Crain's Chicago Business articles from March 2009

Crain's Chicago Business archives from March 2009

Why perks still matter-even IN A DOWNTURN; WORKPLACE WINNERS.(Focus: Best Places to Work)
March 2, 2009... Byline: Matthew Carmichael With layoffs rippling through the economy, a steady paycheck might be considered a pretty good job perk these days. Several companies on Crain's list of the Best Places to Work, most notably Microsoft Corp....

Pension bombs going off; Boeing, Cat must plug multibillion-dollar gaps.
March 2, 2009... Byline: PAUL MERRION Exploding pension fund shortfalls are blowing billion-dollar holes in the balance sheets of some of the Chicago area's biggest companies, forcing them to make huge contributions to retirement plans at a time when cash...

On the Move.(BMO Capital Markets)(Advocate Lutheran General hospital )(Howard Ecker & Co)
March 2, 2009... ARTS/ ENTERTAINMENT PEGGY NOTEBAERT NATURE MUSEUM, Chicago: Rafael Rosa, 44, to vice-president of education, from director of education. Also, Doug Taron, 51, to vice-president of research and conservation, and continuing as curator of...

5. STRESS- BUSTERS digitas.(Focus: Best Places to Work)
March 2, 2009... Byline: Matthew Carmichael Why it's a Best Place to Work: To get a sense of what working for Digitas Chicago is like, check out its channel on YouTube, where employees post videos of company parties and office hijinks. Whether it's...

11. talk about job security: Clune.
March 2, 2009... Byline: Matthew Carmichael Why it's a Best Place to Work: Fully funded health care, a free company trip each January to someplace warm-this year it was the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas-and a liberal leave policy are probably enough...

13. Show 'em the money: Sentinel technologies.(Brief article)
March 2, 2009... Byline: Matthew Carmichael Why it's a Best Place to Work: The office is fairly Spartan, with not a pool table to be found. The most recent holiday party was held in the break room. Yet the same management team has been in place for nearly...

A hot-stove market for utility players; A conversation with money manager Alvin Marley.(Lombardia Capital Partners LLC)(Interview)(Brief article)
March 2, 2009... Byline: Mike Colias Alvin Marley, 61, managing director and head of small-cap investments, Lombardia Capital Partners LLC, Chicago Experience: 35 years Assets under management: $350 million CRAIN'S: What are you hearing from...

Olympic list: clout city; Donors include major city contractors, favor seekers.
March 2, 2009... Byline: JOHN PLETZ A newly released list of donors to Chicago's Olympics bid includes many with more than just a rooting interest in the city's quest for the games. Along with the usual businesses and civic luminaries are city...

Kraft holds off on new products; Bad economy forces Rosenfeld to rethink innovation strategy.(News)
March 2, 2009... Byline: DAVID STERRETT Irene Rosenfeld is turning down the flame on innovation at Kraft Foods Inc. New products have been a big part of the CEO's plan to boost sales, a strategy that over the past couple of years has produced hits in...

FALLING FORTUNES; Chicago's wealthiest take lumps . . . as market turns billions into millions.
March 2, 2009... Byline: ANN SAPHIR From old money to new, the wealthiest Chicagoans are suffering in the stock market collapse. Losses of a billion dollars or more have hammered the portfolios of establishment families like the Pritzkers and Crowns,...

Back to basics at Midwest Banc Holdings.(People)
March 2, 2009... Byline: Steve Daniels Job: President and CEO, Melrose Park-based Midwest Banc Holdings Inc., since Jan. 29. Vitals: 60 years old; bachelor's degree in business administration, Loyola University, 1970; MBA, DePaul University, 1973;...

FBOP's waiting game; In line for federal bailout, local bank also seeks private help.(News)
March 2, 2009... Byline: STEVE DANIELS FBOP Corp., awaiting word on whether it will receive federal bailout funds, is looking for money elsewhere, too. While FBOP, Chicago's third-largest bank holding company, expects to receive the funds, it is "also...

