TEAM PITCHES EMPIRE STATE.(BUSINESS)

Byline: JAY GALLAGHER Gannett News Service

CHICAGO -- Team New York, a group of about 15 state and local economic development officials from the Empire State, was ready for the big game.

The team was set to try to impress on some of the more than 3,000 corporate real estate executives and consultants who had gathered at a convention in Chicago the advantages of doing business in New York.

They had rented a cavernous ballroom with a wall of windows overlooking the Chicago River in the convention's headquarters hotel. They had a jazz band playing softly in the background. They had tables groaning under the weight of a sumptuous breakfast buffet.

But early on a Sunday morning in May, they had the room mostly to themselves.

``This doesn't look good,'' said Jeffrey Janiszewski, the team leader and an official from the state agency that promotes economic growth, Empire State Development Corp.

But two hours later, his mood had brightened considerably. About 340 people, apparently most of them late risers, were in the room, many talking to team members, who stood out in their gray-and-blue ``Team New York'' golf shirts.

``A lot of states do events at night, but a breakfast is more businesslike,'' he said. ``The music isn't loud. We're insistent on an event where networking is possible.''

Networking was the main activity at the convention, run by a …