Here’s a live run-down of the proceedings:

8:15 a.m. Goldman: “We’ve had manufacturers from various industries come into our facilities and have seen many other existing manufacturers growing. There’s a general sense of optimism.”

8:16 a.m. Goode: “We’re seeing deals and companies making deals quicker because there’s less supply than there was a few years ago and the demand is better.”

8:19 a.m. Goldman on the buy-vs-own calculus: “The low interest rates combined with SBA financing makes it more beneficial (for some smaller users) to buy a building.”

8:21 a.m. — Stoller on what lawmakers can do to bring more manufacturing jobs to Illinois: “Illinois is not really participating in e-commerce (distribution). Those users will go to Louisville or they’ll go to Indianapolis. Hopefully the national sales tax will help change that.”

8:25 a.m. Goode: “Our problem in Illinois is the people in Springfield who need to figure out that they need to help us a little bit.”

8:28 a.m. Clewlow: “Our tea leaves tell us that Madigan and Cullerton are going to come together and pass pension reform. I think things are moving ahead and that will make an impact.”

8:30 a.m. Goode: “The Midwest is like the Southeast. They know how to make things and they like manufacturing. So companies are always going to bring manufacturing here.”

8:32 a.m. Clewlow on southeast Wisconsin: “What we’ve seen is that distributors are moving south and out of Milwaukee near the state line. I think you’re going to more of that from anyone who’s supply-chain oriented.”

8:34 a.m. Stoller on investor interest in B-class industrial product: “I think you’re going to see more of it. What’s changed is that the capital markets are more aggressive and the cap rates for A are falling. Plus, the fundamentals for B are improving.”

8:36 a.m. Goldman on whether value-add investors are seeing opportunities: “In virtually every market, every building is value-add in some way. There’s so much mature product. There are going to be millions and millions of square feet that need value add, so I’m very optimistic.”

8:39 a.m. Goldman on the local brokerage community: “I think there’s an elevated sophistication with the transaction brokers. I think we’ve become a very efficient market.”

8:45 a.m. Clewlow’s prediction for the rest of 2013 and beyond: “Illinois could very well be the next frontier for fracking. That’s something to keep an eye on.”

8:47 a.m. Goode’s prediction: “I think you’re going to see more construction … Build-to-suit and spec development.”

8:48 a.m. Goldman’s predictions: “I’m starting to drink the kool-aide that Rey rates are going to start to rise.”

8:49 a.m. Stoller’s predictions: “E-commerce is such a huge driver of warehouse leasing across the US and we haven’t yet seen that in Illinois, but that’s going to change if the tax issues are settled.”

8:50 a.m. Goode on the lending climate: “Banks are looking to get money out for the right deals.”

The two properties are comprised of a combined 340 acres and offer shovel-ready sites for build-to-suit facilities of up to 1.5 million SF.

Trevor Ragsdale, who is  leading the marketing efforts for owner Venture One Real Estate along with colleagues along with colleagues Steve Trapp, Kelly Gray and Michael Connor, recently told GlobeSt.com that the parks are ideal for a wide variety of users due to the region’s relatively low coasts, highly-skilled labor force and pro-business governments.

“The combination of a sustainable skilled labor force, low occupancy costs, and access to the upper Midwest population centers positions both of these parks to compete on a total-landed-cost-basis with any other park in the Chicago area.”

Click here to read the full story.

Chicago’s Aon Center — home to Jones Lang LaSalle’s global headquarters — is turning 40 this year.

The occasion recently caught the attention of the popular commercial real estate newsletter BisNow, which published a story featuring the building’s leasing agents, JLL’s Steve Smith and Mike Curran.

Click here (and scroll down to second item) to read the story learn more about the factors driving leasing velocity at the builing and in the ever-evolving East Loop submarket …

More than 600 CRE executives from 545 large companies (ie, more than 1,000 employees) in 39 countries shared their insightsand helped to identify five global trends that will impact the future of corporatre real estate. They are outlined in the brief video above.

Click here to download the full report.

Jones Lang LaSalle has been known throughout the industy for years as the home to some of commercial real estate’s brightest young talent.  Now, the media is beginning to take notice as well.

This week, Nooshin Felsenthal, Vice President in our Capital Markets Group, was included on Crain’s Chicago Business‘s first-ever “20 in their 20s” list of young, up-and-coming business leaders.