Free-for-all; DEMOCRACY RUNS AMOK IN 5TH DISTRICT, SHOWING OPEN POLITICS HAS DRAWBACKS, TOO.
March 2, 2009... Byline: Greg Hinz When a candidate arrived late for a 5th Congressional District debate a few days ago, the other 15 contenders on stage had to stand up to let the guy squeeze in and then make room for yet one more chair. So it goes in...

17: Still into gadgets: Avanade.(Avanade Inc. )(Brief article)
March 2, 2009... Byline: Matthew Carmichael Why it's a Best Place to Work: Since last year's survey, Avanade has seen a 40% increase in human resources-related programs after a new CEO, new vice-president of human resources and new three-year business plan...

15: Where staffers want to stay: James Hotel.(James Hotel)(Brief article)
March 2, 2009... Byline: Matthew Carmichael Why it's a Best Place to Work: Like most hotels, the James has the unenviable task of creating a workplace that appeals to everyone from building engineers to accountants to vegetable peelers to marketing...

THE FINE PRINT.(Brief article)
March 2, 2009... Who was eligible? Any business with more than 100 employees as of Sept. 30, 2008, in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties. More than 150 applied. What criteria were used? Valtera Corp., a Rolling Meadows-based...

MEDICAL EVOLUTION; Recession, reform will spur consolidation and a new focus on quality and cost for docs, hospitals, drugmakers.(NorthShore University HealthSystem)
March 2, 2009... Byline: Mike Colias Meira Schur, a mother of six, often pops into her Evanston pediatrician's office unannounced-sometimes at night, or even on Sunday-toting a kid with an ear infection or high fever. A doctor's nightmare? NorthShore...

Parties hosted by the mayor, in name only.(Brief article)
March 2, 2009... Byline: Shia Kapos Mayor Richard M. Daley has taken his economic paring knife to the Commission on Human Relations. The eight groups under the umbrella organization were told to come up with their own money for annual receptions...

Wal-Mart's push runs out of gas; Daley has no stomach for big-box rematch.(News)
March 2, 2009... Byline: MONEE FIELDS-WHITE Opposition to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is stiffening at City Hall even as the retailer pitches its expansion as an antidote to recession. The Arkansas-based discount giant, which operates a single Chicago store,...

'High speed'? Not with local freight system.(high-speed rail lines)
March 2, 2009... Chicago's men in Washington showed misplaced priorities last week on a transportation issue that's critical to our region. White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and Sen. Richard Durbin swung their considerable clout behind high-speed...

Power pairs climb ladder together; They may part, but only briefly; how do colleagues see it?
March 9, 2009... Byline: SHIA KAPOS Norman Bobins and Larry Richman had worked at American National Bank & Trust Co. for six years when, over a drink at the Metropolitan Club one evening, Mr. Bobins dropped the news that he was leaving to join Exchange...

Research cutbacks anger docs at U of C; Another controversy for S. Side med center.(University of Chicago Medical Center)
March 9, 2009... Byline: MIKE COLIAS The budget ax at the University of Chicago Medical Center is falling on a sacred cow: research. U of C officials are withholding funds that were used to recruit top researchers, a move that is creating ill will...

Restaurant business strains Segal family.(Brief article)
March 9, 2009... Byline: Shia Kapos Michael "Mickey'' Segal went to prison three years ago for taking $30 million from insurance clients-small potatoes in this multibillion-dollar Bernie Madoff era. Now his family is trying to make ends meet in the...

Wrecking ball hits local office building sales; Volume plummets 78%; '09 outlook 'not pretty'.(News)
March 9, 2009... Byline: EDDIE BAEB Chicago office building sales plunged to their lowest in at least six years in 2008 amid the credit freeze and deepening recession. The combined transaction price for 18 downtown and suburban properties sold last...

Stock buybacks backfire; Allstate, ITW among local firms curbing repurchase plans.(News)
March 9, 2009... Byline: ANN SAPHIR After spending billions in futile efforts to prop up their stock prices, some of Chicago's biggest companies are feeling buyer's remorse. Allstate Corp., CME Group Inc., Illinois Tool Works Inc., Sara Lee Corp. and...

