Chicago

McDonald's HQ in Oak Brook Eyed as Possibility for Amazon's New Headquarters

Restaurant giant McDonald’s is moving out of its Oak Brook headquarters and into Chicago, but could the campus lure another massive company to the suburb?

That headquarters is one of the rumored possible landing spots for the much-sought after second headquarters for Amazon, which is holding a nationwide competition as it looks for a location to house a massive facility that could create 50,000 jobs and billions in economic benefits to the area lucky enough to land it.

“We have low taxes, low government, low crime, and outstanding public schools,” DuPage County Chairman Dan Cronin said.

Cronin says that it is working with the city of Chicago, who is rumored to be one of the biggest contenders for the new facility. He says that if any city in the region gets the headquarters, it will be a boon to the entire region’s economy.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has launched an all-out effort to land the project, and has floated several potential locations, including the Thompson Center, the old post office, and the former location of the Finkl steel plant.

Not everyone is enthused about the project, as Illinois gubernatorial candidate Daniel Biss cautioned about giving up too much to land Amazon’s new campus.

“When states compete with each other, trying to hand out as big of incentives as possible, they get trapped in a race to the bottom,” he said.

Cities in other states are also in on the bidding, including Austin, Atlanta, and St. Louis, but even if Oak Brook doesn’t land the project, Chairman Cronin says the McDonald’s headquarters will not sit empty.  

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