Crain's Chicago Business articles from November 2003

Crain's Chicago Business archives from November 2003

Paul Brourman l 39.(40 Under 40)(senior vice-president, DDB Chicago)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: JAMES B. ARNDORFER Senior vice-president, group creative director DDB Chicago The genesis of Paul Brourman's advertising career has been preserved in a grainy, 17-year-old film. While studying graphic design at...

Lemuel Amen l 38.(40 Under 40)(president, Midwest region, EDS Solutions Consulting)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: MARY ELLEN PODMOLIK President, Midwest region EDS Solutions Consulting As president of the Midwest region of EDS Solutions Consulting, Lemuel Amen says he's like a marriage counselor. He travels the 12-state region weekly...

Joseph Learner l 39.(40 Under 40)(executive vice-president of Julien J. Studley Inc.)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: ALBY GALLUN Executive vice-president Julien J. Studley Inc. Joseph Learner didn't need to read "What Color Is Your Parachute?'' to figure out what to do with his life. He simply scanned a national business magazine's list...

Patrick M. Collins l 39.(40 Under 40)(Assistant U.S. attorney, Northern District of Illinois)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: STEVEN R. STRAHLER Assistant U.S. attorney Northern District of Illinois As the son of a union printer who was automated out of a job, Patrick Collins developed "a healthy disrespect for the power structure.'' As an...

Late News.(series of briefs)
November 3, 2003... ONSTEAD SET TO TAKE HELM AT DOMINICK'S Safeway Inc. is expected this week to bring in veteran grocery executive R. Randall Onstead Jr. to run its 113-store Dominick's Finer Foods chain, according to sources familiar with the situation...

Denise Casalino l 39.(40 Under 40)(deputy director of Chicago Department of Construction and Permits)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: BOB TITA First deputy director Chicago Department of Construction and Permits Denise Casalino has always had a knack for planning and schedules. "Since the first grade, I've been laying out my clothes for the next...

Eric E. Whitaker l 38.(40 Under 40)(Director of Illinois Department of Public Health)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: SARAH A. KLEIN Director Illinois Department of Public Health Eric Whitaker likes to say he was appointed director of the Illinois Department of Public Health in March because he has experience in creating public health...

Scott DeGraff l 39, Michael Morton l 39.(40 Under 40)(Co-owners Nine Group)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: MARGARET LITTMAN Co-owners Nine Group Most 9-year-old boys base their friendships on, if not snails and puppy-dog tails, at least spitballs and baseball. But Scott DeGraff and Michael Morton's friendship must have included...

Conventions.(Calendar/Datebook)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... WEEK OF NOV. 3 Nov. 3-5: Consorta, Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers, estimated attendance 1,200. Nov. 5-6: Certified Public Accountant Exam, Merchandise Mart, estimated attendance 3,000. Nov. 5-6: Education Technology Summit,...

Debra Pickett l 30.(40 Under 40)(columnist at Chicago Sun-Times)
November 3, 2003... Byline: JEREMY MULLMAN Columnist Chicago Sun-Times One of the keys to a good lunchtime interview, says Chicago Sun-Times columnist Debra Pickett, is letting the subject pick the restaurant. It offers some insight into the person....

Thaddeus Wong l 34.(40 Under 40)(Principal at @properties LLC)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: H. LEE MURPHY Principal @properties LLC Thaddeus Wong is the highest-grossing residential real estate broker in Chicago. Now, he and his @properties LLC are looking to the suburbs. Indeed, Mr. Wong is a young man in a...

Amy Tu l 36.(40 Under 40)(Assistant corporate secretary and counsel at Boeing Co.)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: PAUL MERRION Assistant corporate secretary and counsel Boeing Co. As a top in-house lawyer at Boeing Co.'s world headquarters in Chicago, Amy Tu recently worked on a billion-dollar global bond offering, a syndicated credit...

