Amazon, one last nudge: Come to Chicago

Before year’s end, Amazon plans to choose the location for its second headquarters. The company and Jeff Bezos, its founder and CEO, have 20 finalists, including Chicago. At stake is a transformative investment: The digital behemoth says it will spend more than $5 billion to establish a corporate campus that over 10 to 15 years will hire up to 50,000 people. Many will be well-paid software engineers.

Imagine all those new jobs in Chicago, supporting families and neighborhoods throughout the region. As we said, transformative.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants Amazon. Boston wants Amazon. So does the Washington, D.C., area. Atlanta, Indianapolis, Columbus — they’re all on the company’s shortlist. We aren’t privy to what Bezos is thinking. We do know the company visited all 20 sites and then made return trips to several cities, including New York, Newark and Chicago. Mr. Bezos, you should pick Chicago. The city evidently meets your must-have criteria. If you’re weighing our town against several other sites, trust that Chicago’s the right place for Amazon and its employees. Consider this our endorsement. Hey, it’s election season and we’re in the mood to size up candidates.

About those criteria: Chicago is a finalist because it fits Amazon’s stated preferences to locate in or near a big city with an international airport, a highly educated labor pool, a good university system and a strong business climate. Sure, that’s Chicago, but it’s also Austin and Philadelphia. Add a few daily flights and probably it’s Indianapolis, too.

What sets Chicago apart is its economic and cultural dynamism. The city’s been on a decadelong tear of drawing big employers downtown in order to attract millennials who want to work and live in urban settings. Each trend reinforces the other: More jobs lead to more restaurants, breweries and theaters, which lead to more workers, apartment construction and people enjoying the lakefront and riverwalk. Then more CEOs decide to locate in Chicago, further enhancing the city’s reputation as a global business capital and a great place to sink roots. A friend of ours, a CEO, grouses about transferring employees to Chicago. Once here, they won’t leave.

No doubt, Tribune readers would add their own attributes to the list. The architecture! The Midwestern friendliness! The no-longer-hapless Bears! But Chicago pulls away from the pack in part because it still has room to grow. Amazon needs a second headquarters city because it outgrew hometown Seattle. Here several prime locations can accommodate Amazon’s ambition. Among them: The Tribune has reported that Amazon officials returned to look at a large, undeveloped parcel between the South Loop and Chinatown.

Yes, Chicago is a flawed city in a flawed state. Crime takes a tragic toll on people who live in impoverished neighborhoods. We’ve also been frank in assessing Illinois’ chronic mismanagement of public finances. Amazon’s desire for a stable, business-friendly environment may have the company wondering whether to bypass Chicago. We doubt that the pending departure of Amazon’s booster, the mayor, is a factor. Amazon is making a long-term investment, not a bet on any one politician’s help.

Whether Amazon succeeds in Chicago or anywhere else will be on Amazon. What this city can offer is a nearly two-century record as a place that no fire or fury could defeat. A place where things get done.

Chicago strives as tirelessly as any city to imagine, to build, to sell. To welcome. It’s a high-energy headquarters town, diverse in its people and versatile in its skill set.

Amazon would fit in here. Mr. Bezos, we hope you’ll agree.