Crain's Chicago Business articles from August 2007

Crain's Chicago Business archives from August 2007

Republic's homogeneous take on Pan-Asian cuisine; Wide variety on solid menu, but few standouts.(The Business of Life)(Republic Pan-Asian Restaurant and Lounge)
August 6, 2007... Byline: ALISON NEUMER LARA Republic Pan-Asian Restaurant & Lounge, which opened its 300-seat bi-level space in May, claims to draw inspiration from the tables of Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, China, Mongolia and Korea. That's a wide area...

Destination Edinburgh, Scotland.(The Business of Life)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Anne Ford GET AWAY: Maybe it's all the rain that makes Edinburgh such a great city for reading. This time of year, drier, sunnier weather means visitors can take literary excursions such as Mercat Tours' Writers by the Mile tour to...

Crain's Picks.(The Business of Life)(calendar of festivals)(Calendar)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Margaret Littman MUSIC Fiona Apple and Nickel Creek at Ravinia Festival 400 Iris Lane Highland Park (847) 266-5100 www.ravinia.org 8 p.m. Friday Tickets: $15, $45 Progressive music will fill the...

A Catch-22 in the West Loop; Residents want retail, not changes it would bring.(Focus: Commercial Real Estate)
August 6, 2007... Byline: SARAH A. KLEIN Stephanie Turner has lived in the West Loop for six years, before there was a Starbucks or a Dominick's or a Blockbuster. "I had to get in my car and drive to Union Station for coffee,'' she says. Ms. Turner...

Clarification.(Correction notice)
August 6, 2007... An At Deadline news item July 30 should have made clear that beginning in June 2010, Commonwealth Edison Co. will no longer sell power to mid-sized businesses at fixed rates, but will continue to sell it to them at hourly rates.

Hospitals up charity care; Critics not impressed with bigger numbers for treating the poor.(News)
August 6, 2007... Byline: MIKE COLIAS Scrutinized for their charitable practices, Chicago-area hospitals doled out more free medical care for the poor last year, but not enough to silence critics. The area's 20 largest hospitals and health systems...

Rolling the dice on real estate; Seen & noted.(The Business of Life)(Brief article)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Kevin Davis Aspiring real estate investors have been turning to a board game to learn how to cash in on the housing slump. Throughout the area, organizers are planning Cashflow 101 parties to play the game that teaches real...

Dubious Dems; EMANUEL, OBAMA COLLECT BIG MONEY FROM PRIVATE-EQUITY FIRMS FIGHTING TAX HIKE.(Greg Hinz)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Greg Hinz In seizing control of Congress last year and hoping to win the White House next year, Democrats have presented themselves as the champions of change, the party that will shake up politics and return tax balance so that...

White bread in Chicago; Few mom-and-pop shops, but plenty of tourists.(Focus: Commercial Real Estate)
August 6, 2007... Byline: SARAH A. KLEIN When Jim Coffou and his wife, Sara, moved from Wicker Park to Streeterville in 2005, they traded a 120-year-old house for a modern, 3,500-square-foot condominium at 415 N. Water St., with spectacular views of Lake...

The methodology.(Focus: Commercial Real Estate)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Sarah A. Klein Crain's used demographic data from Troy, N.Y.-based global mapping company Pitney Bowes MapInfo Corp. to determine the combined purchasing power of residents in all Chicago neighborhoods. Purchasing power was...

A challenge to Mr. Peanut.(This Week)
August 6, 2007... Byline: David Sterrett Kraft Foods' Mr. Peanut will soon have a new rival, according to Eric Katzman, an industry analyst with Deutsche Bank in New York. He writes in a note to investors that J. M. Smucker, which makes peanut butters and...

The education of Billy Dec; King of buzz studies, suits up in quest for business respect.(The Business of Life)(Rockit Ranch Productions)
August 6, 2007... Byline: SHIA KAPOS Billy Dec is looking for more than a good time. The ever-smiling king of Chicago's club scene is on a self-improvement kick. He's studying management at Harvard Business School. He's making connections on the city's...

At deadline.
August 6, 2007... Ryerson takes aim at hedge fund Ryerson is accusing an Alabama hedge fund of trying to get control of the Chicago metals distributor on the cheap. "We see this as an attempt by Harbinger (Capital Partners) to take control . . . without...