Harris Brumfield l 39.(40 Under 40)(CEO at Trading Technologies International Inc.)
November 3, 2003... Byline: STEVEN R. STRAHLER CEO Trading Technologies International Inc. Like Remington Razor's Victor Kiam, Harris Brumfield liked the product so much, he bought the company. Two years ago, he acquired a majority stake in...

Bryan Samuels l 37.(40 Under 40)(Director, Illinois Department of Children and Family Services)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: GREG HINZ Director Illinois Department of Children and Family Services You could say Bryan Samuels likes to do it his way. Even Gov. Rod Blagojevich looked a bit bemused when Mr. Samuels talked for well over an hour-before...

Miae Lim l 36.(40 Under 40)(Owner/partner at Mirai Sushi)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: BRIAN McCORMICK Owner/partner Mirai Sushi, Ohba, Japonais Calling Miae Lim driven is like calling Bill Gates rich: It's correct, but fails to convey the intensity. Ms. Lim's intense drive has propelled her from...

Noreen Abbasi l 31, Sandi Hwang Adam l 32.(40 Under 40)(Co-founder, CEO at Maven Cosmetics)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: MARGARET LITTMAN Co-founder, president Co-founder, CEO Maven Cosmetics LLC In the heady days of 2000, MBAs with six-figure salaries, like Noreen Abbasi and Sandi Hwang Adam, could quit their consulting jobs to work at...

Jimmy John Liautaud l 39.(40 Under 40)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: DAWN M. PROCHNOW Founder, chairman and CEO Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwich Shops Graduating second-to-last in his high school class in 1982, Jimmy John Liautaud was faced with three options: Get a job, join the army or open...

Hotel firm CEO set to build on rally in hospitality sector.(People)(Arlington Hospitality Inc. CEO Jerry H. Herman)
November 3, 2003... Byline: H. LEE MURPHY Hotels are starting to fill up again, and Arlington Hospitality Inc. CEO Jerry H. Herman is eager to build more. Mr. Herman, 50, who joined struggling Arlington in January, has recast the Arlington Heights-based...

Peter C. Anthony l 37.(40 Under 40)(President, CEO at UGN Inc.)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: JAMES B. ARNDORFER President, CEO UGN Inc. Auto supplier UGN Inc. tapped Peter C. Anthony as CEO last December, but Charles Hendrix recognized his drive a decade ago. Mr. Hendrix, then a purchasing manager at Honda of...

Rakesh Patel l 36, Swetal Patel l 32.(40 Under 40)(Vice-president at Raja Foods LLC, Patel Bros.)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: SANDRA JONES President Vice-president Raja Foods LLC, Patel Bros. The Patel brothers are setting out to make Indian food as popular in America as pad Thai. "Our goal is to get Indian food to the consumer any way...

Home-buying habits intrigue Russian group.(News)(local housing developments)
November 3, 2003... Byline: SANDRA JONES Russians looking to emulate the U.S. housing market have come to Chicago for a few lessons. A delegation of Russian government officials touched down in Chicago last week to tour local housing developments running...

Julie Benda l 32.(40 Under 40)(chief financial officer at Bank One Corp.)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: STEVE DANIELS Chief financial officer Retail banking Bank One Corp. Julie Benda is such a rabid fan of Duke University's basketball team that she left work sick to bemoan her alma mater's loss of a national...

Rant control; Control freaks, opinionated nonconformists and powermongers make condo association meetings the scene of fireworks-and the occasional fistfight.(Real Estate)(contentious local condominium association meetings)
November 3, 2003... Byline: KEVIN DAVIS They've clashed over Christmas decorations, come to blows over parking spaces and squabbled over barking dogs and noisy neighbors. They've screamed at, insulted and threatened one another, and when things have gotten...

Music Box scripts sale.(News)(Music Box Theatre sold)
November 3, 2003... Byline: PATRICK Z. McGAVIN The cineasts who made the Music Box Theatre the city's leading art house are writing their fade-out. Battered by grueling competition and flat revenues, Chris Carlo and Robert Chaney are negotiating to sell...

