Crain's Chicago Business articles from January 2009

Crain's Chicago Business archives from January 2009

On the Move.(People)
January 5, 2009... ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT Chicago Zoological Society, Brookfield: Anna Clarke, 40, to vice-president of marketing and communications, from marketing director in the convenience retail division at BP Products North America Inc. CONSUMER...

Citadel shores up sinking funds; Questions raised as Griffin shifts cash between funds.(News)
January 5, 2009... Byline: ANN SAPHIR Citadel Investment Group is propping up its money-losing flagship funds with $300 million in loans from two smaller, profitable funds. The ability to move cash between funds is an important aspect of the flexibility...

Home loan setback; Government adjusts amount in guarantee on local mortgages.(News)
January 5, 2009... Byline: STEVE DANIELS A key support for mortgage lending just shrank, dealing a new blow to the moribund housing market. As of Jan. 1, the Federal Housing Administration reduced the amount it will guarantee on mortgages in the Chicago...

Survivor: Chicago; Outwit, outplay, outlast recession.(News)
January 5, 2009... Byline: Mike Colias, Monee Fields-White, John Pletz, Ann Saphir, David Sterrett and Bob Tita As a new year begins, Crain's examines key issues for some locally based bellwether companies trying to navigate an increasingly treacherous...

Looking to docs to help Resurrection grow.(People)
January 5, 2009... Byline: Mike Colias Job: President and CEO, Resurrection Health Care, a Chicago-based system of eight Catholic hospitals, since Nov. 3. Vitals: 63 years old; bachelor's degree in English, Western Michigan University, 1967; master's...

Farm subsidies and other sacred cows: It's time for slaughter.(Opinion)
January 5, 2009... Byline: Blair Hull Blair Hull is CEO of Matlock Capital LLC in Chicago. President-elect Barack Obama will enter the White House in a few weeks with a tremendous opportunity to make budget-slashing decisions because they are right for...

A new high-rise home for city's sports stars.(Business of Life)
January 5, 2009... Byline: Shia Kapos Lake Point Tower seems to be losing its reputation as Chicago's high-rise locker room. Trump International Hotel & Tower just saw another pro-ball name sign for one of its exclusive residential condominiums. ...

PAYBACK TIME? CEO salaries in for rough year as economic, political forces align against big pay.(News)
January 5, 2009... Byline: JOHN PLETZ After rising unchecked for years, CEO pay may be headed for a fall. Compensation experts say the severe downturn, a shift in the political winds and shareholder outrage could finally combine to pressure companies to...

NOT-GREAT EXPECTATIONS; Chicago recession could last all year; can tech, services save us?(News)
January 5, 2009... Byline: MONEE FIELDS-WHITE The deepening recession, already more than a year old, will probably maintain its stranglehold on the Chicago economy for at least another year. Economists predict an early-2010 bounce-back from the downturn,...

South Loop cool-down seen in '09; Growing glut threatens home valuations in once-hot condo market.(News)
January 5, 2009... Byline: ALBY GALLUN The downtown Chicago condo market is bad all over, but it's worse in the neighborhood that was hottest during the building boom: the South Loop. Builders will complete 2,147 condos in the South Loop this year, a...

Dealmaker set to strike; Pieces in place for Abbott's White to ramp up medical firm's makeover.(News)
January 5, 2009... Byline: MIKE COLIAS Miles White, who reshaped Abbott Laboratories over the past decade through big deals, is positioned for another game-changer. Pharmaceutical companies are expected to go on buying sprees this year for potential...

Out with the old: Crain's wish list for the new year.(Opinion)
January 5, 2009... As 2009 begins, we'd rather look forward to a new year in Chicago than look back on a brutal 2008. Of course, as Senior Reporter Monee Fields-White reports this week, 2009 may be just as brutal or-God help us-worse. But we'll have all year...

Thinking big; OBAMA'S PRESIDENCY IS LIKELY TO BE MEASURED IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.(News)
January 5, 2009... Byline: Greg Hinz Though every new president faces serious challenges, it would be hard to overstate the magnitude of what the Chicagoan who will be president is about to confront. Barack Obama inherits an economy that's beyond weak,...

Opening/On Sale.(Business of Life)
January 12, 2009... OPENING "Polaroids: Mapplethorpe" 40 Arts Circle Drive Evanston (847) 491-4000 www.blockmuseum.northwestern.edu 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; noon-5 p.m. Saturday, Sunday Free ...