Two accounting scandals taint auditor's rise; Grant Thornton's plan to join Big Four curbed by Refco, Parmalat.(News)
August 6, 2007... Byline: ANDREW OSTERLAND Grant Thornton LLP, the most promising candidate to join the ranks of the Big Four auditors, is getting a bitter taste of the potential risks involved in auditing bigger public companies. The Chicago-based firm...

For the record; Week ended 8.3.07.(FTR)(The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago appoints Charles Evans)(Nike settles race discrimination lawsuit)(Huron Consulting Group acquired by Callaway Partners LLC )
August 6, 2007... The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago named its research director, Charles Evans, its new president. Mr. Evans joined the Chicago Fed as an economist in 1991; he will take over Sept. 1 after Michael Moskow, 69, retires. Nike reached a...

Kennedys back condo-hotel plan.(Top Story)
August 6, 2007... A joint venture that includes the Kennedy family aims to transform a long-vacant riverside property west of the Merchandise Mart known as Wolf Point into a massive project anchored by an 89-story skyscraper and three high-rises containing 850...

Canning group the favorite for futures traders.(News)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Ann Saphir Even without information about the war chests of potential Chicago Cubs bidders, futures traders are already placing bets. A group led by John Canning is the odds-on favorite, with a 55% chance of winning the...

Mr. Cub steps up to the plate; Banks reaches out to bidders as Tribune nears sale of team.(News)(Chicago Cubs bidding)
August 6, 2007... Byline: GREGORY MEYER While teams form to bid for the Chicago Cubs, one would-be owner is still looking for a roster spot: beloved Cubs icon Ernie Banks. The Hall of Famer known as Mr. Cub recently reached out to at least three groups...

Cat snared in D.C. Dems throw free-trade agenda-Peoria giant's top priority-into reverse.(News)(Caterpillar Inc.)(Washington, D.C., United States)
August 6, 2007... Byline: BOB TITA Caterpillar Inc.'s free-trade drive has hit a brick wall on Capitol Hill. Trade pacts with Panama, Peru, Colombia and South Korea have been at the top of the Peoria company's lobbying agenda. The deals would eliminate...

Datebook.(Calendar)
August 6, 2007... THIS WEEK AUG. 7: Career Resource Center Inc. presents Blackbelt Techniques for Job Seekers. 7 p.m. Career Resource Center, Grove Cultural Campus, 40 E. Old Mill Road, Suite 105, Lake Forest. Fee: $40. (847) 295-5626. AUG. 8: Women's...

Very light jets aim at biz fliers; Corporate charters bet on lower cost over untested demand.(News)
August 6, 2007... Byline: PAUL MERRION A new air taxi service is landing in the Chicago area, using a new type of aircraft that promises to slash the cost of traveling by private corporate jet. But as a business model, will it fly? Around the...

Trump's inside jobs; Tower's rising, but the insides need work, too.(Focus: Commercial Real Estate)
August 6, 2007... Byline: JOHN T. SLANIA Construction on the Trump International Hotel & Tower reached a milestone when workers recently completed the 27th floor-the top of the hotel portion of the project. It wasn't just a symbolic benchmark: The hotel,...

Joined at the hip; Meet the "Twin Bills" of Trump Tower; Q&A William Schrimpl and William Boschelli.(Focus: Commercial Real Estate)(Interview)
August 6, 2007... Byline: JOHN T. SLANIA Their nicknames are the "Twin Bills,'' and for good reason. William Schrimpl, 56, and William Boschelli, 49, are almost always side-by-side on the construction site of Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago. As...

Gatorade takes gamble on low-cal version; 'Off-the-field hydrator' needs reason to drink it.(News)(PepsiCo Inc plans ti introduce sports drink)
August 6, 2007... Byline: BETH SNYDER BULIK Brand consultant Rob Frankel is flummoxed by Gatorade's plan to market a low-calorie electrolyte beverage for athletes when they're not exercising. "Why would I need Gatorade at my book-club meeting?'' he says....