Target: fresher Field's; John Pellegrene, the mind behind Target's fashion-forward look, is updating the venerable department store's dowdy image.(News)
November 3, 2003... Byline: SANDRA JONES The marketing guru who made Target discount stores hip is putting his mark on Marshall Field's. John E. Pellegrene, who retired from Target Corp.'s top marketing post in 2000 after more than three decades with the...

Why fast-feeders were deaf to health message.(Commentary)(fast-food industry)
November 3, 2003... Byline: Joe Cappo The fact that an increasing number of Americans want to eat healthy food is not exactly a new concept. It wasn't even new 13 years ago when I wrote a book-"FutureScope: Success Strategies for the 1990s and...

Nikolas Theodore l 39.(40 Under 40)(Director, Center for Urban Economic Development)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: H. LEE MURPHY Director Center for Urban Economic Development College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs University of Illinois at Chicago Nikolas Theodore walked the mean streets of Chicago's North Lawndale...

David Baum l 37, Douglas Baum l 35.(40 Under 40)(Baum Realty Group Inc.)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: ALBY GALLUN Co-founders and principals Baum Realty Group Inc. Baum Bros. LLC Young and ambitious, David and Douglas Baum thought they were "Donald Trumps of Chicago,'' as David puts it, after selling their first rehabbed...

Jesse H. Ruiz l 38.(40 Under 40)(Gardner Carton & Douglas)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: BRIAN McCORMICK Partner Gardner Carton & Douglas LLP Jesse Ruiz is living proof that when someone is on a path to success, there is no such thing as a detour. The Chicago native swapped his electrical engineering...

Katie Watson l 36.(40 Under 40)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: SARAH A. KLEIN Ensemble member Sirens Visiting assistant professor Medical humanities and bioethics program Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine Associate McGuireWoods Ross & Hardies Until this year,...

Lucas Roh l 38.(40 Under 40)(Hostway Corp.'s president and CEO)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: MARY ELLEN PODMOLIK President and CEO Hostway Corp. The walls of Lucas Roh's office are bare save for a dry-erase board, and the only personal item in sight is a packed suitcase. Such is the life of a technology...

Angela Dumas l 37.(40 Under 40)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: PAUL MERRION Exelon environmental fellow For Angela Dumas, the city is not only her classroom but the lesson of the day. The first Exelon environmental fellow, Ms. Dumas is using the city's parks to create a hands-on,...

Stephan Wegerich l 35.(40 Under 40)(SmartSignal Corp.'s chief scientist)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: H. LEE MURPHY Chief scientist SmartSignal Corp. Practically any motor or engine begins to deteriorate as soon as it's used. But usually, nobody notices until something breaks. For Stephan Wegerich, chief scientist at...

Raw material costs slicing into IMC profits.(News)(fertilizer maker IMC Global Inc.)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: H. LEE MURPHY At fertilizer maker IMC Global Inc., production costs have been rising faster than the price of the finished commodity, leading to profit margin pressures and weighing heavily on the price of the company's stock. ...

Alice Peacock l 32.(40 Under 40)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: MARGARET LITTMAN Singer, songwriter It would be easy to envy Alice Peacock. She's a beautiful blonde with a remarkable voice and a natural talent for writing lyrics that are smart and sentimental without being saccharine. Her...

Bradley Tusk l 30.(40 Under 40)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: GREG HINZ Deputy governor for policy and communications State of Illinois Tell Bradley Tusk that he's disliked from one end of Illinois to the other and the rejoinder is immediate: "Except by the people.'' That's how it is...

Ted Allen l 38.(40 Under 40)(Queer Eye for the Straight Guy)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: JEREMY MULLMAN Entertainer "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy'' Journalist In assembling the cast of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,'' Barbara Barna plucked a fashion stylist, a hair stylist, an actor, an interior...

