Trying to Read the Tea Leaves on Amazon HQ2 News

Last week news came down that Walgreen's would be the first announced tenant for the refurbished Post Office that straddles Congress Parkway.  While that's big news in and of itself, we also thought it could be a tell on the chances of Amazon coming to Chicago.

Our thinking was that if one of the proposed sites was moving forward without Amazon, maybe the city already knows it fate (aka - Chicago is not getting Amazon).  Well some professional reporters had a similar thought process and asked Rahm a similar question (via Chicago Tribune):

But asked Monday whether Walgreens’ decision to locate 1,800 employees at the old post office in the South Loop takes that building off the table for Amazon, Emanuel offered some insights.

“I don’t want to violate anything with Amazon, so I think when you — know this, let me do it this way so I’m not (violating), I want to be careful,” Emanuel said. “On our original proposal to Amazon we had 10 sites. When they came, they saw five sites. It is our understanding they like, really like, two sites. So let me say that.”

Judging by that comment it seems as if the city is still in the running for Amazon or at least Amazon hasn't tipped its hand to the city yet.

Other recent reports say that Amazon is likely going to make another cut sometime this fall (via wraltechwire.com):

 Amazon has sent “emails to all 20 finalist cities” about the status of the HQ2 process noting that it will be “a couple of months to whittle down the finalist list to around three cities,” WSB-TV says.

So we wait some more...but in the meantime what two sites do you think they "really like"?

If we had to guess it would be:

• The 78, Related Midwest's 62-acre site along the Chicago River between the South Loop and Chinatown. 
• Lincoln Yards, Sterling Bay's more than 70-acre site on the river along Lincoln Park and Bucktown.

A wild card would be the former Michael Reese Hospital land on the south side.  While it probably loses points for "not being in the downtown core"  - it's essentially on Lake Michigan which would be an amazing amenity for a corporate campus in our opinion.