Crain's Chicago Business articles from May 2009

Crain's Chicago Business archives from May 2009

More builders cut prices amid slump; Hope discounts plus low interest rates and tax credit spark sales.(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... Byline: ALBY GALLUN Sales of new homes in the Chicago area continued their free fall in the first three months of the year, but price-cutting gave some developers a much-needed boost. The opening of the spring selling season offered...

Politics of race; OBAMA'S RISE EXPOSES FAULT LINES AMONG AFRICAN-AMERICAN POLITICAL LEADERS.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Greg Hinz It was party time of sorts for Barack Obama last week, as the Chicagoan who is president celebrated his 100th day in office. But for African-American leaders back home, a different kind of activity has taken hold of late:...

Biz leaders must throw weight behind reform.
May 4, 2009... Illinois' business community must throw its weight behind a new set of proposals aimed at cleaning up state government. Nobody has more at stake in the fight against corruption than business, which pays a heavy price for the state's...

Jaws of Strife; With Idex stock up about 50% since early March, some wonder whether investors will get pinched.
May 4, 2009... Byline: H. LEE MURPHY Investors seem hungry for the smallest scrap of hopeful news in the stock market. How else to explain the run-up in the stock of Northbrook manufacturer Idex Corp.? The company, whose products range from highly...

MED SCHOOL CHECK-UP; Holly Humphrey.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Mike Colias Holly Humphrey 51, dean for medical education, University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine While making the rounds with a group of medical interns at the University of Chicago Medical Center about a...

GOOD HANDS; Judith Greffin.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Steve Daniels Judith Greffin 48, senior vice-president, chief investment officer, Allstate Corp. Judith Greffin is wrestling with the financial crisis at work and at home. The Ohio native, named Dec. 1 to oversee...

U of C docs attack CEO's finance focus; Madara under fire as faculty push back on budget controls.
May 4, 2009... Byline: MIKE COLIAS Some University of Chicago Medical Center faculty members are accusing CEO James Madara of putting hospital finances ahead of research and teaching. A letter delivered to Dr. Madara last month and signed by 76...

HIGH HURDLES; Lori Healey.(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... Byline: John Pletz Lori Healey 49, president, Chicago 2016 When Mayor Richard M. Daley wants to get big real estate projects done, he turns to Lori Healey. As president of the Chicago 2016 Olympics bid committee, Ms. Healey...

WRITING A MARKETING RX; Kim Feil.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Monee Fields-White Kim Feil 50, chief marketing officer, Walgreen Co. Kim Feil knows firsthand the art of rebuilding something from the foundation up. The home-renovation buff turned a two-flat into her single-family home...

GIRDING FOR CHALLENGES; Sharon Owen.(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... Byline: John Pletz Sharon Owen 54, general manager, Gary Works, U.S. Steel Corp. When Sharon Owen first walked through the gates at U.S. Steel's Gary Works and passed the general manager's office, she never dreamed that she'd be...

Friedman pushes post office plan; Alderman Reilly prefers park on big River North parcel.
May 4, 2009... Byline: THOMAS A. CORFMAN AND EDDIE BAEB Real estate developer Albert Friedman and the U.S. Postal Service are struggling to pull together a deal to build on one of the last large development sites in the congested River North neighborhood....

THE WAY FORWARD; Laura Thrall.(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... Byline: Monee Fields-White Laura Thrall 49, president, CEO, United Way of Metropolitan Chicago With just a few months under her belt as the new CEO of the United Way, Laura Thrall recognizes job one: Getting United Way and the...

Public schools need the private sector to boost career ed.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Veronica Anderson Chicago Public Schools is taking another stab at setting a meaningful course for its long-rudderless career education program. For this latest round, civic and business leaders have gotten more deeply involved, as...

Spotlight: Marcus Katz.(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... Byline: Ann Saphir `Relentlessly pursuing clients' at CME Group Job: Director, over-the-counter interest rate products and markets, CME Group Inc., since December. Vitals: 47 years old; bachelor's degree in business...

LEGAL LEADER; Susan Levy.(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... Byline: Steven R. Strahler Susan Levy 51, managing partner, Jenner & Block LLP Susan Levy offers a legal brief in re: her decision to leave a successful courtroom practice to become managing partner of Jenner & Block: "I thought I...

Trib's next step: big blog; New Web site to host writers by the dozen.
May 4, 2009... Byline: ANN SAPHIR The Chicago Tribune is planning a network of blogs as the centerpiece of a digital push designed to win younger audiences. The blogs, to be run under an umbrella site called ChicagoNow.com, will cover everything from...

