It's also important to see VC in context.
It's a specific measure of a specific funding strategy for companies. This is a funding strategy that has been culturally more embraced in coastal cities than in a more conservative city than Chicago. It also tends to be more based on interpersonal relationships (ie inbreeding). So douchy-ness and "clique-ness" play a role here.
Examples of such are when some goofball goes around saying "I'm bicoastal", meaning their whole world revolves around NYC and LA, and the rest of the country is "flyover country" (yes, there are still people out there like this). Stuff like VC fund raising are an index of said "douchiness" and in part should be taken into consideration without worrying too much about Chicago and the wealth creation going on here.
That is a similar quirk to how Chicago keeps owning the rest of the US in Site Selection Magazine year after year. Something very specific is being measured that Chicago excels in, even though we all know that Chicago is otherwise not even close to owning the rest of the country in economic growth.
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