June 3, 2010 at 4:50 p.m.
Filed under:
Education,
Policy
Dow Jones Newswires-Wall Street Journal | Higher education accreditors are facing new scrutiny after a U.S. Department of Education office called for the nation’s largest regional oversight group to be stripped of government recognition.
The Education Department’s Office of Inspector General last week recommended the Department “limit, suspend or terminate” approval of the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools after it endorsed a for-profit school with questionable practices in early 2009.
In a May 24 letter, the OIG blasted HLC for approving Hoffman Estates-based Career Education
Corp.’s American Intercontinental University despite expressing serious
concerns about its credit hour structure.
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May 28, 2010 at 11:30 a.m.
Filed under:
Conventions,
Policy,
Politics
By Kathy Bergen
| Less than 24 hours after the McCormick Place overhaul package became law, the International Home + Housewares Show decided to pursue a new long-term contract at the convention center.
The International Housewares Association’s board voted today to move forward with the negotiations, said Phil Brandl, president of the Rosemont-based organization.
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May 28, 2010 at 11:24 a.m.
Filed under:
Credit Cards,
Credit repair,
Policy,
Politics
By Julie Wernau
| A bill that would prohibit employers from inquiring about or using a
person’s credit history as a basis for employment or discharge has
passed both legislative chambers in Springfield, and is awaiting the
governor’s signature.
The bill, House Bill 4658, introduced by Rep. Jack D. Franks
(D-Woodstock), creates the Employer Credit Privacy Act, and provides
exemptions for the banking and financial industry and state law
enforcement and investigation units. The bill passed the Senate on May 4, and the House of Representatives concurred on minor changes made to the
bill Thursday.
Get the full story »
May 27, 2010 at 3:31 p.m.
Filed under:
Investigations,
Policy
By Wailin Wong
| The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined Belvidere-based NDK Crystals Inc. $510,000 for violations related to a December factory explosion that killed a truck driver.
“The employer knowingly operated high pressure vessels even after being warned of the potential for a catastrophic failure due to material design and fabrication defects,” David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for OSHA, said in a Thursday statement.
Get the full story »
May 26, 2010 at 5:32 p.m.
Filed under:
Computers,
Internet,
Policy,
Politics,
Privacy issues
Associated Press | A top Pentagon official says a government computer security system that can thwart cyber attacks should be extended to private businesses.
Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn III says discussions are in the very early stages to allow the government to extend technology from the Einstein 2 and Einstein 3 computer defense programs to private firms.
The idea raises a myriad of legal, policy and privacy questions, including how it would work and what information would be shared between the government and businesses.
May 26, 2010 at 4:34 p.m.
Filed under:
Manufacturing,
Policy
Reuters | Boeing Co, General Dynamics Corp and ITT Corp won aviation contracts
from the U.S. government on Wednesday worth up to $4.4 billion combined,
the Federal Aviation Administration said.
The contracts cover early stages of the “NextGen” air traffic
modernization initiative and run for 10 years. They are among the
largest awards in agency history.
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May 26, 2010 at 11:59 a.m.
Filed under:
Conventions,
Policy,
Politics,
Unions
By Kathy Bergen
and Ray Long
| House Speaker Michael Madigan proposed modest revisions to the McCormick
Place overhaul legislation this morning, reflecting some issues that
had been raised by Gov. Pat Quinn.
But it’s still possible the governor may attempt to use his amendatory
veto power later today to push for more dramatic changes, sources said.
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May 25, 2010 at 11:19 a.m.
Filed under:
Chicago executives,
Conventions,
Policy,
Politics
James K. McCusker, Viante Home Products Company, demonstrates his company’s new coffee maker at The International Home and Housewares Show at McCormick Place in 2009. (Bradley Piper/Chicago Tribune)
By Kathy Bergen
| Top executives with the International Home + Housewares Show fired off an email to Gov. Pat Quinn today, saying they could not recommend Chicago as the show’s venue for 2012 and beyond when their board meets later this week unless the governor signs the McCormick Place overhaul legislation.
“The lack of signature to this bill will ultimately send us and other vitally important trade show business elsewhere,” the email stated. It was signed by Phil Brandl, president of the International Housewares Association, and Mia Rampersad, the group’s vice president/trade shows. The association’s show has been a cornerstone of the city’s convention business since 1939.
Quinn is expected to make a decision on the bill within days. Sources expect he will sign it, but will try to attach some changes as well.
May 24, 2010 at 5:23 p.m.
Filed under:
Labor,
Policy,
Politics,
Retirement
Reuters | U.S. state governors working to close yawning deficits are again eyeing a tempting target — the billions of dollars in benefits and wage hikes that public workers won in boom times.
