The Golden Corridor is the area around the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (Interstate 90), formerly known as the Northwest Tollway, in the Chicago metropolitan area.[1] Its name refers to the "gold" mine of economic profit for communities in the area. Several Fortune 500 company headquarters, office parks, industrial parks, exhibition and entertainment centers, medical facilities, hotels, shopping centers, and restaurants are in the Golden Corridor. With the exception of the O'Hare area of Chicago, all the communities in this region are part of a larger region known as the "Northwest Suburbs".
Major companies
A view of the Rosemont area
Several important companies are headquartered in or have a significant presence in the corridor. They include:
- Sears Holdings, a major department store chain headquartered in Hoffman Estates
- Motorola Solutions, a telecommunications company which used to have a large presence in Schaumburg. (Its headquarters are in Chicago)
- United Airlines, a major airline houses its data center in Elk Grove Township. (Its headquarters are in Chicago)
- Claire's, a retailer of accessories and jewelry to young women, headquartered in Hoffman Estates
- Affiliated Computer Services, an information technology outsourcing company with offices in Schaumburg
- The Nielsen Company, a marketing research firm headquartered in Schaumburg
- U.S. Robotics, a manufacturer of modems headquartered in Schaumburg
- United Stationers, an office products distributor headquartered in Des Plaines
- Big Ten Conference, a collegiate athletics conference headquartered in Rosemont
- Popular, Inc., regional offices in Rosemont
- Sprint Nextel, a telecommunications company with regional offices in Rosemont and Itasca
- Nexicore, a Nationwide onsite computer contractor with offices in Des Plaines
- Zurich Insurance Group, North America headquarters in Schaumburg
- Fifth Third Bank branch offices in the Continental Towers in Arlington Heights
- Chase Bank branch offices in Elgin
- Evangelical Covenant Church, a Protestant religious denomination headquartered in Chicago (O'Hare community area)
- Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, a Protestant religious denomination headquartered in Chicago (O'Hare community area)
- IGA, a supermarket chain headquartered in Chicago (O'Hare community area)
- True Value, a hardware store chain headquartered in Chicago (O'Hare community area)
- U.S. Cellular, a mobile communications service provider headquartered in Chicago (O'Hare community area)
- uBid, an online auction platform company headquartered in Chicago (O'Hare community area)
- XL Capital, A Corporate Insurance Company headquartered in Bermuda, Has Regional offices in Schaumburg
- Siemens Medical Solutions, regional offices in Hoffman Estates
- FANUC Robotics, regional offices in Hoffman Estates
- NEC Display Solutions of America, regional offices in Itasca
- Omron Automation Americas, United States/Americas headquarter in Hoffman Estates
- STMicroelectronics, regional offices in Schaumburg
- Mazak, a Japanese machine tool builder with regional offices in Schaumburg and Elgin
- THK, a Japanese machinery manufacturer with its U.S. headquarters in Schaumburg
- First Midwest Bank, a bank headquartered in Chicago, Illinois
- BMO Harris Bank, a Chicago-based bank with regional offices in Schaumburg
- Comcast, a cable and telecommunications provider with regional offices in Schaumburg
- Chicago Tribune, a Chicago-based newspaper with regional offices in Schaumburg
- The Daily Herald, a suburban Chicago newspaper with headquarters in Arlington Heights and regional offices in Elgin and a printing center in Schaumburg
- Verizon Wireless, a telecommunications company with regional offices in both Elgin and Schaumburg
- Safeco, an insurance company with regional offices in Schaumburg
- Experian (EMS - Experian Marketing Services) a credit information group with regional offices in Schaumburg
- CareerBuilder.com, a career services company headquartered in Chicago (O'Hare community area)
- Pace, suburban Chicago's bus transit provider headquartered in Arlington Heights
- PromoWorks, a marketing services company headquartered in Schaumburg
- Bystronic, a manufacturer headquartered in Hoffman Estates
- DMG Mori Seiki Co., a machining manufacturer USA headquartered in Hoffman Estates
- Trumpf, a manufacturer headquartered in Hoffman Estates
- NSK America, a manufacturer headquartered in Hoffman Estates
- Weber-Stephen Products headquarters in Palatine, Illinois and factory in Huntley
- Regional offices for several major home developers including Taylor Morrison, Pulte and Lennar
- Flexera Software, A software company providing software licensing, compliance and installation solutions for application producers and mid to large enterprises,[2] with headquarters in Itasca[3]
- Expansive industrial parks in Elk Grove Village and Elgin
- Great American Insurance Company, an insurance company with divisions in Schaumburg
- BMW of North America, a German luxury auto manufacturer, with Regional offices in Schaumburg
- Schaumburg Boomers, a professional minor league baseball team located in Schaumburg
Educational institutions
A variety of higher educational institutions are in the Golden Corridor, ranging from branch locations to community colleges to four-year colleges.