It takes more than a village; UIC has built it, but will retail ever come?(Focus: Commercial Real Estate)(University of Illinois at Chicago)
August 6, 2007... Byline: SARAH A. KLEIN Unlike many new Chicago neighborhoods, University Village had the benefit of central planning. Springing up between 2000 and 2007, the 32-acre area south of the University of Illinois at Chicago campus had a single...

When parking is, yes, a joke; South Loop struggles with success.(Focus: Commercial Real Estate)
August 6, 2007... Byline: SARAH A. KLEIN Michael Panozzo, who opened an Italian deli and grocery on Michigan Avenue in the South Loop two months ago, likes to tell the story of the woman who called to ask if his store had complimentary parking. "I said,...

Take a balanced approach to Illinois budget; Your view.(Opinion)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Laurence Msall Laurence Msall is president of the Civic Federation in Chicago. As our state government wobbles into its tenth week of overtime, the path to meeting the constitutional requirement of a balanced budget seems to...

McD's tall order: Reduce mistakes; New registers designed to improve accuracy.(News)(McDonald's Corp.)
August 6, 2007... Byline: DAVID STERRETT McDonald's Corp. is testing a cash register aimed at cutting down the number of wrong orders, a problem that puts it near the back of the pack in rankings of fast-food drive-thrus. The register, now in 10,000 of...

IT'S HOT -- NOW WHAT? Do hot new neighborhoods lead to new business opportunities? Not in Chicago. Here's why.(Focus: Commercial Real Estate)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Sarah A. Klein You'd think rapidly gentrifying and expanding neighborhoods would be good for business. After all, affluent residents have money to burn on food, entertainment and professional services. But a Crain's investigation...

Paper Source set to grow at a faster clip; Private-equity purchase means hitting 100 shops.(News)(Brentwood Associates)
August 6, 2007... Byline: MONEE FIELDS-WHITE Susan Lindstrom, founder of Chicago-based Paper Source Inc., says she had taken the business as far as she could after expanding to 21 stores nationwide. So she worked with a couple of investment banks to find...

BLUE-SKY DAYS FOR MANSUETO'S MAGS; Entrepreneur's touch-and his millions-help revive struggling business pubs.(News)(Mansueto Ventures LLC)
August 6, 2007... Byline: STEVEN R. STRAHLER Joe Mansueto is on vacation this week, taking a break from his Morningstar Inc. CEO duties at his woodsy retreat in Michigan. But for Mr. Mansueto, vacation means kicking back with another business: He'll spend...

BULLS MAY BE DOWN, BUT NOT NECESSARILY OUT; A Conversation with Money Manager Steve Hefter.(Markets)(Hefter Leshem Margolis Capital Management Group)(Interview)(Brief article)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Daniel Rome Levine Steve Hefter, 53, managing director of investments, Hefter Leshem Margolis Capital Management Group, Deerfield Experience: 25 years Assets under management: $1 billion Crain's: Is the bull market in...

Gum's off-season coup; Wrigley scores sponsor role with N.Y. Nets.(News)(Brief article)
August 6, 2007... Byline: JEREMY MULLMAN Pro-sports franchises are forever seeking more stuff to sell to would-be sponsors, to the point where it seems no beer, bleacher area, gate giveaway or halftime entertainment is left unbranded. Even against that...

INDIAN LAKES RESORT.(The Business of Life)
August 6, 2007... 250 W. Schick Road Bloomingdale (630) 529-6466 www.golfindianlakes.com Length: 6,919 yards (Blackhawk Trace) Rating: 73.1 Slope: 133 Director of golf: Tom Denklau Green fee: $73, cart included, at peak times...

Long list of losers in budget standoff; Transit, schools brace for funds to start drying up.(News)
August 6, 2007... Byline: GREG HINZ Commuters, parents and thousands of state vendors are about to feel the impact of the failure to pass a new state budget in Springfield, even as lawmakers continue efforts that, at least so far, have been the political...

After the boom; Need to know.(Focus: Commercial Real Estate)(Brief article)
August 6, 2007... Chicago's up-and-coming neighborhoods are full of new residents, but as commercial development lags . . . is there anything to do? Need to know: 21.3%: Increase in the number of households in Chicago's South Loop neighborhood between...

