Don Henry wants to be judged on jobs.

As the director of the Northwest Region Entrepreneurship Center, the only criterion that matters, he said, is the number of new jobs his organization helps create. Even though the State of Illinois provides the bulk of his budget, Henry isn't bogged down by odious regulations or reporting requirements.

When discussing business climate, the one issue that affects companies across the board is taxation. And however you cut that issue, Iowa has a better business climate than Illinois.

As much progress as each of the Quad Cities has made toward a vibrant downtown, it seems slower than anticipated or promised.

How do we know how well our local economy is faring? We're bombarded with anecdotes - this business closing, this restaurant opening, quarterly earnings from Deere - but how do those translate into a bigger picture?

The "real" world can teach you about marketing, or annual reports, or human resources. The real world can't teach you much about literature, or philosophy, or art.

Juliet Goodfriend thinks that higher education and corporations put too much value on those real-world skills, and not nearly enough emphasis on the liberal arts. In her words, there's too much focus on "professional training at the loss of real education."