Tax plan hits home; Obama budget would squeeze local companies.(News)
March 9, 2009... Byline: PAUL MERRION President Barack Obama's oft-repeated campaign promise to end corporate tax breaks that "ship jobs overseas'' is hitting home for some of the largest local companies. It's now clear that he wasn't just talking...

Real estate innovator's charm fades; Tax-shelter pioneer Rob Hannah faces an investor revolt.(investor Wayne R. "Rob'' Hannah III accused of mismanaging properties and misleading investors and violating Illinois securities laws)
March 9, 2009... Byline: ALBY GALLUN Wayne R. "Rob'' Hannah III projected the image of a real estate innovator, pushing newfangled tax-shelter investments during the boom earlier this decade and later seeking to raise $1.5 billion for the nation's first...

Bond-aids for battered investors; A conversation with money manager David Pequet.(MPI Investment Management Inc.)(Interview)(Brief article)
March 9, 2009... Byline: David Sterrett David Pequet, 56, CEO and chief investment officer, MPI Investment Management Inc., Hinsdale Experience: 33 years Assets under management: $205 million CRAIN'S: What's the key to picking municipal bonds...

Jim Beam takes shot at cherry bourbon; Red Stag aims to broaden brand's appeal.(News)
March 9, 2009... Byline: DAVID STERRETT Jim Beam is sending over a new drink. The unit of Deerfield-based Fortune Brands Inc. hopes Red Stag, a black cherry-infused version of its famous bourbon, will win over cocktail drinkers, broadening the...

`Great hiring opportunity' works for Sagent.(People)
March 9, 2009... Byline: Ann Saphir Job: Managing director and head of automotive group in Chicago at New York-based investment bank Sagent Advisors Inc., since Feb. 19. Vitals: 44 years old; bachelor's degree in political science, Northwestern...

Spice House vs. Penzeys: It's all in the family.(Spice House)(Brief article)
March 9, 2009... Byline: H. Lee Murphy When Thomas Johnson needs a garlic rub for his ribs, he heads to the Spice House in Geneva. Other times, the St. Charles resident might drive to Penzeys Spices in Naperville. The herb and spice specialists have...

on the move.(David Johanneson appoints Navistar Financial Corp)(Peter Cherecwich joins Northern Trust Corp)(Beermann Swerdlove LLP)
March 9, 2009... FINANCIAL SERVICES NAVISTAR FINANCIAL CORP., Schaumburg: David Johanneson, 58, to president and CEO, from group vice-president of global sales, marketing and distribution at Navistar Inc. NORTHERN TRUST CORP., Chicago: Peter...

Debt sparks interest; Real estate investors are offering to buy commercial loans.(News)
March 9, 2009... Byline: EDDIE BAEB The "toxic assets'' clogging the balance sheets of real estate lenders are starting to smell like opportunity to some investors. Chicago developer John Buck and a group backed by executives of local private-equity...

TOM WILSON'S WAR; CEO soldiers on as market batters Allstate's push into financial services.(News)
March 9, 2009... Byline: STEVE DANIELS Tom Wilson's plan to turn auto insurer Allstate Corp. into Middle America's financial adviser has collided with the economic crisis. But Mr. Wilson isn't giving up-even in the face of some big setbacks and the...

Porkers protest; ILLINOIS' D.C. DELEGATES DEFEND THEIR RIGHT TO SEND HOME THE BACON WE WANT.(News)
March 9, 2009... Byline: Greg Hinz One of the media's favorite targets is back in the news, thankfully. I'm talking about congressional earmarks, those delightfully tasty morsels of public largesse that obviously constitute pure pork and waste-unless, of...

THE SECRET LIFE OF SEARS SHORT-SELLERS; Lampert wants to pull back curtain on those targeting his company's stock, but ailing retailer offers plenty of reasons to be bearish.(Markets)
March 9, 2009... Byline: MONEE FIELDS-WHITE Edward Lampert's effort to lift Sears Holdings Corp.'s shares by flushing out short- sellers faces long odds. In his annual letter to shareholders last month, the Sears chairman called for scaled-up...