City's pension plans a recipe for disaster; Our view.(Opinion)
August 6, 2007... Mayor Richard M. Daley is risking a financial meltdown in the city's pension plans. As Greg Hinz reported on ChicagoBusiness.com last week ("City's pension funds growing weaker,'' July 27), the unfunded liabilities of pension plans...

LAST CALL; Smoking ban marks end of an era for cigar lovers.(News)
August 6, 2007... Byline: H. LEE MURPHY AND MEGHAN STREIT Jonathan Malm is preparing to snuff out a tradition. Like many others, the Des Plaines real estate developer has for years capped off an evening of deal-making at local steakhouses such as...

Making Connections; Info Junkie.(The Business of Life)(Brief article)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Christina Le Beau David Weinstein, 36, president of the non-profit Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center and a fixture among local Democrats, is a hyper guy, so before a big presentation, he grabs a newspaper. "Reading calms me...

`Solidly grounding' Night Ministry's programs; SPOTLIGHT Paul Hamann.(People)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Lorene Yue Job: President, since July 1, of the Night Ministry, a Chicago program that provides shelters and health outreach to homeless and at-risk youth. Vitals: 41 years old; bachelor's degree in psychology and teaching...

Indian Lakes ready for upgrade; Challenging Blackhawk course worth the trip.(The Business of Life)
August 6, 2007... Byline: H. LEE MURPHY No golfer likes to see courses threatened, but in the case of Indian Lakes Resort in Bloomingdale, perhaps some sacrifice is in order. Indian Lakes' owner, First Hospitality Group Inc. of Des Plaines, is asking...

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.(Opinion)
August 6, 2007... Transit's deterioration more costly than improvements It's often said that transit is a good deal for the Chicago region's economy. We can now measure that in dollars. Investments to maintain the system at its current level will more...

City's coveted invites are private affairs; Taking Names.(The Business of Life)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Shia Karpos Invitations to the city's big charity fundraisers have long been a mark of social status in Chicago. But for unfettered extravagance, private parties are the place to be. Matt Hulsizer and Jenny Just, co-founders of...

On the move.(People)(Michael Wujciak appointed at Johnsson Group Inc.)(William R. Dodds appointed at Northern Trust Corp.)(Holly Hughes appointed at Fifth Third Bank)(Brief article)
August 6, 2007... FINANCIAL SERVICES Charter One Bank N.A., Cleveland: Donald Spoelhof, 48, to senior vice-president and regional manager for the Illinois far Southeast region, in Orland Hills, from regional manager at Fifth Third Bank Chicago. Cochlan...

Ghosts of the Chicago blues; Historic neighborhood struggles with renewal.(Focus: Commercial Real Estate)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Stuart Luman What: A historic Bronzeville building, built in the '20s, is being rehabbed for retail and office space amid a burst of community redevelopment Where: 708 E. 47th St. How big: 15,000 square feet on two floors...

Warehouse sale?(Markets)(First Industrial Realty Trust Inc.)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Eddie Baeb First Industrial Realty Trust Inc., one of the nation's largest warehouse and factory property owners, looks like a takeover candidate amid a buyout boom that's plucked dozens of real estate investment trusts from the...

Inching toward public debut; 8 Illinois firms have IPOs on the horizon despite a recent bumpy launch for Orbitz.(Markets)(Initial Public Offering)
August 13, 2007... Byline: STEVEN R. STRAHLER At least eight Chicago-area companies are moving toward their public debuts as IPO markets perk up from a recent slumber. Local firms believed to be weighing initial public offerings include broker and...

Motorola exec signals new focus; Cell phone prez Reed known for cost-cutting.(News)(Stuart Reed)
August 13, 2007... Byline: PAUL MERRION Facing pressure to jazz up its designs and step up marketing, Motorola Inc. has a surprising answer for curing its ailing cell phone business. The company last month tapped Stuart Reed, 45, who has spent his...

The darker side of development; Going where others can't, or won't, tread.(Focus: Small Business)
August 13, 2007... Byline: MARK SCHEFFLER When thinking of ideal places for business, few would choose countries with zero infrastructure that are roamed by gun-runners and ruled by corrupt "presidents for life.'' Yet it's in these "frontier'' markets...

