exchanges managed to become world leaders in finance due to the development of products as innovative as those of the 19th century

And that has meant jobs for the city and the region. Chicago's financial sector accounted for 151,500 jobs in 1996, a 38 percent increase over the previous decade, according to the Risk Management Center; a group of Chicago finance professionals. That group also estimated that for every 100 exchange-related jobs, another 173 support jobs in retail, health care and other fields were added. While this research is three years old, the volume at the exchanges has continued to grow, and the center expects to issue its latest analysis this spring.

The Chicago exchanges have accounted for a healthy portion of Illinois' financial sector; as well. The center report estimated traders put $35 billion in deposits into Chicago banks in 1995 to back their exchange dealings. And that money found its way back into the state's economy through loans.

Nevertheless, these Chicago institutions are facing another defining moment. They continue to grow and change, certainly. But the competition is growing and changing, too. The center report warns that Chicago's share of worldwide trading volume dropped from 60 percent in 1987 to 31 percent in 1995, most of that business going to foreign exchanges. Where once the competition was St. Louis, now it's the world.

And why should this matter to most Illinoisans, whose livelihoods are less directly dependent on the inner workings of the trading floors than a century ago? The short answer could be that the exchanges are an integral part of the state's identity. Along with images of the prairie or the Chicago skyline, they symbolize Illinois to many throughout the rest of the world.

To the practical-minded, there likely is a more satisfying answer. William Cronon, in his 1991 classic, Nature's Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West, notes that a city's "gateway" status was always temporary, and the story of every gateway city's fall has always ended in similar ways "as each encountered self-induced limits to growth." Yet, he argues, Chicago's fall from gateway dominance was not as great as some others. "At least a few of its gateway legacies have remained to this day Probably the most striking is the Chicago Board of Trade, which through its commodity markets continues to help set grain prices for the entire world, even though Chicago long ago ceased to be a major handler of grain as a physical commodity" Throughout their history, the Chicago exchanges have made Illinois a leader in the economic game. And their fate will most certainly continue to determine this state's place in the world.

But here's a more challenging answer. By virtue of their function in the world, the Chicago exchanges could offer some early lessons on competing in a global economy One lesson is already clear. In this era of near instantaneous communication, Illinois will need two things to succeed: the will to innovate and a skilled workforce.

Consider the workforce first. Last summer; Northern Illinois University asked 702 companies throughout the state about their workforce needs. The news wasn't especially good. After analyzing the survey the DeKalb-based university's Public Opinion Laboratory projected that, overall, Illinois is short by an estimated 18,720 workers who have the high-technology skills to compete in the rapidly changing economy.

"As electronics becomes more important, business will need people to keep their networks running, to develop new products and to design new technology," says William McCready the lab's director. "Some fast horses are going to run this race, but you don't know who is going to finish."

The state's top politicians seem willing to pony up some risk capital. Gov. George Ryan has asked for $10 million in his first budget to help entrepreneurs launch Illinois-based high-tech firms. And the Illinois Board of Higher Education asked for another $4.5 million to expand training for future high-tech workers.

But what will these new companies and their workers face? The Chicago exchanges are already getting an introduction. The new global players have, first and foremost, the guts to take risks