Wirtz leads Blackhawks down trail to irrelevance.(Opinion)(Chicago Blackhawks owner William Wirtz)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Chicago Blackhawks owner William Wirtz takes an almost perverse pride in his old-fashioned approach to professional sports. Let the other major league teams in town offer up every game-home and away-on broadcast or cable TV. Not the...

Hispanic truck firms protest fee increase; Legislators mull delay, phase-in.(News)(truck licensing fees rising)
November 3, 2003... Byline: STEVEN R. STRAHLER A steep hike in truck licensing fees that helped plug the state's $5-billion budget deficit is putting more distance between Gov. Rod Blagojevich and once-loyal Hispanic interests already angered by...

Loop lag: Downtown office vacancies rise.(Real Estate)(overall downtown vacancy rate up to 16.3% in third quarter)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: ALBY GALLUN The economy surged in the third quarter, but you wouldn't know it from looking at the downtown office leasing market. The overall downtown vacancy rate, including sublease space, rose to 16.3% in the quarter, up...

Michael Fenger l 36.(40 Under 40)(Motorola Inc. v-p)
November 3, 2003... Byline: JULIE JOHNSSON Corporate vice-president and director Corporate initiatives group Motorola Inc. Michael Fenger lasted only seven months in General Electric Co.'s famed management training program. Soon after...

Pols treading lightly around Exelon push; Legislators wary of appearing to favor rate increases.(News)(Commonwealth Edison Co. to acquire Illinois Power Co.)
November 3, 2003... Byline: PAUL MERRION A lot of eyes are turning to House Speaker Michael Madigan, the master electrician of political juice, to figure out the wiring of Exelon Corp.'s latest power play. The issue of protecting jobs vs. the creation of...

Christopher O'Brien l 35.(40 Under 40)(Chicago's chief information officer)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: MARY ELLEN PODMOLIK Chief information officer City of Chicago Though no one would call Christopher O'Brien a techie, Chicagoans can credit him with bringing technology to the 42 departments that make the city run. He...

Chicago Observer: Knock on Brown & Wood: Sidley post-merger issues include IRS.(Briefs)(Internal Revenue Service probe of tax shelters)
November 3, 2003... Byline: steven R. Strahler Some Sidley & Austin partners who were dubious about a merger two years ago that created Sidley Austin Brown & Wood are looking clairvoyant after the Internal Revenue Service last month sued Sidley, which then...

Ronald T. Senci l 39.(40 Under 40)(Fifth Third Bank v-p)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: STEVE DANIELS Executive vice-president Fifth Third Bank Ronald Senci is one of an increasingly rare breed-the company man. He has worked for nearly 20 years at Fifth Third Bank, starting as a trainee straight out of...

Executive Moves.(People)(new vice-president of Wight & Co.)
November 3, 2003... ARCHITECTURE/ENGINEERING Kenneth Asbridge, 60, to vice-president at Wight & Co. in Downers Grove, from director of field operations. Also, Kenneth Osmun, 35, to vice-president, from director of project management, and Raymond Prokop, 53,...

Budget face-off tests Stroger's grip; Tax hike gives board insurgents ammo.(News)(John Stroger)
November 3, 2003... Byline: GREG HINZ Is John Stroger still the boss of Cook County government? That's the question in the wake of Mr. Stroger's risky decision to press for higher taxes in his proposed 2004 budget-an action that finally has brought to a...

Manuel Flores l 31.(40 Under 40)(former assistant Cook County state's attorney)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: GREG HINZ Chicago alderman 1st Ward Chicago politicians tend to come in two varieties: shady types whose brothers-in-law hold no-work jobs at obscure agencies, and sanctimonious reformers fixated on winning headlines and a...

Sharath Sury l 31.(40 Under 40)(CEO of Chicago Analytic Capital Management LLC)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: JULIE JOHNSSON CEO Chicago Analytic Capital Management LLC Investing is rocket science to Sharath Sury. The CEO of Chicago Analytic Capital Management LLC, an investment adviser to 35 ultra-wealthy families, plies the...

