Motorola Mobility, say hello to the Windy City.

Google could be taking its ongoing acquisition to Chicago, if a report by Chicago Business is true. According to sources, Google has been looking into a few separate locations, the sizes of which suggest that the company aims to squeeze 3,000 or so employees into the new space.

One potential location is the Chicago Merchandise Mart (pictured), a massive building currently home to luxury boutiques, show rooms, and restaurants — not to mention office space.

A move to Chicago would be a bit of a homecoming for Motorola, which was founded there as Galvin Manufacturing Corporation in 1928.

Motorola Mobility, however, won’t be moving all that far: Its current headquarters are in Libertyville, a rich suburb forty minutes north of the Windy City. That’s good news for the company’s current employees, who won’t have to go very far to get to the new location.

It’s also good news for Google, which is more likely to attract and retain talent in Chicago than it would be able to elsewhere.

Of course, all of this assumes that Google’s ongoing acquisition of Motorola actually goes through. The deal, which VentureBeats’s own Devindra Hardawar noted still doesn’t make sense, is still being held up in China, though it could see approval by the end of the month.

But the move is evidence that Google has some sort of plan for Motorola, even if no one else is confident that that’s actually the case.

Photo: Flickr user Proxy Indian