Tax plan has appeal; Obama's breaks would help local builders, small biz and others.(News)
January 12, 2009... Byline: PAUL MERRION President-elect Barack Obama's decision to add $300 billion in corporate and individual tax cuts to his stimulus proposal should help a wide range of Chicago-area companies, particularly homebuilders and others hit...

Strip-mall owner faces reckoning; Inland unit peddling properties as $2-bil. debt deadlines loom.(News)
January 12, 2009... Byline: ALBY GALLUN With more than $2 billion in debt coming due amid the worst real estate lending market in decades, the nation's fifth-largest strip-mall owner is moving to conserve cash and sell off properties it hopes will fetch at...

LICENSE TO PILL; Acquisition vaults SXC Health Solutions into pharmacy benefits, but stiff competition awaits.(Markets)
January 12, 2009... Byline: MIKE COLIAS SXC Health Solutions Corp.'s expansion into pharmacy-benefits management puts it on a collision course with some big competition. Shares of Lisle-based SXC soared 29% last year, fueled by the $150-million buyout of...

Pols lag people; BURRIS AFFAIR SHOWS RACE MATTERS LESS TO VOTERS THAN IT DOES TO SO-CALLED LEADERS.(News)
January 12, 2009... Byline: Greg Hinz Ask any African-American teenager what kind of experience he's had with white Chicago cops, or any white woman what goes through her head when she sees a group of black men walking toward her on a dark street, and you'll...

Allstate ready for price fight; Auto insurer enters rate-cutting fray as drivers pinch pennies.(News)
January 12, 2009... Byline: STEVE DANIELS Allstate Corp. is wading into the insurance price wars it has dodged for years. Stung by rivals offering lower rates, Allstate is preparing to launch a new auto policy aimed at cost-conscious customers, according...

On the Move.(People)
January 12, 2009... FINANCIAL SERVICES Northern Trust Corp., Chicago: Douglas Holt, 45, to senior vice-president of corporate communications, from senior vice-president of corporate communications at Citadel Investment Group LLC. Old Second National Bank,...

Stay-behinds plan festivities in Chicago.(Business of Life)
January 12, 2009... Byline: Shia Kapos Chicagoans staying home for Barack Obama's inauguration are making their own fun, complete with bubbly (in mugs). A party at the Union League Club will coincide with the swearing-in, at 11 a.m. Chicago time. Among...

Soldiering on, so our readers can, too.(Opinion)
January 12, 2009... Among the many unpleasant side effects of hard times is the bewilderment that comes when an avalanche of bad news buries our assumptions about the economic future. Slumping sales, vanishing profits, lost jobs leave us searching for...

PUMP PAIN, PART TWO; New rise in gas prices pinches Chicago.(News)
January 12, 2009... Byline: MONEE FIELDS-WHITE AND JOHN PLETZ Don't look now, but gasoline prices are climbing again. Chicagoans are paying more than $2 per gallon at many stations after enjoying a steep decline last fall that bottomed out below $1.60 in...

VIPs? Not so much at an inaugural; Dreams of glamour give way to reality: few perks, and the Obamas seen only at a distance.(Business of Life)
January 12, 2009... Byline: SHIA KAPOS Most friends and associates of Barack Obama already have all but lost access to their pal and neighbor from the South Side. Now, their dreams of attending glamorous balls and dancing with the president and first lady...

Kraft not getting VIP treatment; Grocery-aisle giant holds only bit-player status at club stores.(News)
January 12, 2009... Byline: DAVID STERRETT Many of Kraft Foods Inc.'s top brands are being left behind the ropes in the emerging club-store scene. While Kraft cheese, crackers and other products line the aisles of traditional grocery stores across the...

Free-trade deals falter; President-elect opposes pacts that would benefit Caterpillar, Deere.(News)
January 12, 2009... Byline: BOB TITA Free-trade deals benefiting Caterpillar Inc., Deere & Co. and other Illinois exporters are losing momentum as President-elect Barack Obama prepares to take office. U.S. trade pacts pushed by the Bush administration...

AlphaMetrix gets new security detail.(People)
January 12, 2009... Byline: Ann Saphir Job: Managing director, AlphaMetrix LLC, a Chicago-based financial services company specializing in research on hedge-fund managers, since Jan. 5. Vitals: 51 years old; bachelor's degree in law enforcement and...

North's new direction; In TV move, talk jock bets he can sell, too.(News)(Correction notice)
January 12, 2009... Byline: ED SHERMAN ***** Correction: Mike North's new show on Comcast SportsNet, "Monsters in the Morning,'' was misidentified in a Jan. 12 story. ***** Before he was a Chicago radio personality, Mike North ran a hot-dog...