So far, they have achieved only limited success due to ironclad union contracts, federal and state constitutional protections and lawsuits filed by public workers and others.
The stakes are high. All 50 states have a collective $1 trillion shortfall in their retirement funds, says the Pew Center on the States in Washington.
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May 24, 2010 at 2:05 p.m.
Filed under:
Conventions,
Labor,
Policy,
Politics
Gov. Pat Quinn on May 9, 2010, at a Mother’s Day walk. Quinn told reporters today that he is still reluctant to sign the McCormick Place overhaul legislation. (Nancy Stone/Chicago Tribune)
By Kathy Bergen
| Gov. Pat Quinn took some oblique shots at political insider Jim Reilly
Monday as he explained why he remains undecided on whether to sign the
McCormick Place overhaul legislation.
The bill would name Reilly, currently the chairman of the Regional
Transportation Authority, as trustee with broad decision-making power
to oversee restructuring the Chicago convention center. Quinn said he
wanted to be sure the legislation had adequate checks and balances in
place.
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May 24, 2010 at 11:10 a.m.
Filed under:
Litigation,
Policy,
Sports
Tribune News Services
| The Supreme Court on Monday turned away the National Football League’s request for broad antitrust law protection, ruling that the league can be considered 32 separate teams — not one big business — when it comes to selling branded items like jerseys and caps.
The high court unanimously reversed a lower
court ruling throwing
out an antitrust suit brought against the league by one of its former
hat makers, Buffalo Grove-based American Needle Inc., who was upset that it lost its contract for making official
NFL hats to Reebok.
American Needle
claimed the league violated antitrust
law because all 32 teams worked together to freeze it out of the
NFL-licensed hatmaking business. The company lost and appealed to the
Supreme Court, but the NFL did as well, hoping to get broader protection
from antitrust lawsuits.
Get the full story: Court says NFL is 32 teams, not single business.
May 21, 2010 at 10:04 a.m.
Filed under:
International,
Policy,
Politics,
Stock activity
Dow Jones Newswires-Wall Street Journal | Financial stocks turned higher Friday as some uncertainty was removed
with the U.S. Senate’s passage of its version of a financial-overhaul
bill, though investors are still concerned about what the final bill
will include and continue to grapple with ongoing fears about the debt
crisis in Europe.
Investors have been in limbo for months, wondering what provisions will
be in the final law. The Senate still needs to reconcile its bill with
the one passed by the House in December. But the Senate’s passage of its
measure does offer a little more clarity because its bill had undergone
a multitude of changes and amendments while it was up for debate.
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May 20, 2010 at 9:52 a.m.
Filed under:
Banking,
Exchanges,
Policy,
Politics
A trader in the S&P 500 futures pit at the CME Group. Executives from the CME Group and other exchanges were set Thursday morning to appear before a U.S. Senate Banking subcommittee. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)
Reuters | U.S. exchanges defended the high-speed trading firms they say keep
markets liquid and functioning, with one suggesting incentives to
encourage their participation at stressful times such as the mysterious
May 6 market plunge.
Executives from Nasdaq OMX Group Inc, CME Group Inc and NYSE Euronext
were set Thursday morning to appear before a U.S. Senate Banking
subcommittee, the second time since the severe market plunge that they
will have faced lawmakers looking for answers.
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May 19, 2010 at 4:53 p.m.
Filed under:
Conventions,
Policy,
Politics,
Unions
By John Byrne
and Kathy Bergen | Mayor Richard Daley says his office will be meeting with Gov. Pat Quinn to determine why the governor is balking at signing the McCormick Place overhaul legislation.
“We’ll be talking to him very shortly,” Daley told reporters today.
When asked about the consequences for the city if the bill is not signed, Daley said, “We have to make sure we have the best convention atmosphere because people depend off of it — both local, county and state governments basically get a huge amount of money off it. That’s realistic. A lot of sales tax coming in.”
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May 19, 2010 at 11:57 a.m.
Filed under:
Bank failures,
Banking,
Policy,
Politics
Dow Jones Newswires | U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), the top Republican on the House Financial Services Committee, is calling for an investigation into the private-sector recapitalization of Chicago community lender ShoreBankCorp, Fox Business Network’s Charles Gasparino reported Wednesday.
The company was said to have reached its goal of raising $125 million from private sources, mostly U.S. investment banks, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with the situation. Bachus is asking why Wall Street took an interest in ShoreBank and is drafting a letter to President Barack Obama about the matter, Gasparino says.
