Chicago's hot in January

Who would have thought it? According to a press release, six major conventions and tradeshows—The American Baseball Coaches Association, the Mid-American Horticultural Trade Show, the International Air-Conditioning, Heating, Refrigerating Expo, and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons—are heading to Chicago in January, bringing about $60 million to the city.

I know the Society of Thoracic Surgeons is a relocation from New Orleans (as is the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, which is headed to Chicago in March), since I talked to them for an article in Medical Meetings, but it sounds like the others were already on the books. I bet the Chicago CVB has its party hat on—what a way to start 2006.