There's nothing wrong and everything right about forging Chicago's identity as a hub for innovation. After all, what does innovation yield? Creative energy, revenue and jobs — three things cities need to thrive. U. of I. in Urbana-Champaign is a tech know-how powerhouse, but it's too far away from Chicago to generate a tech community of its own. In 2015, the Tribune reported that the U. of I. produces more engineering graduates than any American school except for the Georgia Institute of Technology. Yet fewer than half of them stay in Illinois.