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Under pressure from its creditors and unions, bankrupt Tribune Co. agreed to cut back on the bonuses it would pay under its proposed 2010 management incentive plan.
The move comes as Chicago-based Tribune Co. seeks to win approval from creditors for a reorganization plan that would allow it to exit a bankruptcy case that has dragged on for almost 20 months. Get the full story »
For 2011, Explorer gets a lower profile and improved fuel economy.
The 2011 Ford Explorer was revealed in rock-star fashion this morning on stage at Millennium Park, bursting through a faux wooden crate stamped “Chicago” as vamping guitar music played.
“I believe it’s the most dramatic reinvention yet,” said Bill Ford, executive chairman of Ford Motor Company.
Governor Pat Quinn said there was competition to bring the vehicle to Chicago, a move that will bring 1,200 jobs to the South Side assembly plant here. Get the full story »
So few banks failed Europe’s long-awaited stress tests on Friday that investors will likely focus instead on the dozen or so banks that just scraped through when the markets reopen next week. Get the full story »
Three discount clothing stores are coming to Cook County, with the first one planned for a July 30th opening.
New Jersey-based Forman Mills Clothing Factory Warehouse will open in the Landings Shopping Center on 16855 Torrence Avenue, Lansing. A second store is scheduled to open within the next two months in the city’s North Austin neighborhood. The company is still negotiating the location of the third store, and says the three stores will create a total of 600 jobs.
McDonald’s Corp. said high traffic and new menu items such as frappes and smoothies helped propel its second-quarter profit 12.8 percent to $1.2 billion, from $1.09 billion in the same period a year ago.
The Oak Brook-based company’s earnings per share grew 15 percent from the year-ago period to $1.13.
“McDonald’s second quarter reflects strong top-line and bottom-line results with each area of the world generating higher comparable sales, traffic and profits,” CEO Jim Skinner said in a statement. Get the full story »
Hyatt workers at the May 26, 2010 protest outside the Hyatt Regency in downtown Chicago. (José M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)
About 30 people, including a priest, protesting working conditions in front of the Hyatt Regency were arrested by police Thursday in a staged act of civil disobedience.
Annemarie Strassel, a spokeswoman for Unite Here Local 1, said 200 workers had been prepared to be arrested, but out of respect for slain Police Officer Michael Bailey’s wake Thursday evening, the union agreed to lower the number of demonstrators so that officers will have time to attend the wake. Get the full story »
Approval for Chicago’s third Wal-Mart will follow hard on the heels of the second if Mayor Richard Daley has his way.
Daley held a news conference today to call on the City Council Finance Committee to approve a long-discussed Wal-Mart store at the corner of 83rd Street and Stewart Avenue in the Chatham neighborhood.
The proposal is on the committee’s Friday agenda. Get the full story »
June marked a year of monthly positive year-over-year sales of existing homes in the Chicago area, leading some in the industry to conclude the market is finally stabilizing. But will the trend continue?
Home sales in the Chicago area rose 27.2 percent in June, to 9,085 single-family homes and condominiums sold during the month. The median sales price change still was in negative territory, however, falling 1.2 percent to $207,500, from $210,000 in June 2009, the Illinois Association of Realtors reported Thursday. Get the full story »
Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin America is again planning to enter the Chicago market. Doing so would enable travelers to connect to Virgin Atlantic, pictured here at its 2007 O'Hare debut. (Charles Cherney/Chicago Tribune)
Virgin America plans to wing its way into Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport next year, part of an aggressive expansion that could triple the low-cost carrier’s size by 2016.
Virgin intends to challenge the duopoly held by American and United Airlines on direct flights from O’Hare to Los Angeles International Airport and San Francisco International, flights popular with business travelers and, on occasion, movie stars.
San Francisco-based Virgin, founded in 2007, has quickly won a rabid fan base for its mood lighting and edgy customer amenities. All of its aircraft are outfitted with high-speed Internet connections, while its recently upgraded inflight menu includes less traditional items like tapas plates. Get the full story »
David Mosena, a former chief of staff to Mayor Richard Daley who currently is president and CEO of the Museum of Science and Industry, was elected Wednesday as the new chairman of the agency that runs McCormick Place and Navy Pier.
Mosena’s was selected unanimously by the newly appointed interim board of the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, the state-city agency known as McPier that owns and operates the convention complex and the pier.
Prior to joining the museum in 1997, Mosena served as president of the Chicago Transit Authority. He also has served as the city’s aviation commissioner and its planning commissioner. Get the full story »
Mayor Richard Daley speaks during the grand opening of the Wilson Yard Target on Tuesday, July 20, 2010. (William DeShazer/Chicago Tribune)
By Becky Schlikerman | Mayor Richard Daley and other supporters of a beleaguered Uptown development marked a major milestone today by celebrating the completion of a Target store that anchors the Wilson Yard project.
The new store finalizes a decade-long battle to redevelop the site of a burned-down CTA bus barn. The store will open on Sunday.
“This has been a very long time coming,” Ald. Helen Shiller (46th) said. “There were times it seemed this wasn’t going to happen.” Get the full story »
The U.S. government loses $37 billion per year in tax revenues because multinational corporations stash money in overseas tax havens, Democratic Senator Carl Levin and a group of small businesses said in a report Tuesday.
Levin, who for years has pushed for a tough law to fight tax evasion among corporations, has enlisted some small businesses to back his so-far unsuccessful proposal to close loopholes letting companies legally avoid taxes by keeping income abroad. Get the full story »
Roundy’s Supermarkets Inc., the Milwaukee-based high-end supermarket chain, is opening its first Chicagoland location today. Mariano’s Fresh Market, on Northwest Highway in downtown Arlington Heights, will focus on fresh food and high-end offerings, including homemade gelato and an on-site sushi chef. The store will also have an imported Italian oven for pizzas and offer wines and cheeses. Get the full story »
United Airlines and Continental Airlines said Tuesday they hammered out transition agreements with their pilots’ unions, a critical step towards reaching a broader labor accord with pilots.
Talks between the merging airlines and pilots were halted late last month due to a dispute between Chicago-based United and its pilots over lay-off protections, sources told the Tribune.
At the time, the four sides were close to hammering out “Transition and Process” agreements that provide a framework for operations until the merging carriers gain a single FAA operating certificate, a process targeted to be completed during 2012. Get the full story »
Looking to expand viewership among those who might court a lawsuit if they fired up the regular Playboy.com site at work, Playboy Enterprises Inc. today announced something called TheSmokingJacket.com, which the company bills as a “new safe-for-work men’s entertainment destination that provides guys with smart and sexy distractions throughout the day.”
Safe for work means no nudity, but plenty of Playboy-style hormonal prurience. One of the lead stories on the site: “How to Get Laid at Work.” Another: “7 Signs That You’ve given Up on Getting Laid.” Playboy founder Hugh Hefner greets viewers to the site in a weird little 21-second video of him sitting on a couch in, yes, his trademark smoking jacket.
“Next to the mansion it’s the best hang out on the planet,” Hefner says of the new site. Get the full story »
