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(Tribune file)
The owner of the Chicago Cubs is asking the state to help finance more than $200 million in renovations at Wrigley Field that will ensure the team stays at the historic ballpark for the next 35 years.
The Ricketts family, which purchased the team last year from Tribune Co. in a deal valued at $845 million, has pledged that the project will not be financed by new taxes or an increase in existing taxes, but it would redirect some future revenue to the stadium. Get the full story »
A war of words is heating up between Wisconsin Gov.-elect Scott Walker and Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn over job creation. The Republican Walker said Thursday he plans to persuade Illinois companies to come to Wisconsin. He says he’ll emphasize that Quinn has proposed massive tax increases.
Walker’s comments come one day after the Democratic Quinn encouraged train maker Talgo Inc. to move south from Milwaukee. Talgo had said it would move from that facility if Wisconsin follows through on its promise to abandon high-speed rail. Get the full story »
Mayor Richard M. Daley and Governor Pat Quinn open the Bio International Convention at McCormick Place on May 4, 2010. (Nancy Stone/Chicago Tribune)
The Biotechnology Industry Organization said its international convention will return to Chicago’s McCormick Place in 2013 and 2016.
“Chicago has hosted two successful and exciting BIO International Conventions, in 2006 and 2010, and we are thrilled to bring the world’s largest gathering of the biotechnology industry back to the windy city and the Midwest,” said Jim Greenwood, chief executive officer of the BIO International Convention.
The convention attracts more than 15,000 people from the agricultural, pharmaceutical and medical device industries as well as government leaders from around the world. Get the full story »
Despite the state’s financial woes, Gov. Pat Quinn today said he would pump about $75 million into a jobs program to keep it alive through the end of November.
The state of Illinois has awarded HMO operators Aetna Inc. and Centene Corp. contracts to provide medical care services to 40,000 seniors and adults with disabilities in suburban Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kankakee, Lake and Will counties beginning next year. Get the full story »
With less than two weeks before Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn awards a lucrative, first-of-its-kind contract for the private management of the state’s $2 billion-a-year lottery, some are criticizing the selection process as too secretive and questioning whether it favors one powerful bidder.
Employers who try to skip out on paying wages to their workers will face new fines and possible jail time under a measure Gov. Pat Quinn signed into law Friday.
The law, which goes into effect Jan. 1, establishes a new small claims division in the Illinois Department of Labor where workers could try to recoup wages of $3,000 or less.
Gov. Pat Quinn vetoed Friday a Senate bill that would have allowed doctors to legally hire physical therapists because those partnerships, he said, would increase costs for citizens.
In Illinois, patients must have a doctor’s referral to see a physical therapist. But physical therapists can bill insurance providers for their services independently, which is why Quinn vetoed the bill.
“Senate Bill 2635,” Quinn said in a letter to the General Assembly, “also incents medical professionals to increase the volume of services provided.” Get the full story »
Gov. Pat Quinn is urging patience for workers who have yet to be paid through the federally-funded Put Illinois To Work program, saying the state is quickly trying to resolve problems that have led to delays in issuing paychecks.
Gov. Pat Quinn today said Illinois’ minimum wage should be increased every year to reflect the rising cost of living, a position at odds with Republican foe Sen. Bill Brady.
The governor’s comments came after Brady said late last week that he supports the idea of the state’s minimum wage being no higher than the federal rate. Illinois’ minimum wage is set to increase to $8.25 an hour on Thursday, $1 higher than the federal version.
AT&T said it plans to build more than 80 new cell sites in Illinois this year and will also upgrade almost 300 cell sites to its third-generation, or 3G, wireless network.
Get the full story »
More than $1 million in federal stimulus money is on its way to S&C Electric Company for products that improve the distribution of electricity. The projects are expected to create more than 300 jobs and retain 121 jobs. The money comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
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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.
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.
By Kathy Bergen
| Some of Chicago’s biggest trade show organizers emerged from a meeting
with Gov. Pat Quinn this afternoon expecting that he’ll sign the
McCormick Place overhaul bill. But they believe Quinn may try for some
modifications, perhaps in an add-on bill.
The bill, which passed both houses of the General Assembly by wide
margins, “is not anything we’ll see vetoed by the governor,” said Steve
Drew, a point person for the radiologists convention.
