Crain's Chicago Business: Chicago's New Economy

John Pletz has been covering technology, new companies and the people who are funding them in Chicago for the past seven years; since 2012, he's been blogging on the fast-growing sector in Crain's On Technology blog. Last year, John and real estate reporter Ryan Ori provided an in-depth look at how tech companies are changing the real estate economy. John also is an armchair economics geek with an interest in the Illinois economy and how it compares to the rest of the Midwest. Before joining Crain's he wrote about the tech boom and bust in Austin, Texas. He grew up Downstate in Pontiac and graduated from University of Illinois.

Kristen Schorsch is a health care reporter. Since joining Crain's Chicago Business in 2011, Kristen has followed the money within the hospital, health insurance and pharmaceutical industries and covered their dramatic transformations under the Affordable Care Act. Previously, she spent eight years as a reporter covering crime, courts, government, higher education and news of the weird for Chicago Tribune, the Daily Southtown and the Iowa City Press-Citizen. A University of Illinois graduate, Kristen is a longtime board member of the Chicago Headline Club, the largest chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists in the nation.

Ryan Ori has covered commercial real estate for Crain's Chicago Business since 2011. In August, he and colleague John Pletz's produced a special report, Chicago 2.0, that explored the new economy's dramatic impact on the city's office market, shifting boundaries and causing some of the oldest buildings to be coveted by technology and creative firms. Before joining Crain's, the Bradley University graduate covered sports, features and news beats for the Peoria Journal Star.

Brigid Sweeney is a reporter on retail, advertising and general consumer culture. Much of Brigid's reporting focuses on the struggles of well-known Chicago companies - including Walgreen Co. and Sears Holdings Corp. - to adapt to a changing economy, as well as the advertising world's transition to digital. She joined Crain's in 2010 after three years as an associate editor and staff writer at Boston magazine, where she wrote and edited travel- and culture-related pieces. Her work has appeared in Fast Company, Women's Health and New York magazine, among others. She's a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.