Illinois needs campaign finance reform.(Viewpoint essay)
March 9, 2009... Prospects for political reform in Illinois have never looked better. That's not the same as saying it will happen, but we can hope. The scandal of Gov. Rod Blagojevich auctioning off a U.S. Senate seat exposed Illinois to national...

Failing grade; ILLINOIS CAN NO LONGER AFFORD TO SUPPORT 869 SCHOOL DISTRICTS.(News)
March 16, 2009... Byline: Greg Hinz When it comes to taking care of the kids, we all drop our guard. What's a few bucks compared to the welfare of the next generation? Such feelings perhaps explain why, even as the state budget began to drown in red...

Calorie counts stir legislative food fight; In a preemptive strike, chains back federal bill.(News)
March 16, 2009... Byline: DAVID STERRETT McDonald's Corp. and its chain-restaurant peers swear they want to help you count calories. They just don't want to tell you the damage while you're staring at colorful pictures of food on their menu boards. ...

Debt bomb for First Industrial; Short on cash, big warehouse REIT faces June bond deadline.(Real estate investment trusts)
March 16, 2009... Byline: EDDIE BAEB First Industrial Realty Trust Inc., one of the nation's biggest warehouse owners, is getting boxed in by its debt. The company has $125 million in bonds coming due in June. That might seem like packing peanuts to a...

Olympian fundraising task for Ryan; Big-bucks sponsors scarce amid bank crisis.
March 16, 2009... Byline: JOHN PLETZ Chicago's Olympics fundraising ambitions target some of the industries hardest hit by the financial crisis. The city is counting on a major bank, a home-improvement firm and companies in nine other categories to pony...

On the Move.
March 16, 2009... FINANCIAL SERVICES DELAWARE PLACE BANK, Chicago: Kevin A. Hughes, 50, to executive vice-president of commercial lending and senior lender, from group senior vice-president of commercial banking at Cole Taylor Bank. FOX VALLEY MICRO...

Blues brass grabs green; McCaskey and Boudreaux collect $26 mil. as they exit.(News)
March 16, 2009... Byline: MIKE COLIAS Passed up for the top spot at Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Illinois' parent company, Gail Boudreaux got something to ease the sting after deciding to leave last year: $15.3 million. The payout from Chicago-based...

MOTO'S BLACK HOLE; Analyst's rating upgrade rouses Motorola's moribund shares, but stock could get even bigger boost if cut loose from company's cash-draining cell phone business.(Markets)
March 16, 2009... Byline: JOHN PLETZ Motorola Inc. shares are winning back a few fans on Wall Street. Pulling the plug on the cell phone business would make the stock even more popular, some analysts say. The Schaumburg-based company's shares jumped 21%...

Looking for a growth spurt? grab a pepsi; A conversation with money manager John Cregan.(Hotchkiss Associates LLC)(Interview)(Brief article)
March 16, 2009... Byline: Bruce Blythe John Cregan, 54, president, Hotchkiss Associates LLC, Chicago Experience: 32 years Assets under advisement: $1.1 billion CRAIN'S: You see the tide turning in favor of the growth stocks you like? Mr....

Quinn's pension proposal a step in the right direction.(Pat Quinn adopted a two-tiered structure for public employee pensions )(Brief article)
March 16, 2009... Gov. Pat Quinn's proposal last week to adopt a two-tiered structure for public employee pensions in Illinois is an important first step toward addressing the state's budget woes. Unfunded pension obligations of more than $50 billion are one...

Springfield takes aim at nuke ban; Bills to allow new plants pick up steam in Legislature.(News)
March 16, 2009... Byline: STEVE DANIELS Lawmakers are moving to lift the two-decade ban on new nuclear power plants in Illinois, as the desire to create jobs trumps worries about storing radioactive waste. Committees in both legislative houses passed...