Entertainment and exhibition centers
From major arenas to convention centers to theaters to gambling centers, the Golden Corridor is a thriving entertainment center. Major facilities include:
- Allstate Arena, a 16,000-seat arena at Mannheim Road and Interstate 90 in Rosemont. The arena is the home of the Chicago Wolves AHL team, Chicago Sky WNBA team, and DePaul Blue Demons college basketball team.
- NOW Arena, a 10,000-seat arena at Beverly Road and Interstate 90 in Hoffman Estates. The arena is the home of the [[Windy City Bulls [NBA G-League] team.
- The Rosemont Theater, a 4,000-seat theater in Rosemont.
- The Hemmens Cultural Center, a 1,200-seat theater in downtown Elgin. The theater is the home of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra.
- The Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, an 840,000-square-foot (78,000 m2) convention center in Rosemont.
- Schaumburg Convention Center and Renaissance Hotel, a 175,000-square-foot (16,300 m2) convention center and 500-room hotel located at Meacham Road and I-90 in Schaumburg.
- Medieval Times, a dinner-theater located at Roselle Road and Interstate 90 in Schaumburg.
- Legoland Discovery Center in Schaumburg.
- Arlington Park, a major horse racing track in Arlington Heights, along Illinois Route 53, just 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Interstate 90.
- Grand Victoria Riverboat, located in downtown Elgin, a couple miles south of Interstate 90.
- Rivers Casino, a casino located at River Road and Devon Avenue in Des Plaines, on the east side of Interstate 294, just north of Interstate 90. It is Illinois' most-profitable casino.
- Wintrust Field, a 7,000+ seat minor league ballpark located on Springinsguth Road in Schaumburg, a few miles south of Interstate 90. It is home of the Schaumburg Boomers professional minor league baseball team.
Healthcare facilities
Within five miles (8 km) of the Northwest Tollway are a variety of major hospitals, including:
Hotels and restaurants
Nearly every national hotel and restaurant chain can be found along the corridor, as well as numerous independently owned and local chains.
The highest concentration of hotels can be found in the Schaumburg/Arlington Heights and Rosemont/O'Hare areas, with secondary concentrations in Hoffman Estates, Elgin, and Itasca.
Transportation infrastructure
Air transport
Mass transit
Limited access highways
- Interstate 90 ("Jane Addams Memorial Tollway") is the primary interstate highway in the area, providing high-speed limited-access transportation for the corridor. In addition to providing direct highway access to many of the local roads, communities, and amenities of the Golden Corridor, it also provides access to Rockford to the west and downtown Chicago to the east, and extends coast-to-coast, from Seattle to Boston.
- Interstate 190 provides direct access from Interstates 90 and 294 to Chicago-O'Hare International Airport.
- Interstate 290/Illinois Route 53 is a limited access highway that intersects Interstate 90 in Schaumburg near Woodfield Mall. It provides access to the northwest suburbs to the north and to the western suburbs to the south and east, as well as access to downtown Chicago.
- Interstate 294 ("Tri-State Tollway") is a limited access north-south highway that intersects Interstate 90 near Rosemont. It provides access to the northern suburbs and Wisconsin to the north, and provides access to the western and southern suburbs as well as Northwest Indiana to the southeast.
- Illinois Route 390 ("Elgin-O'Hare Tollway") is a limited access highway that runs from U.S. Route 20 in Hanover Park to Thorndale Road in Itasca, providing local access for communities in that area. An eastward extension of the expressway to the west side of Chicago-O'Hare International Airport at York Road is currently under construction, as is a northward leg to Interstate 90 and a southward leg to Interstate 294.
Highways and roads
Local east-west highways that serve the region include Stearns Road, U.S. Route 20 (Lake Street), Illinois Route 19 (Irving Park Road), Thorndale Avenue, Biesterfield Road, Devon Avenue, Illinois Route 72 (Higgins Road and Touhy Avenue), Schaumburg Road, Illinois Route 58 (Golf Road), Illinois Route 62 (Algonquin Road), Kirchoff Road, Dempster Street, Oakton Street, Euclid Avenue, Central Avenue, U.S. Route 14 (Northwest Highway/Ronald Reagan Highway), U.S. Route 12 (Rand Road), Palatine Road, Illinois Route 68 (Dundee Road), Huntley Road, and Big Timber Road.
Local north-south highways that serve the region include Illinois Route 47, Randall Road, Illinois Route 31, Illinois Route 25 (Dundee Avenue), Beverly Road, Illinois Route 59 (Sutton Road), Bartlett Road, Barrington Road, Springinsguth Road, Ela Road, Roselle Road, Plum Grove Road, Quentin Road, Meacham Road, Arlington Heights Road, Illinois Route 83 (Elmhurst Road and Busse Road), York Road, Mount Prospect Road, Wolf Road, U.S. Route 45 (River Road and Lee Street/Mannheim Road), and Illinois Route 171 (Cumberland Avenue).