The China (doll) syndrome; Be wary when choosing to hire a foreign broker.(Focus: Small Business)
August 13, 2007... Byline: MARK SCHEFFLER "Too fat and too short.'' That was the state of the toy Michael Perry's Hong Kong agent had produced for him at a factory outside Shanghai. As he looked down on the sorry object, the Forest Park entrepreneur...

When in Rome, do you need a Roman? The daunting task of finding local talent to run overseas operations.(Focus: Small Business)
August 13, 2007... Byline: MARK SCHEFFLER How do you say "help wanted'' in Hindi, Mandarin or Norwegian? If you're going global, you'd better find out. You're going to need to find the right employees to run your overseas operations. As a primer on how...

PUTTING SARA LEE BACK TOGETHER; Can Barnes, deputy unite jumbled units to run 'like a normal company'?(News)(Company overview)
August 13, 2007... Byline: DAVID STERRETT Terrified of heights, Stephen Cerrone decided to climb Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. Having survived that hike, lugging a 20-pound pack up 19,000 feet in gusty winds and freezing cold, Mr. Cerrone...

CREDIT CRUNCH MAY SEND U.S. INTO RECESSION; A Conversation With Money Manager Bob Acri.(Markets)(Interview)(Brief article)
August 13, 2007... Byline: Daniel Rome Levine Bob Acri, 50, principal, Kenilworth Asset Management LLC, Kenilworth Experience: 25 years Assets under management: $400 million Crain's: What do you see ahead for U.S. stocks and the economy? ...

A Stone rolls into China deal scene; Former cardboard king hunts acquisitions via IPO.(News)
August 13, 2007... Byline: BOB TITA After convincing investors to trust him with $120 million, Roger Stone wants them to let him spend $300 million of their money in China. Mr. Stone, ex-CEO of Chicago's Stone Container Corp., and Richard Tan, founder of...

FASHION SHOPS MAG MILE; After surge of gadget merchants, trendy apparel retailers are back.(News)
August 13, 2007... Byline: EDDIE BAEB and THOMAS A. CORFMAN Fashion is in again on the Magnificent Mile. After a time when it seemed like most new retailers coming to North Michigan Avenue were either electronics stores or the type of big-box shops that...

Chicago knows Polo: RL has its eye on NY; Taking names.(The Business of Life)
August 13, 2007... Byline: Shia Kapos When RL opened more than a decade ago next to the flagship Ralph Lauren Polo store on the Magnificent Mile, it was managed by New Yorkers as an Italian restaurant. It went over with a thud and there were hints it might...

Hedge fund flap hits Huizengas; Prominent family's suit highlights pitfalls of risky investments.(News)
August 13, 2007... Byline: ANN SAPHIR The wealth manager for the Huizengas, among Chicago's most prominent families, says it got a reassuring update from one of the biggest local hedge funds in June of last year. The update included a chart showing that...

SchoolKidz gets itself noticed; Seller of customized student supplies draws new competition, suitor.(News)
August 13, 2007... Byline: JOHN T. SLANIA SchoolKidz.com has devised a way to deliver customized school supplies to students nationwide. Now it's attracting the attention of competitors large and small. At the time of year when parents and children are...

Abbott's latest infusion; Tyree, Capek provide new leadership blood at medical company.(News)
August 13, 2007... Byline: MIKE COLIAS Abbott Laboratories has new blood running its two most important businesses. The drug and medical products company last week appointed James Tyree to head its global pharmaceutical division. Mr. Tyree, 54, a...

Can 'gruppos' spawn groupies? A Chicago maker of bike parts looks to shine on the big stage.(Focus: Small Business)
August 13, 2007... Byline: MARK SCHEFFLER In the cutthroat battle of wills and stamina at this year's Tour de France bicycle race, one of the competitors wasn't an athlete: Chicago bike-parts manufacturer Sram Corp. The company has long been a leader in...

Sunny North Korea: Wish you were here; Care to see a statue or two of Kim Jong-Il?(Focus: Small Business)
August 13, 2007... Byline: MARK SCHEFFLER Walter Keats can get you into a place few others can: North Korea. The sequestered, Stalinist state has an eerie calm, says the owner of Asia Pacific Travel Ltd. in Kenilworth. The streets of the capital,...