Residential specialist regroups; REBUILDING A CAREER.(Brief article)
March 16, 2009... Byline: Andrew Schroedter Since losing her job last year at a small architecture firm, Bonnie Rosenberg has surfed the Web for leads, networked at industry events and even posted an ad on Craigslist. None of it has worked so far. ...

SUBPRIME MILLIONAIRE; He made $70 million on the way up; can he do it again?(online payday loan business CashNet USA )
March 16, 2009... Byline: ANN SAPHIR Al Goldstein made a killing on the subprime-debt boom. Now he's parlaying his winnings on the bust. Mr. Goldstein and his brother Alex started an online payday loan business called CashNet USA in 1994, sold it to...

City's real Irish keep shenanigans in check.(Saint Patrick's Day)(Brief article)
March 16, 2009... Changing demographics give new meaning to the saying, "Everyone's Irish on St. Patrick's Day.'' Chicago's once-cliquey Irish community now opens its arms year-round to anyone who wants to support its causes. "You don't have to be Irish...

Home cooking hurts Kraft, Sara Lee; Prepared foods suffer while consumers save.
March 23, 2009... Byline: DAVID STERRETT Monica Jones is fighting the recession by learning to cook. The longtime devotee of frozen dinners figures she'll cut her grocery bill by making her own meals. "You need to make cuts where you can,'' says Ms....

Spotlight Jeff Levick; Selling the Google brand inside and out.(Brief article)
March 23, 2009... Byline: John Pletz Selling the Google brand inside and out Job: Chicago-based vice-president of marketing for the Americas at Google Inc. since Dec. 1. Vitals: 38 years old; bachelor's degree, New York University, 1993; account...

ALLSCRIPTS WAITING ON DOCS, UNCLE SAM; Medical software supplier, investors hope billions in stimulus money will spur new business.(Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions Inc)
March 23, 2009... The federal stimulus package is potent medicine for shares of a Chicago-based maker of clinical software. Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions Inc.'s stock price has surged 85% since late October, to $8.99, as details emerged about the...

Guv's budget proposal takes the easy road.(Pat Quinn states government spending policy)
March 23, 2009... For a man willing to risk his political future on a 50% income tax increase, Gov. Pat Quinn shows remarkably little stomach for the politically risky work of budget-cutting. Mr. Quinn's proposed budget for fiscal 2010 reduces spending by...

Stein, Jenner in clash over River North tower; At issue: sloping floors in law firm's future HQ.(Developer Richard Stein contracts with tenant Jenner & Block LLP)
March 23, 2009... Byline: THOMAS A. CORFMAN Developer Richard Stein and anchor tenant Jenner & Block LLP are jousting over costs in a 45-story tower going up in River North. The building, at 353 N. Clark St., is being developed by the real estate arm of...

Loan troubles hit local developers; Delinquency rate is triple last year's, and "we're not done yet'.
March 23, 2009... Byline: ALBY GALLUN More Chicago-area real estate developers ran into loan trouble in the fourth quarter as the delinquency rate for local construction and land loans shot up to 15%, nearly triple the rate just a year earlier. The...

One big slice to try to heat up interest.
March 23, 2009... The cost of long-distance living helped push Jack and Martha Gruber to pare the price of their one-of-a-kind Lincoln Park home by 20%, to $1.9 million from $2.5 million, in December. Mr. Gruber, 62, an executive with Tacoma, Wash.-based...

Common Threads World Festival.
March 23, 2009... When: 6 p.m. Monday Where: Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave. How much: $250 general admission; $500 for VIP ticket that includes after-party at the James Hotel with a performance by the Million Dollar Quartet ...

An "awakening' on price.
March 23, 2009... Owen Deutsch had already knocked down the price of his Gold Coast penthouse twice in a year, dropping it from $4.2 million to $3.75 million. But when he hired a new broker last month, she refused to take the listing without slicing off a...

Exec pay defies slide; CEOs keep collecting even as stock prices and profits plummet.
March 23, 2009... Byline: PAUL MERRION Despite plunging stock values and shrinking profits, most CEOs of Chicago's biggest companies got substantial raises and many pocketed seven-figure bonuses in 2008, plus hefty stock incentives to cash in big time when...