Keegan-Michael Key l 32.(40 Under 40)(comedian)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: MARGARET LITTMAN Comic Second City Keegan-Michael Key is a comic, but an actor first. Not the "I'm-an-actor''-while-waiting-tables kind, but the master's-degree-in-acting-from-Penn-State-University kind. His interests...

Washington: the city's first black mayor, or the last?(Opinion)
November 3, 2003... Byline: Lester Munson Black political power in Chicago is now a relic in a museum. An exhibit at the Chicago Historical Society traces the triumphs of Harold Washington and calls him Chicago's "first'' black mayor. It's a wonderful...

Time to teach bureaucrats basic business principles.(Opinion)(state of Illinois' budget deficit)
November 3, 2003... Byline: Douglas L. Whitley Another fiscal storm is on the horizon. Recent accounts suggest the state of Illinois may have $2 billion worth of excess government. That's the early estimate of the spending gap that Gov. Rod Blagojevich's...

Profile: Thinking outside townhouse box.(Real Estate)
November 3, 2003... Byline: BOB TITA Patrick Curran believes suburban townhomes don't have to be clusters of monotonous boxes. Mr. Curran, president of Tinley Park-based West Point Builders & Developers Inc., is overseeing the construction of 240...

Exelon's Illinois Power deal is all about rates.(Opinion)(Exelon Corp. may raise electricity rates)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... If you think Exelon Corp. wants to raise electricity rates so it can acquire Illinois Power Co., you have it backward. Exelon wants to acquire Illinois Power so it can raise rates. Exelon, parent of Chicago-area electric utility...

Big bank merger dulls Dimon's edge; Bank One CEO's choice: Pay up or sit out.(News)(Bank of America Corp. buys FleetBoston Financial Corp. for $47 bn)
November 3, 2003... Byline: JAMES B. ARNDORFER Jamie Dimon just lost the first mover's advantage. Bank of America Corp.'s agreement last week to buy FleetBoston Financial Corp. in the third-priciest bank merger ever complicates the Bank One Corp. CEO's...

Bus (stop) fare new ad tool for theaters; League, JCDecaux collaborate in marketing deal.(News)(League of Chicago Theatres' ad campaign)
November 3, 2003... Byline: JEREMY MULLMAN The League of Chicago Theatres is staging its own version of Bus Stop. But this production isn't a play. It's the biggest advertising transaction in the theater group's 24-year history. The coalition of 130...

Upscale elegance at downtown Thai spot.(Dining/Restaurant Review)(Restaurant Review)
November 3, 2003... Byline: ANNE SPISELMAN Erawan is downtown's most upscale Thai restaurant. Named for a mythical three-headed elephant, the collaboration of executive chef Art Lee, a veteran of Arun's; Ken Lim, owner of Chinatown's Penang, and wine steward...

Quote of the Week.(Quotes)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... When you're getting outdrawn by the circus and Shania Twain, it doesn't bode well. Sports economist Alan Sanderson, on the Chicago Blackhawks' attendance woes PAGE 1

Blackhawks down; Sagging attendance, barely measurable broadcast ratings and rising red ink add up to a hat trick of the worst kind for William Wirtz's storied NHL franchise.(News)(Chicago Blackhawks may lock out players over dispute on salary cap)
November 3, 2003... Byline: JEREMY MULLMAN As his team skates into oblivion, Chicago Blackhawks owner William Wirtz is cheering a management-driven charge to lock out the players before the 2004-05 season in a dispute over a salary cap, which-insiders say-is...

Sam's orders up Manhattan; Next generation of wine biz takes shot at expansion.(News)(Sam's Wines & Spirits expands to NYC)
November 3, 2003... Byline: H. LEE MURPHY After generations as a one-store discount liquor dynasty, the family that operates Sam's Wines & Spirits is ready to test its pricing power in New York. The Rosen family plans to open a new superstore-nearly as...