When the world's your marketplace; Chicago entrepreneurs with passports and an eye for merchandise.(Focus: Small Business)
August 13, 2007... Byline: MARK SCHEFFLER Yoko Uozumi and her husband, Chicago DJ and techno-music producer Jeff Mills, were walking around Berlin's emerging, SoHo-like neighborhood of Mitte when they came across a shop owned by a pair of clothing designers....

Fast thinker; Info junkie.(The Business of Life)(Brief article)
August 13, 2007... Byline: Christina Le Beau Chuck Maniscalco, 54, CEO of PepsiCo Inc.'s Quaker Tropicana Gatorade division, once lingered over newspapers but now speeds through the New York Times "as though it's USA Today'' because of "this unfortunate pace...

Sludge for brains; BP BLUNDERS, BLUSTERS ITSELF INTO ONE HECKUVA POLLUTION MESS.(Greg Hinz)
August 13, 2007... Byline: Greg Hinz For those who wonder whatever happened to Hurricane Katrina's "heckuva job'' guy, I have news about Michael Brown, ex-chief of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The master of mismanagement and PR incompetence...

SPOTLIGHT Beth Ida Stern; Increasing funds for lung cancer research.(People)(Lungevity Foundation)(Brief article)
August 13, 2007... Byline: Brandon Glenn Job: Executive director, Lungevity Foundation, a Chicago non-profit funding lung cancer research, since April. Vitals: 43 years old; bachelor's degree in psychology, University of Michigan, 1985; MBA, Northwestern...

For The Record, week ended 08.10.07.(FTR)(Northern Illinois Gas Co. employees charged for financial fraud)(Thomas Fisher)(Kathleen Halloran)(George Behrens)(McDonald's Corp. sells chicken chain to Sun Capital Partners Inc.)(Federal Signal Corp. acquired PIPS Technology)
August 13, 2007... Evanston Northwestern Healthcare's acquisition of Highland Park Hospital in 2000 was "anti-competitive'' and led to higher consumer costs that were not offset by greater efficiencies, according to the FTC. Still, it overruled a 2005 decision...

Datebook.(Calendar)
August 13, 2007... THIS WEEK AUG. 13: Career Resource Center Inc. presents Resume Preparation and Presentation. 10:15 a.m. Career Resource Center, Grove Cultural Campus, 40 E. Old Mill Road, Suite 105, Lake Forest. Fee: $40. (847) 295-5626. AUG. 14:...

Menards for nails, tools, groceries? Home-improvement chain tests food format in Chicago, Milwaukee.(News)(Company overview)
August 13, 2007... Byline: JOHN DOBBERSTEIN As if supermarket competition weren't tough enough, a new player has added groceries to some of its Chicago stores. Menards Inc. has started selling grocery items in more than a dozen locations in the suburbs....

Legislature approves budget deal.(Top Story)(Brief article)
August 13, 2007... Illinois lawmakers finally signed off on a new state budget, but the $30-billion plan leaves unresolved issues such as mass-transit funding and operations of Chicago's convention center. Gov. Blagojevich, who doesn't like the budget, did not...

Destination: golden isles, Ga.(The Business of Life)(what to do at the place)
August 13, 2007... Byline: Anne Ford GET AWAY: Clustered off the Georgia coast near Brunswick, the Golden Isles-St. Simons Island, Sea Island, Little St. Simons Island and Jekyll Island-have been refuges of the privileged since the 1800s. The seclusion and...

COYOTE RUN GOLF COURSE.(The Business of Life)
August 13, 2007... 800 Kedzie Ave., Flossmoor (708) 957-8700 www.coyoterungolf.com Length: 6,478 yards Rating: 69.5 Slope: 123 Head pro: Brian Smith Green fee: $46 for non-residents on weekends (cart is additional $14) Tee...

Sporty, simple course is a walk in the park; Coyote Run's play is just right for beginners.(The Business of Life)(golf course)
August 13, 2007... Byline: H. LEE MURPHY Each new golf course builder in the last 20 years seems to have tried to outdo the last, striving for ever-longer, tougher, more prestigious layouts. No matter that 75% of golfers can't play, or even have real fun, on...