Red ahead for UAL; CEO Tilton's choice: preserve profit or the flight network.
March 23, 2009... Byline: JOHN PLETZ Deep declines in business travel will cancel United Airlines' return to profitability this year unless CEO Glenn Tilton is willing to slash flights again. "Business travel appears to have all but vanished,''...

On the move.(McGuire Engineers Inc appoints Bill Stangeland)(Cole Taylor Bank appoints David Ide)(Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association appoints Robert J. Kolodgy)
March 23, 2009... ARCHITECTURE/ENGINEERING McGUIRE ENGINEERS INC., Chicago: Bill Stangeland, 52, to president, from senior vice-president. Also, David Brooks, 37, to vice-president, from principal. PACKER ENGINEERING INC., Naperville: Michael Koehler,...

Housing fallout: brokers brawl; Tensions boil over as market reels, agents falter; mergers coming.
March 23, 2009... Byline: EDDIE BAEB AND ANDREW SCHROEDTER This is how high tensions are running in the residential real estate business: When brokerage executives fight, even Chicago cops keep their distance. That's what happened last month during a...

Tax trick bag; GOV. QUINN'S ATTEMPT AT A FAIR TAX INCREASE PRODUCES SOME UNFAIR RESULTS.
March 23, 2009... Consider two Chicago households. The first is a married couple with two kids, one about to graduate from high school and enlist in the Air Force. The husband works in a tool and die shop and will make about $45,000 this year. Household...

State pay lag hits charities; Funding crisis forces social-service groups to cut programs, workers.
March 23, 2009... Byline: MONEE FIELDS-WHITE Local charities, already facing soaring demand, are cutting services and firing workers as the state delays almost $50 million in payments to programs for children, seniors and others. The state payments...

Houses with history: She'll dig it all up.(Brief article)
March 23, 2009... Byline: Shia Kapos No surprise Chicagoans crave tawdry details about the homes and offices they own. This is the share-everything Facebook era, after all. "We were interested in knowing what went on in the house before we moved in. It...

On the Move.
March 30, 2009... FINANCIAL SERVICES AXA ADVISORS LLC, Deerfield: Tammy Butts, 46, to executive vice-president of the northern division and branch manager, from district manager at AXA Advisors LLC. MORGAN STANLEY, New York: Larry Dougherty, 50, to...

Crain's wins awards for Web excellence.(Crain's Chicago Business)(ChicagoBusiness.com)(14th annual Best in Business contest)(Brief article)
March 30, 2009... Crain's Chicago Business and its ChicagoBusiness.com site won seven awards in the Society of American Business Editors and Writers' 14th annual Best in Business contest, claiming more top honors than any other publication or Web site in its...

The legend isn't true: Super-CEO a costly myth.
March 30, 2009... It's time to retire the super-CEO, a mythical character that has enthralled Corporate America for the better part of two decades. Boards of directors have operated for too long on the Nietzschean theory that there exists a rare species of...

Hot on guest lists: friends of Obama.(Brief article)
March 30, 2009... Byline: SHIA KAPOS The Obama effect still sways turnout. Now, it's party numbers instead of poll numbers that count. Take youth service organization City Year Chicago, which is honoring U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan at its...

Ford plant gets a lift; Torrence Avenue factory lands redesigned Explorer, bringing back 300-plus jobs.
March 30, 2009... Byline: JOHN PLETZ Ford's Chicago assembly plant is slated to produce a new version of the Explorer sport-utility vehicle next year, a big boost for a factory hit hard last fall by cutbacks at the struggling automaker. Ford Motor Co....

Competitor jabs at Gatorade; Underdog Coca-Cola touts Powerade in advertising onslaught.
March 30, 2009... Byline: NATALIE ZMUDA The billboard shows the vertical half of what appears to be a Gatorade bottle on one side, with the other side open to the bare blue sky. But what might at first be taken for a mistake is explained by the text: "Don't...