NEW BLUES PLAN NICKS HOSPITALS; Product aimed at teachers excises N'western, Rush.(News)(Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois' new health plan)
November 3, 2003... Byline: SARAH A. KLEIN Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois has created a new health plan, designed for the Chicago Public Schools and the city of Chicago, that cuts costs by limiting access to some of the area's largest and most...

Christopher Hall l 38.(40 Under 40)(associate partner, Skidmore Owings & Merrill LLP)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: MARY ELLEN PODMOLIK Associate partner Skidmore Owings & Merrill LLP As a university student in his native England, Christopher Hall became fascinated with the social and economic processes by which cities grow, age and...

Grant Achatz l 29.(40 Under 40)(acclaimed young chef)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: BRIAN McCORMICK Chef/partner Trio Grant Achatz began hanging out in the kitchen of his parents' St. Clair, Mich., restaurant while he was in grade school. But those days of serving meat loaf are a world away from the...

Steven D. Levitt l 36.(40 Under 40)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: STEVEN R. STRAHLER Professor Department of Economics University of Chicago Before Steve Levitt even turned on the overhead projector for his first guest lecture at the University of Chicago, a faculty member declared...

UAL seeking tax amnesty.(Briefs)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... UAL Corp. filed an emergency motion in Bankruptcy Court last Tuesday, seeking to join a state amnesty program that could save the Elk Grove Township-based parent of United Airlines interest on back taxes it may owe. UAL's motion said the...

Carole L. Brown l 39.(40 Under 40)
November 3, 2003... Byline: MARGARET LITTMAN Chairman Chicago Transit Authority Senior vice-president Lehman Bros. Trial by fire is a cliche, yet Carole Brown says it's the only way to describe her introduction as the Chicago Transit...

Elizabeth Saunders l 35.(40 Under 40)(Ashton Partners)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: BRIAN McCORMICK Co-founder and chairman Ashton Partners A sharp mind and a strong work ethic contribute to business success, but being in the right place at the right time helps. Elizabeth Saunders' decision to launch...

Exelon-IP connection goes live; Terms are set for $2.2-billion acquisition.(News)
November 3, 2003... Byline: STEVE DANIELS Exelon Corp. is expected this week to announce a deal to acquire Downstate utility Illinois Power Co. from Dynegy Inc. for about $2.2 billion. People close to the talks say the parties were working over the...

Andrew Kramer l 38.(40 Under 40)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: MARGARET LITTMAN National director Ethnic marketing and specialty foods Albertson's Inc. Except for his 6-year-old son, who requests mac 'n' cheese and pizza at every meal, Andrew Kramer thinks most Americans are eating more...

At City Hall, it's business as usual despite stairwell law.(Viewpoint)(fire at Cook County Administration Building)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2003... For a brief moment-less than 24 hours, it turns out-it looked as if the city was going to take the right tack in the wake of last month's deadly fire at the Cook County Administration Building. With the unanimous support of his colleagues...

Bush might be walking in his father's footsteps.(Commentary)(President George W. Bush's problems)
November 10, 2003... Byline: Joe Cappo We are beginning to detect the odor of flop sweat emanating from the White House. You know what flop sweat is. That's what happens when a comedian is telling jokes and realizes that nobody's laughing. Or when a...

Turn on, log in, find out: a political Web log-offline.(Viewpoint)(online journals reinvent vanity publishing)
November 10, 2003... Byline: Paul Merrion Howard Dean has one. So do a lot of other candidates, not to mention thousands of other people with something to say and/or way too much time on their hands. I'm talking about Web logs-or "blogs''-the online...

Heavy industry? You bet; Manufacturing weighs on local earnings.(News)(Chicago-area companies' earnings)
November 10, 2003... Byline: JAMES B. ARNDORFER Little of the third-quarter economic surge is finding its way to the bottom line of Chicago-area companies. While the net income of companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index is expected to surge 22% during...