WINDY CITY WHITE HOUSE; A hometown prez means access to the powers that be; 'you return calls to people you know'.(News)
January 19, 2009... Byline: PAUL MERRION With Barack Obama in the Oval Office and a handful of top-level Chicago advisers and Cabinet officers nearby, the 44th president's hometown is about to enjoy a period of unprecedented access to the halls of power in...

Luring us to drink our troubles away.(Brief article)
January 19, 2009... Byline: Shia Kapos Restaurant owners are taking a cue from human nature, which says we all succumb to a guilty pleasure now and again-even in a bad economy. "I like to save a little room in the budget for the finer things, and that...

Open season; SOMEBODY NOBODY SENT COULD WIN THE 5TH DISTRICT'S CONGRESSIONAL SEAT.(Congressional elections)
January 19, 2009... Byline: Greg Hinz It's been a long time since Chicago enjoyed a truly "open'' primary for a big elected job, one that City Hall and the Regular Democratic Organization, aka the Machine, sat out. But after much early posturing and...

McD's rivals wage price war; Markdowns come after double cheeseburger pulled off Dollar Menu.(News)
January 19, 2009... Byline: DAVID STERRETT Fast-food competitors are challenging McDonald's Corp. with cheaper eats as the recession forces consumers to curb spending. Burger King, Wendy's, Taco Bell, KFC and Sonic all have expanded their "value menu''...

On the Move.(First Chicago Bancorp)(Illinois Homes LLC)
January 19, 2009... FINANCIAL SERVICES First Chicago Bancorp, Itasca: Thomas Doherty, 44, to senior vice-president of small-business banking, from senior vice-president at Park National Bank. Also, Kathie Thorne, 60, to senior vice-president of retail...

Obama on right path with biz tax relief.(2016 Summer Games)(Viewpoint essay)(Brief article)
January 19, 2009... Among the more encouraging signals from the Obama camp is the recent indication that the president-elect wants to include some tax relief for businesses in his $700-billion-plus economic stimulus program. Until recently, his plan for...

Sales unraveling at Obama suitmaker; Hartmarx faces fiscal woes of its own as more men dress down.(News)
January 19, 2009... Byline: H. LEE MURPHY Barack Obama may be wearing a Hart Schaffner Marx suit when he takes the oath of office Tuesday, but the presidential connection is looking like a hollow triumph for suitmaker Hartmarx Corp. Chicago-based Hartmarx...

Doubts on Peoples plan; Parent's budget cuts could slow replacement of city's aging gas pipes.(News)
January 19, 2009... Byline: STEVE DANIELS Spending cuts planned by the parent of Peoples Gas are raising concerns that the replacement of aging, corrosion-prone natural-gas pipes below Chicago's streets will be delayed. Chicago-based Integrys Energy Group...

Olympic project draws developers; Magellan, Related, Enterprise and Freed eye athletes' village.(2016 Summer Games)
January 19, 2009... Byline: JOHN PLETZ Some of Chicago's biggest real estate developers are lining up to build a massive complex to house Olympic athletes if Chicago hosts the 2016 Summer Games. Magellan Development Group LLC, Related Midwest LLC,...

Setting Jet Support Services' course abroad.(People)
January 19, 2009... Byline: John Pletz Job: CEO, Jet Support Services Inc., a Chicago-based company that manages private aircraft maintenance costs for companies and individuals, since September. Vitals: 53 years old; bachelor's degree in English, Kenyon...

Corrections.(Correction notice)
January 19, 2009... Mike North's new show on Comcast SportsNet, "Monsters in the Morning,'' was misidentified in a Jan. 12 story. A graphic accompanying a Jan. 12 story on Inland Western Retail Real Estate Trust Inc. misstated the level of its maturing debt...

Bucksbaum maneuver: power play? Family increases its voting stake; could enable a sell-off.(News)
January 19, 2009... Byline: ALBY GALLUN With the value of the family business sinking and an activist investor lurking, the Bucksbaums appear to be preparing to fight or flee. Those are two possible explanations for a recent Securities and Exchange...

EARNINGS COME UNDONE; Chicago companies in worst profit slide in years as recession tightens grip.(News)
January 19, 2009... Byline: H. LEE MURPHY The profit bleed has turned into a gusher for Chicago CEOs. With the first batch of fourth-quarter financial results set for release this week, businesses and investors are bracing for the weakest earnings...