2009 Lookingglass Theatre "Gglassquerade''.
March 30, 2009... 2009 Lookingglass Theatre "Gglassquerade'' When: 6 p.m. Friday Where: Ritz-Carlton, 160 E. Pearson St. How much: $1,000 and up Who'll be there: Around 350 supporters of Lookingglass Theatre and its performances For more...

To the Lookingglass for a gala toast to Lois Weisberg.(Interview)
March 30, 2009... Lookingglass Theatre Company was founded in 1988 by eight Northwestern University students, including TV and movie star David Schwimmer; its ensemble of artists creates story-centered works. It has toured the United States, staged 50 world...

NO RETURN TO RISK; Chicago financial firms that fattened up on easy credit face a leaner future as markets turn cautious.
March 30, 2009... Maureen Downs, president of Chicago futures broker Rosenthal Collins LLC, is hiring more risk-management staffers, installing software to flag unusual trades, fielding more questions from customers on the firm's creditworthiness and asking more...

FEDS HOT ON FALOR'S TRAIL; JUDGMENTS, INVESTIGATORS HOUNDING FORMER CONDO-HOTEL KING; "NUMEROUS LIVES' RUINED.
March 30, 2009... Byline: ALBY GALLUN Federal law enforcement officials are pursuing Robert Falor, the Chicago developer who amassed a portfolio of hotels here and in Florida only to see his ambitions laid to waste amid allegations of mismanagement and...

Fostering breakthroughs at Argonne.
March 30, 2009... Byline: Paul Merrion Job: Director, Argonne National Laboratory, near Darien, effective May 1. Vitals: 51 years old; bachelor's degree in physics, Beloit College, 1979; doctorate in physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,...

Getting the gold; CHICAGO NEEDS TO SELL ITSELF TO LAND THE 2016 OLYMPICS.
March 30, 2009... Byline: Greg Hinz The mission is one Ferris Bueller could appreciate: Take those sorta dorky visitors in hand and knock their socks off by showing them that vibrant and beautiful big-city downtown. Cut to its essence, that's what the...

Ace payout change angers store owners; More stock, fewer notes leads some to suspect bigger switch is coming.
March 30, 2009... Byline: MONEE FIELDS-WHITE Ace Hardware Corp. store owners are grousing about a change to their profit sharing and questioning whether executives plan to convert the cooperative into a privately held corporation. Executives at Ace's...

State keeps spending as red ink rises; Discretionary dollars flow for bird netting, tractor pulls and more.
March 30, 2009... Byline: Paul Merrion Facing an $11.6-billion budget hole, Illinois is still digging. Discretionary contract awards and bid requests continue to stream out of the state's procurement system despite a spending clampdown Gov. Pat Quinn...

Here come the regulars; Even the hippest restaurant may not last- but stalwarts keep old reliables in business.
March 30, 2009... Byline: H. LEE MURPHY Robert Tiberi, a Loop accountant, has dozens of restaurants to choose from every day for lunch. But he's a creature of habit. By special arrangement, the 57-year-old Mr. Tiberi, a native of Italy, calls ahead to...

CLINGING TO COAL; Forget green power: FreightCar America thrives on fossil fuel.
March 30, 2009... Byline: H. LEE MURPHY As far as FreightCar America Inc. CEO Christian Ragot is concerned, coal is still king. A bet on Mr. Ragot's company is a wager that coalnot wind or sunwill continue to power the U.S. for years to come....

Investors gloomy on office buildings; Chicago-area properties forecasted to lose 4.4%; other markets worse.
March 30, 2009... Byline: THOMAS A. CORFMAN In a race to the bottom, Chicago will continue to see office buildings lose value over the next year, but other major cities are expected to fare worse, according to a recent investor survey. Investors predict...

Big boys take small banks' TARP bucks; B of A and others demand repayment of interbank loans.(Troubled Asset Relief Program )
March 30, 2009... Byline: STEVE DANIELS Big banks that lend to smaller ones are forcing their small-fry borrowers to fork over federal bailout funds. At least two Illinois banks that got equity injections courtesy of the federal financial bailout...