CHICAGO, IL -- (Marketwire) -- 03/30/09 -- The Illinois Technology Association (ITA) is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2009 CityLIGHTS Awards. ITA will present the awards, which honor outstanding information technology companies, executives and advocates in Illinois, to the winners at ITA's tenth annual CityLIGHTS Gala on April 23 at Union Station in Chicago.

The 2009 finalists include:

   -- CityLIGHTS Award: Given to an individual that has made a significant
      impact on the Illinois technology community.
         -- Jerry R. Mitchell, Midwest Entrepreneurs' Forum
         -- Linda Darragh, Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship
         -- Anna Belyaev, Type A Learning Agency
         -- Shelly Stern, Microsoft Coporation

   -- CEO of the Year Award: Given to the CEO who has driven his company
      to new heights in the past year.
         -- Douglas R. Waggoner, Echo Global Logistics
         -- Bill Conroy, Initiate Systems
         -- Scott Etzler, InterCall
         -- Gregg Kaplan, Redbox
         -- George Burciaga, smarTECHS.net

   -- Spotlight Award: Given to the CIO/CTO for leadership and outstanding
      contributions in the application of information technology.
         -- Deepak Singh, Adeptia Inc.
         -- Eric Dirst, DeVry Inc.
         -- Rich Holada, SPSS Inc.
         -- Michael Fineberg, SurePayroll
         -- Laurie E. Lasseter, WMS Gaming

   -- Lighthouse Award: Given to the company that best represents the
      region's growing stature as home to world-class information
      technology companies.
         -- ArrowStream, Inc.
         -- BigMachines
         -- SmartSignal
         -- Trustwave
         -- West Monroe Partners

   -- Rising Star Award: Given to the company that has emerged from its
      start-up phase to distinguish itself in the technology marketplace.
         -- Aleri Inc.
         -- Geckotech
         -- InXpo, Inc.
         -- MediaBank
         -- Open Kernal Labs

   -- Newcomer Award: Given to the company that has the strongest potential
      to emerge from its start-up phase and distinguish itself in the
      technology marketplace.
         -- crowdSPRING
         -- CTH Technologies, Inc.
         -- LifeSnapz, Inc.
         -- Options City
         -- Telemedicine Solutions, LLC

For the first time ever, members of Illinois' technology community are invited to cast their vote to help determine the winners. Voting is available through the event website at www.itacitylights.com and limited to ITA association members. Voting is open now and closes at 11:59pm on April 8, 2009.

"Over the past decade, CityLIGHTS has honored excellence within Illinois' ever-expanding technology industry," said ITA President Fred Hoch. "In the spirit of collaboration, we believe the Illinois technology community should pick the winners."

CityLIGHTS is ITA's annual celebration of vitality and innovation in Illinois' burgeoning technology community and is the Midwest's premier technology-related award event. The awards gala will recognize key players -- from industry veterans to rising stars -- whose innovations are driving positive change. All Illinois companies and executives are invited to attend the event, which is the largest gathering of technology executives in the state.

Sponsors of this year's CityLIGHTS Awards include Platinum Sponsor Grant Thornton; Gold Sponsors Aladdin Knowledge Systems and McGuireWoods; and Event Sponsor SPSS. For more information, or to register to attend the event, please visit www.itacitylights.com

About the ITA

The Illinois Technology Association (ITA) represents the interests of a diverse membership of more than 550 companies in Illinois that create, deploy and utilize information technology as a core part of their organization. By connecting members with industry peers and participants, providing the latest strategic information, market research and critical market insight and by promoting key thought leaders to raise visibility and gain a greater market awareness and presence, ITA is focused on building and developing the Illinois technology community through collaboration. Additional information is available at www.illinoistech.org.