mismatch is a latent problem that'll prevent it from fulfilling whatever additional potential it thinks it has.