Prehaps TECH cocktail founders Frank Gruber (left) and Eric Olson will wear tuxedos at their next Chicago event at John Barleycorn? Photo by Lou Calamaras, MidwestBusiness.com

In all, six awards were handed out to individuals and entities that help make the Illinois technology community tick. Olson and Gruber won the namesake CityLIGHTS Award, which awards those in media, education, government and business who strive to promote the vitality of the local tech community. The winners even wore tuxedos. Other winners included:

CEO of the Year Award
A competitive field resulted in a tie between Dick Costolo of FeedBurner (now owned by Google) and Robert McCullen of Trustwave.

Lighthouse Award
NAVTEQ, which was acquired in 2007 by Nokia for $8 billion and change, won the award honoring $10 million-plus companies that have mapped out national reputations.

Newcomer of the Year Award
The Point, which is part of the Brad Keywell stable of companies and helps motivate individuals to petition online for a collective cause, won this award. The award scouts out future players in the local tech scene.

Rising Star Award
Model Metrics, which develops Salesforce.com-based CRM solutions for clients including Abbott, Honeywell and Motorola, won this award, which honors companies that have successfully graduated beyond the start-up phase.

Spotlight Award
Centro CTO Virgil Bistricenu was honored as the CIO/CTO of the year.

There’s a lot of valuation in this shot. Greenbrier & Russel founder Eric Wasowicz (left) and TicketsNow founder Mike Domek each sold their companies for nine figures in recent years. Photo by Lou Calamaras, MidwestBusiness.com

After the awards and closing remarks from ITA Chairman Terry Howerton, most attendees stuck around for a two-hour liquidity event otherwise known as an open bar.