Helping managers lead in uncertain times.(People)
January 26, 2009... Byline: Monee Fields-White Job: CEO, RHR International Co., a Wood Dale-based management consultant, since November. Vitals: 56 years old; bachelor's degree in English, State University of New York-Plattsburgh, 1973; master's in...

TROUBLE ABROAD; Kraft chief Rosenfeld's overseas expansion faces bumpy ride as economies slow.(News)
January 26, 2009... Byline: DAVID STERRETT The global economic slowdown is testing Irene Rosenfeld's plan to sell more Oreos in China. Kraft Foods Inc.'s CEO bet big on foreign markets two years ago, paying $7.8 billion for Paris-based Groupe Danone...

Show's over; FINAL ACT IN BLAGO SIDESHOW APPROACHES, LEAVING US TO FACE HARSH REALITIES.(economic stimulus package by Barack Obama)
January 26, 2009... Byline: Greg Hinz Now that President Barack Obama has been elected, sworn in (twice) and inaugurated, and his Senate seat filled, there's only one more drama to come before our government finally can focus on business. That would be...

Corus moves to stop bleeding; As condos hemorrhage, Glickman to try hand at making mortgages.(Corus Bankshares Inc. regulating mortgage plans)
January 26, 2009... Byline: STEVE DANIELS Corus Bankshares Inc., the Chicago-based construction lender deeply wounded by the housing market's collapse, is trying to stop the bleeding by entering a new business: making mortgages. CEO Robert Glickman says...

Cubs buyer won't swing for fences; Buyout debt leaves less for Wrigley rehab, big spending on stars.(Thomas Ricketts finances Chicago Cubs )
January 26, 2009... Byline: MIKE COLIAS AND ANN SAPHIR Don't expect an early-inning spending spree from Thomas Ricketts if the bond salesman becomes the owner of the Chicago Cubs by opening day. Mr. Ricketts and his family plan to borrow up to half the...

High-profile attorney enters retirement zone.(real estate attorney Jack Guthman plans to rsign)(Brief article)
January 26, 2009... Byline: Shia Kapos High-profile real estate attorney Jack Guthman, who represented the Chicago Park District in its fights to move the Children's Museum to Grant Park and create a soccer field in Lincoln Park, is calling it quits. One...

Turf battle brewing for Hospira; Big pharma firms line up for shots at U.S. bio-generics market.(Hospira Inc. faces tough competition by drugmakers for biotechnology drugs)
January 26, 2009... Byline: MIKE COLIAS Hospira Inc.'s bid to dominate a new, lucrative slice of the pharmaceutical market is under threat from some of the world's largest drugmakers. Lake Forest-based Hospira is the only U.S. company selling copycat...

Stimulus plan: Taxing bodies give all a break.(Cook County Assessor Jim Houlihan plans to reduce residential property assessments )(Brief article)
January 26, 2009... Signs that Cook County Assessor Jim Houlihan is ready to reduce residential property assessments to reflect tumbling home prices are welcome, but such a move would have little impact on tax bills unless local governments cut spending. In...

CHAOS THEORISTS; Market turmoil means big profits at Chicago's proprietary trading firms.(management and growth of proprietary trading firms)
January 26, 2009... Byline: ANN SAPHIR As collapsing markets clobber banks, hedge funds and private-equity firms, one corner of Chicago's financial industry is thriving. Little-known firms such as Infinium Capital Management LLC, DRW Holdings LLC and...

Home sales crater; Levels 'easily below' recession of early '80s; no recovery until 2011.(News)
January 26, 2009... Byline: ALBY GALLUN New home sales plunged in 2008 for the third year in a row, exceeding lows seen during the brutal recession of the early 1980s. Chicago-area homebuilders sold 6,439 homes last year, a 58% decline from 2007,...

HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO; Next Walgreen CEO must bring prescription for drugstore chain's slowing sales growth, languishing shares.(Markets)
January 26, 2009... Byline: MONEE FIELDS-WHITE Walgreen Co.'s next CEO faces an uphill battle to restore investor confidence. Shares have tumbled 29% since the end of 2007 as the Deerfield-based drugstore chain missed analysts' earnings forecasts in...

On the Move.(Darrell Jackson joins as president )(Jennifer L. Newhouse joins as director of community relations )(Bevin M. Brennan joins as associate)
January 26, 2009... ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT Newberry Library, Chicago: Scott Stevens, 45, to director of the D'Arcy McNickle Center for American Indian History, from director of graduate studies in English at the University at Buffalo, N.Y. FINANCIAL SERVICES...