Auto rates price war; New Allstate CEO vows to hold the line as competitors slash.(News)
August 13, 2007... Byline: STEVE DANIELS No rate cuts: That's Allstate Corp. CEO Thomas Wilson's stand. As its fiercest competitors begin reducing auto insurance prices in earnest, Mr. Wilson and Allstate are sticking to their guns, vowing they won't...

Prix fixe menus make an elegant lunch easy; NoMi's complex fare leads high-end options.(The Business of Life)(David Burke's Primehouse)(Blue Water Grill)(NoMi)
August 13, 2007... Byline: LAURA BIANCHI Prix fixe menus offer a streamlined selection, bargain price and dishes organized "like a scaled-down degustation,'' says Christopher Koetke, dean of culinary arts at Kendall College in Chicago. Three top restaurants...

Quitting a job you just started; New hires weigh sinking feeling that it's all wrong against sense of obligation, dread of failure.(The Business of Life)
August 13, 2007... Byline: SHIA KAPOS AND RITA PYRILLIS Justin Ahrens knew as soon as the elevator doors opened at his new job that he had made a mistake in leaving his own business to work for someone else. "I thought I was going to vomit. Nothing felt...

Regulation of hedge funds long overdue; Our view.(Opinion)(Editorial)
August 13, 2007... It's time to think seriously about rational regulation of hedge funds. Every few weeks, it seems, we get news of another multibillion-dollar blowup at the hands of a hedge fund manager whose risky bets broke bad, or who's accused of...

Death bonds.(News)(Brief article)
August 13, 2007... Origin: Death bonds trace their roots to the 1980s, when AIDS patients sold their life-insurance policies to pay for health care. How they work: Investors who buy the policies pay the premiums and collect the death benefits when the...

Plenty of fish in the suburbs; Seafood restaurants see bounty in multiple sites.(News)(McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants Inc.)(Davis Street Fishmarket)
August 13, 2007... Byline: H. LEE MURPHY Upscale seafood restaurants, led by the McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants Inc. chain, are expanding in suburban Chicago. McCormick & Schmick's, a 68-restaurant company based in Portland, Ore., arrived...

Going global; THE LOOP IS FLAT.(Focus: Small Business)(business opportunities in high-growth foreign markets)(Viewpoint essay)
August 13, 2007... Byline: Thomas Mucha If you're curious about the wide world of business-and it's our strong belief that you should be-then consider the following: Over the next 40 years, average five-year growth rates in U.S. gross domestic product...

FACING NEW FRONTIERS; It's a big, big world of business. Here's your own guide to going global.(Focus: Small Business)(Brief article)
August 13, 2007... Need to know 95%: Percentage of the world's consumers who live outside the United States. 37%: Percentage of Boeing Co.'s 2006 sales made overseas. 65%: Percentage of McDonald's Corp.'s 2006 sales made overseas. 11.2%:...

Chief justice's case exposes hidden gap in Illinois law; Your view.(Opinion)(Thomas v. Page)
August 13, 2007... Byline: Marc J. Lane Marc J. Lane is a Chicago business and tax attorney and a financial adviser. For the first time in the nation's history, a federal lawsuit has been filed to challenge the fairness of a personal legal action...

On the move.(People)
August 13, 2007... ARCHITECTURE/ENGINEERING WIGHT & CO., Darien: Brad Paulsen, 41, to vice-president and K-12 education practice leader, from director in the K-12 education services group. CONSUMER SERVICES UAL Corp., Chicago: Todd Arkenberg, 46, to...

Small companies in big China; How to find factories for low-volume or customized orders.(Focus: Small Business)(Interview)
August 13, 2007... Byline: MARK SCHEFFLER You want to send your manufacturing overseas, but you're not placing high-volume orders. How do you navigate the sourcing waters when your orders are small or more customized? We talked with Anita Tang, a Hong...

Crain's picks.(The Business of Life)
August 13, 2007... Byline: Margaret Littman Opening "Bitter Sweet" 600 Emerson St. Evanston (847) 869-6300 www.lightoperaworks.org 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday Tickets: $28-$80, half-price for those under 21 Lady...