Real Estate Review: Downtown Wheaton condo plans stacking up.(Real Estate)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2003... Byline: H. LEE MURPHY With its former downtown courthouse set to go up for sale soon, suburban Wheaton faces significant redevelopment in the next few years. A branch campus of National-Louis University has occupied the former DuPage...

HyperFeed leaves quote biz with sale; Markets systems to other vendors of stock data.(News)(HyperFeed Technologies Inc. sells database for $8.5 mn)
November 10, 2003... Byline: H. LEE MURPHY HyperFeed Technologies Inc., hatched in the early 1980s as a computerized stock quotation service under the name PC Quote Inc., cut its last tie to that business with the sale of its data-feed customer base to rival...

Posh parties, upscale sales; Tony home shows offer jewels, jackets.(Small Business)(home shows, house parties take off)
November 10, 2003... Byline: MARGARET LITTMAN As the holiday shopping season approaches, women in tony North Shore communities are talking about where they'll buy one-of-a-kind gifts. But instead of planning a trip to upscale shops on Michigan Avenue or in...

Why options expensing rule would be a costly mistake.(Viewpoint)(should companies count stock options as business expenses?)
November 10, 2003... Byline: Marc J. Lane William H. Donaldson, who chairs the Securities and Exchange Commission, and his boss, President George W. Bush, are at odds over whether companies should count stock options as business expenses. The dispute may seem...

Chicago Observer: A non-political event, he insists: just lawyers and pols having fun.(Briefs)(Blagojevich administration)
November 10, 2003... Byline: steven r. strahler Robert Clifford, the noted plaintiffs' attorney and Democratic Party patron, shoots down chatter that he hosted a weekend retreat last month at his Lake Geneva, Wis., home to curry favor with senior staff members...

Urban weekly on local lookout; Time Out scopes opportunity to take on Chicago, Reader.(News)(Time Out Group Ltd. hires development manager, will explore a startup)
November 10, 2003... Byline: JEREMY MULLMAN The publisher behind entertainment magazines Time Out New York and Time Out London is eyeing the Chicago market. Time Out Group Ltd. has hired a Chicago development manager to help it explore a startup here. The...

Dillard doctors DuPage; Following the embarrassing defeat of its state office seekers, a state senator hopes to reunify the once-invincible suburban GOP juggernaut.(News)(Republican county organization reform)
November 10, 2003... Byline: BOB TITA A year after Illinois Republicans suffered their worst defeats in a generation, state Sen. Kirk Dillard is preparing to try to mend fractures in the state's biggest Republican county organization. The DuPage County...

Man of the futures; Eurex's Rudolf Ferscha has elbowed his way into prominence in the world of futures trading, but his biggest test still looms.(News)(Chicago Board of Trade to decide strategy)
November 10, 2003... Byline: STEVEN R. STRAHLER For all the bad blood between the leaders of Chicago's futures exchanges and their Austrian-born counterpart, Eurex AG's Rudolf Ferscha, a language barrier is not a contributing factor. At a recent industry...

Black is defying financial physics; What bad news? At Hollinger, it's a value bounce.(News)(Hollinger International Inc.'s CEO Conrad Black faces obstacles)
November 10, 2003... Byline: JEREMY MULLMAN Hollinger International Inc. CEO Conrad Black knows a trick that few corporate chiefs can match: He can make his stock rise on bad news. Mr. Black's Chicago-based newspaper company, which publishes the Chicago...

LAUREN, BULGARI EYE HOTELS; New to the lodging scene, fashion names scout sites.(News)(high-end retail stores)
November 10, 2003... Byline: ALBY GALLUN Two big names on the Michigan Avenue retailing scene want to give people a place to drop after they shop. Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. and Italian jeweler Bulgari SpA are doing their own shopping for hotel sites along...

Kraft may face SEC charges.(Briefs)(Fleming Cos. overstated revenue)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2003... Kraft Foods Inc. said the Securities and Exchange Commission may bring a civil injunction against it in connection with accusations that it helped Texas grocery distributor Fleming Cos. overstate revenue. The SEC alleges that Kraft employees...