By Zoe Galland
A view of Sportsman's Park in Cicero as it is demolished, Jan. 5, 2009. Wirtz Beverage Illinois has its eye on the now-vacant land there. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
Wirtz Beverage Illinois announced Thursday that it plans to build a $70-million, 600,000-square-foot distribution center in Cicero, which would include 100,000 feet of office and conference center space. The new center, if approved, would incorporate Wirtz’s other offices and warehouses in Schaumburg, Wood Dale, Bensenville and Elk Grove Village.
Most of Wirtz’s 1,000 employees would move to the new center as well, the company said in a statement. Get the full story »
By Emily Bryson York
Kraft's new "voice" of its Mac & Cheese, Ted Williams, appears on NBC's "Today" show on Jan. 6, 2011. (Reuters/Handout)
Here’s an unusual way to get a job: Ted Williams, a Columbus, Ohio, panhandler, garnered the attention of the Columbus Dispatch, which posted a video of him doing sample voiceovers by the side of the road.
From this, Williams appeared on the “Today” show Thursday morning, announcing that he’d gotten a job as the voice of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese.
In the video, a disheveled Williams explained that he’d studied voice in school, but developed a drug and alcohol problem. With two years clean, he said, he was hoping that a company would notice him. Get the full story »
Jan. 6 at 1:17 p.m.
Filed under:
Stock activity,
Unions,
Updated
By Emily Bryson York
A Jewel-Osco at 370 N. Desplaines in Chicago. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
Jewel-Osco is offering all corporate employees unpaid time off between now and Feb. 26, representatives for the store’s parent, SuperValu, said. The offer extends to all SuperValu chains, including Save-a-Lot, Acme, Cub and Albertson’s.
The money-saving program is voluntary, SuperValu added, a point that was also made by the union that represents Jewel-Osco employees, Local 881. Union employees cannot be forced to take unpaid time off. The program is directed at office employees, not grocery-store workers.
On Wednesday SuperValu announced that it was closing about 20 underperforming stores in New England, Philadelphia and the West Coast. Stores in the Chicago area will be unaffected, a SuperValu spokesman said. Get the full story »
By Tribune newspapers
Mosiac app. (Tribune)
The Tribune Co., publisher of the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune, is rolling out a news-reading application that will run on a new line of Microsoft-based tablet computers.
The app, called Mosaic, creates a moving set of touchable photographs that, when tapped, reveals the headline associated with the photo and allows the user to open and read the article.
“It’s a very different, visual way for readers to sort through and personalize how they want to see news delivered,” said Eddy Hartenstein, the Tribune’s co-president. “You just touch it and it blossoms.” Get the full story »
Jan. 6 at 9:24 a.m.
Filed under:
Airplanes,
Defense,
Updated
By Julie Johnsson
Boeing Co. notched 530 net commercial aircraft orders and delivered 462 airplanes during 2010 as the commercial aerospace market continued to rebound along with the global economy.
The Chicago-based aerospace company saw an improvement in its key commercial airplane business, which accounts for more than half of Boeing’s revenues, despite continued problems with its 787 and 747-8 aircraft programs.
Aircraft sales rebounded strongly from 2009, when Boeing gained just 142 net orders and scrambled to help airline customers obtain financing and to prevent them from canceling orders. Get the full story »
Jan. 5 at 5:23 p.m.
Filed under:
Airlines,
Travel,
Updated
By Reuters
American Airlines sparred with third-party ticket sellers on Wednesday in an ongoing battle over distribution costs and methods as one key provider of airfare data vowed to stop offering the airline’s flight information.
Privately held Sabre Holdings Corp operates a global distribution system that provides information on airfares to travel agencies like Travelocity. The company said it would end its distribution deal with American in August — a month before the end of its contract.
The company said it would discontinue price discounts on American Airlines tickets that have stimulated sales. The airline is also at odds with Chicago-based online travel agency Orbitz Worldwide and last month stopped selling tickets on Orbitz. Get the full story »
Jan. 5 at 3:23 p.m.
Filed under:
Transportation,
Travel,
Updated
By Julie Johnsson
(Steve Lasker/Chicago Tribune)
More people moved out of Illinois than moved to the state during 2010 as the Great Lakes states saw the greatest exodus of any region in the country, according to a study by United Van Lines that tracks migration patterns.
Western states like Nevada that had long served as a destination for those leaving the Rust Belt saw their traffic level off, according to United Van Lines’ 34th annual migration study.
