Retaining tech talent in Illinois

Chicago Inno (Dec. 1) -- Lately, there's been a lot of talk about Chicago's tech community and its perceived flaws. But how bad is brain drain really? According to the Illinois Science and Technology Coalition, more than two-thirds (68%) of startups founded in Illinois universities from 2009 to 2014 remain in the state today. The ISTC's study found that a total of 576 university startups were created during that time, and 78% are active today. Looking specifically at University of Illinois' engineering students, almost half of all graduates (47%) stay in state, with the next biggest recipient of talent being California at 10%. This migration isn't necessarily surprising given that Illinois' engineering program is ranked 4th in the world. College of Engineering Dean Andreas Cangellaris noted that companies from all over the world vie for these grads, and students often have their choice of many strong offers out of school.