(The recognition follows colleague Matt Carolan‘s inclusion on Crain’s venerable “40 Under 40″ list late last year.)

Nooshin — pictured here with colleagues Bruce Miller and Jim Postweiler after winning the “Investment Sales Team of the Year” Award at last year’s GCFD Commercial Real Estate Awards Dinner — has been a key component of the team that has sold some of the best-known office buildings in Chicago in recent years including the Wrigley Building, the Board of Trade Building, 150 N. Michigan Avenue and 540 W. Madison.

Miller sums up her importance to the team this way:

“She demands complete excellence out of not only herself but everyone she works with,” says Bruce Miller, one of the Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. managing directors for whom she works. “That makes all of us better.”

Click here to read the full Crain’s story.

It may come as no surprise to those of us who call the city home, but Chicago got some positive publicity recently when it was ranked No. 4 on a new list of the “Happiest Cities for Young Professionals” published by the online career site CareerBliss.com.

Chicago ranked behind San Jose, San Francisco and Washington DC on the list and ahead of such locales as San Diego, Houston, Phoenix and Boston.  New York and Los Angles were not mentioned.

The list was based on reviews from more than 45,000 young professionals who were asked to rate their current employer based on 10 factors: relationship with their boss and co-workers, work environment, job resources, compensation, growth opportunities, company culture, company reputation, daily tasks and control over the work one does on a daily basis.

Click here to read a story on the list by Forbes.com.

For the sixth straight year, JLL has been recognized by the Ethisphere Institute as one of the “World’s Most Ethical Companies.“

In addition, the firm was also recently named one of “America’s Most Trustworthy Companies” by Forbes magazine and one of the “100 Best Corporate Citizens” by CR Magazine.

Click here to read more about these three new awards and JLL’s overall commitment to ethics and integrity.

The Jones Lang LaSalle Capital Markets team has been hired to pursue the sale-leaseback of the six-building, 575,000-SF Walgreen Co. headquarters complex in north suburban Deerfield, part of a larger national trend toward single-tenant net-lease transactions.

According to Jones Lang LaSalle Research, single-tenant net-lease transactions are expected to top $40 billion in 2013, up from $31 million in 2012 and $25 million in 2011.

Guy Ponticiello, Managing Director of JLL’s Corporate Finance & Net Lease Group, said that a variety of facotros are at play including an expected uptick in corporate M&A activity, the move by private equity firms to monetize their portfolio companies’ strong underlying real estate assets, and a desire by corporations to put their capital to better use.

As he told GlobeSt.com in a recent interview:

“There is just not enough quality net lease product to satisfy investor demand at the moment, so the time is right for savvy corporates to take advantage of the lack of supply.”

For more details on the Walgreen Co. listing, click here to read the Chicago Tribune’s recent story on the offering.

According to new Jones Lang LaSalle Research findings cited in this story by Crain’s Chicago Business, the vacancy rate in the suburbs fell to 24.4 percent in Q1 2013 thanks to more than 135,000 square feet of positive net absorption.

While that number might just be “a blip” on the radar, according to JLL suburban tenant representative Gregg Raus, the more telling number might be eight, as in the number of tenants currently scouting the market for requirements of 100,000 square feet and larger.

Tenants are also rethinking the way they use space, Raus says, with more and more companies now considering open-plan designs for the first time:

“Companies are moving to a more collaborative environment, and I think  you’re going to see that dictating moves rather than renewals. It’s too expensive and too disruptive to stay in place and do a remodel.”

Click here to read the full Crain’s story.

Crain’s Chicago Business

In the story, JLL Midwest Retail Director Mark Hunter details the group’s plans to double the size of its Chicago retail team and leasing/management portfolio over the next five years.

(The firm got a head start on that effort earlier this month with the hiring of veteran retail leasing agents Claire Bitautas and Anne Imming.)

JLL currently leases more than 3.5 million square feet of retail space here locally, yet is not well-known for its retail prowess. As Hunter told Crain’s in the interview:

“JLL is probably more known for office than we are for retail. Once we  have the opportunity to show the amount of retail space that we currently are  responsible for, whether it be in Chicago, the Midwest or throughout the  country, our results for the most part speak for themselves.”

Click here to read the full Crain’s story.