The most popular destination in the nation was the District of Columbia, which held that distinction for the third consecutive year. Oregon finished second in the study, followed by North Carolina and Idaho.
The migration patterns in the study aren’t comprehensive because they are based only on the 146,837 interstate household moves handled by United Van Lines among the lower 48 states and District of Columbia. Get the full story »
Jan. 5 at 12:06 p.m.
Filed under:
Conventions,
Tourism,
Updated
By Kathy Bergen
A southwest view from of Navy Pier from the Ferris Wheel, Nov. 9, 2010. (Chris Walker/Chicago Tribune)
Navy Pier, the lakefront entertainment complex that has been joined at the hip with McCormick Place, will be leased to a newly formed not-for-profit corporation that will govern and manage the tourist attraction, the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority announced this morning.
Sara Nava Garvey will serve as transitional chair of the new board. She also serves on the board of the authority, the state-city agency known as McPier that now owns and operates the pier and the convention center. Get the full story »
Jan. 5 at 11:58 a.m.
Filed under:
Jobs/employment,
Updated
By Reuters
U.S. private sector jobs surged in December at a rate three times stronger than forecast, a hiring report showed, the most bullish signal in months that a recovery in the world’s biggest economy is stepping up a gear.
The ADP Employer Services private sector jobs report on Wednesday comes two days ahead of the U.S. government’s closely watched payrolls report. Many economists raised their forecasts for a wider reading of jobs growth on Friday. Get the full story »
Jan. 4 at 4:24 p.m.
Filed under:
Cell phones,
Telecommunications,
Updated
By Wailin Wong
Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions began trading separately on Tuesday, the final step in Motorola’s two-and-half-year process in becoming two independent companies.
Motorola’s longtime ticker symbol, MOT, was retired on Tuesday as Schaumburg-based Motorola Inc. began trading under its new name, Motorola Solutions, with the ticker MSI. Motorola Mobility, which was spun off as a new company, trades under the ticker MMI.
Shares of Motorola Mobility, which includes the smartphone and TV set-top business, closed 9.5 percent higher at $33.12. Shares of Motorola Solutions Inc , which targets businesses with products like barcode scanners, closed up $2.46, or 7.6 percent, at $39.77.
Get the full story »
Jan. 3 at 5:28 p.m.
Filed under:
Internet,
Investing,
Updated
By Reuters
Facebook has raised $500 million from Goldman Sachs and Russian investment firm Digital Sky Technologies, in a deal that values the world’s No.1 Internet social networking company at $50 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter. Get the full story »
Jan. 3 at 10:09 a.m.
Filed under:
Banking,
Real estate,
Updated
By Reuters
Bank of America said it agreed to pay Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac $2.8 billion to settle claims that it sold the mortgage finance companies bad home loans.
Bank of America shares climbed 4.5 percent in early trading Monday. Analysts said many investors had worried the bank would have to buy back billions of dollars of home loans it sold to investors at the height of the housing boom.
“This takes away a nice headline risk” for Bank of America, said Alan Villalon, a senior bank analyst at Chicago-based Nuveen Investments. Get the full story »
Dec. 30, 2010 at 4:35 p.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Updated
By Dow Jones Newswires
Illinois politicians are reviewing whether to follow in California’s footsteps by forcing its bond underwriters to disclose what credit derivatives they have entered into on the state’s debt.
Staff members working for Illinois House of Representatives Speaker Michael Madigan reached out to California officials on Wednesday for information about how the Golden State has gone about improving disclosures relating to credit default swaps on its own state debt. Get the full story »
Dec. 30, 2010 at 3:18 p.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
Recalls,
Updated
By Associated Press
Chrysler is recalling nearly 150,000 trucks and SUVs to address several problems, including steering, air bag issues and the potential for trucks to stall.
The recalls were posted Thursday on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Web site. Get the full story »
Dec. 30, 2010 at 1:01 p.m.
Filed under:
M&A,
Technology,
Updated,
Venture capital
By Alejandra Cancino
Chicago-based Groupon Inc. has raised $500 million in equity financing of the $950 million it hopes to get.
The money came from 33 investors, Groupon said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company it is not disclosing their names, but DealBook reported Wednesday the start-up is negotiating financing commitments with Fidelity Investments, T. Rowe Price and Morgan Stanley. Get the full story »
