Chicago's other tech incubator is here

If you're looking for Chicago's top incubator for business startups in life sciences and other hard-core technologies, you won't find it in River North's lofts or among the medical centers on the West Side.

Instead, you need to head to the South Side, where you'll find several nondescript, World War II-era buildings on the campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology. Inside is state-of-the-art lab equipment used in everything from drug production and diagnostic tests to making advanced batteries and custom microchips.

“This is where big ideas go to happen,” says David Baker, IIT's vice president for external affairs. “We've created real companies that have succeeded and grown. We've proven we're a critical component of the ecosystems the city wants to grow—life sciences and clean tech.”