On the Move.(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT PEGASUS PLAYERS, Chicago: Christopher Schram, 48, to executive director, from executive director at Redmoon Theater. FINANCIAL SERVICES CORTLAND CAPITAL MARKET SERVICES LLC, Chicago: Tim Houghton, 43, to...

Boeing faces doubts on Dreamliner debut; McNerney says 787 will hit first-quarter 2010 delivery date.
May 4, 2009... Byline: JOHN PLETZ With both of Boeing Co.'s main businesses sputtering, pressure is building on CEO James McNerney to deliver the new 787 Dreamliner on a timetable many consider unrealistic. Mr. McNerney said last week he is...

FROM THE WINDY CITY TO D.C. The women of Washington.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Paul Merrion In the few months since they accompanied the new president to the White House, three Chicago women are learning to swim in the shark-infested fishbowl of Washington, D.C. First lady Michelle Obama, senior...

Correction.(Correction notice)
May 4, 2009... A photo caption in the April 27 Business of Life section should have identified a Tree House shelter employee as Meg Graves.

Room at the top; GOP NEEDS A UNIFYING FIGURE CAPABLE OF LEADING PARTY BACK TO POWER IN SPRINGFIELD.
May 11, 2009... Byline: Greg Hinz The glory days of Govs. Jim Thompson and Jim Edgar revealed something essential about the Illinois GOP: Just as Democrats need Mayor Daley, the Republicans depend on a big daddy to keep them orderly, happy and fed. ...

Code red for Loyola; Hospital's fiscal woes erode university's cash, credit rating.
May 11, 2009... Byline: MIKE COLIAS Red ink at Loyola University's health system is threatening the financial health of both the hospitals and the school. The hospital system reported a $32-million operating loss in the 2008 fiscal year, which ended...

Union attacks Resurrection in TV ads; Hospital chain calls tactic a "new low' in 6-year organizing push.
May 11, 2009... Byline: MIKE COLIAS A bruising, six-year campaign to organize Resurrection Health Care workers turned uglier last week with new union-backed TV ads questioning the quality of care at two of its hospitals. In the ads, the American...

A GAME OF ACQUISITION; Once considered a takeover target, OptionsXpress turns the tables and goes on the hunt itself.
May 11, 2009... Byline: ANN SAPHIR OptionsXpress Holdings Inc. is in acquisition mode. Last month, the online brokerage agreed to pay as much as $55 million for Redwood City, Calif.-based education provider Optionetics Inc., its third and biggest...

SLOW ZONE; Industry needs to consolidate, automate, add capacity.
May 11, 2009... Byline: PAUL MERRION Chicago's economy has long been tied to its role as the nation's transportation hub, a position threatened by the recession. While moving goods and passengers by air, truck, rail and barge accounts for barely 3%...

LOOKING FOR SIGNS OF LIFE; As customers cautiously come back, services could lead return to growth this year.
May 18, 2009... Byline: MONEE FIELDS-WHITE After a brutal economic winter, followed by a tumultuous spring, some Chicago business owners are starting to believe that the worst may be over. For now, the optimism appears contained, limited to a few...

Drop in fees, stocks weigh on Northern Trust.(Brief article)
May 18, 2009... Byline: H. Lee Murphy The fees Northern Trust Corp. earns for managing its wealthy clients' money are shrinking along with the stock market, putting earnings under pressure. Over the past decade, assets under custody in Northern...

Builders lawyer up; South Loop condo developers sue 100 buyers for backing out.
May 18, 2009... Byline: THOMAS A. CORFMAN AND SAMANTHA SLEEVI As cancellations rise to more than a quarter of all new condo contracts, two veteran developers are suing home buyers who try to walk away, adding a rancorous new dimension to the housing...

We deserve a refund for parking mess.(Brief article)
May 25, 2009... Mayor Richard M. Daley and the company he hired to run the city's parking meters owe Chicagoans a refund. The botched handover of the parking meters to private ownership earlier this year cost us time, frustration and money. Neither...

Premium pain ahead; Allstate, other insurers push big home rate hikes.
May 25, 2009... Byline: STEVE DANIELS Allstate Corp. is boosting homeowners insurance rates in Illinois by as much as 28% next month, joining a parade of big insurers that have hiked premiums here to make up for large losses in recent years. Including...