Mark talks to Crain’s Chicago Business on why Chicago isn’t the fintech hub it could be.

From the article:

Chicago has all the building blocks to become a hotbed of financial technology startups?so why isn’t it happening?

The latest sign that this years-long dream may never be realized: a plan to create a hub for fintech entrepreneurs and networking at the Chicago Board of Trade building has fallen apart due to lack of capital.

The Chicago area is home to some of the biggest U.S. fintech players, including futures exchange operator CME Group; mutual fund research firm Morningstar; and credit card company Discover. They’ve groomed a well-paid pool of professionals, some of whom have become entrepreneurs and angel investors. Chicago also has enviable infrastructure: It’s one of a half-dozen key vertebrae in the nation’s digital backbone, placed at the center of the fiber optic cable connections between New York and California.

Still, Chicago’s aim to become a 21st-century fintech center is at best limping along.

“We have a deep bench of experience and talent in this city that no other financial center ? can match, so it makes sense that Chicago should also be the global leader when it comes to fintech,” says Mark Longo, founder of Chicago-based Options Insider Media Group and a group of fintech professionals. “I would love to see the city’s leaders take more proactive steps to make that happen.”

Read the whole article.