ChicagoBusiness.com Breaking News

FutureGen clears important hurdle

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 08:55:00 EST

(AP) — Efforts to build an experimental coal-fired plant in Illinois have passed a crucial milestone. The Department of Energy on Tuesday released its "record of decision" involving the project known as FutureGen. That's essentially the department's final stamp of approval that the site ...

Abbott's profit dips in second quarter

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 08:41:00 EST

(Reuters) — Abbott Laboratories Inc.'s second-quarter earnings fell 2.6 percent, with generic competition for its Depakote anti-seizure drug overshadowing strong sales of its Humira arthritis drug and its Xience heart stent. Global revenue fell slightly short of Wall Street forecasts, stymied ...

Boeing to cut about 1,000 defense jobs

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 08:17:00 EST

(Reuters) — Boeing Co. will trim staff on its missile defense program and future combat systems by about 1,000 — about 1.4 percent — because of U.S. Defense Department budget cuts, the company said Wednesday. "Shifting defense department priorities and budget cuts are requiring the company ...

Gang leader seized in extortion of Chicago punk rocker

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:48:00 EST

(AP) — The U.S. attorney's office in Chicago is reporting an alleged street gang leader whose organization uses violence to extort hardcore punk rock music performers has been arrested in Los Angeles. Elgin Nathan James is accused of extorting $5,000 from a recording artist from the Chicago ...

Mayer Brown lawyer resigns after Refco conviction

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:38:00 EST

(Crain’s) — A Mayer Brown LLP partner who was recently found guilty of assisting Refco Inc. in a $2.4-billion fraud scheme has resigned from the Chicago firm. Joseph Collins, who has been on leave from Mayer Brown, resigned Monday night, a spokeswoman for the firm said. A federal ...

Morningstar's Mansueto could be BusinessWeek bidder

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:50:00 EST

(Crain’s) — Joseph Mansueto, publisher of Fast Company and Inc., could be a potential buyer for BusinessWeek now that the money-losing magazine has been put up for sale. McGraw-Hill Cos. is weighing “strategic options” for the magazine, the New York-based firm said Monday. Investment ...

UIC wins $20M med research grant

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 13:30:00 EST

(Crain’s) — The University of Illinois at Chicago has received $20 million in federal funding for medical research, the largest grant in UIC’s history, the school said Tuesday. The five-year National Institutes of Health grant is slated for UIC’s Center for Clinical and Translational ...

Blackhawks GM ousted

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:29:00 EST

(AP) — The Chicago Blackhawks ousted general manager Dale Tallon on Tuesday, less than two months after the team reached the Western Conference finals. Tallon, the architect of a rebuilding effort that led to the franchise's first playoff appearance in seven years, was named general manager ...

Comptroller freezes trust funds of Burr Oak owner

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:32:00 EST

(AP) — Comptoller Dan Hynes is freezing the trust funds of Perpetua Holdings of Illinois, owner of the cemetery where workers are accused of digging up and dumping hundreds of bodies in a scheme to resell the burial plots. Monday's action ends Perpetua's ability to accept funds in advance for ...

Reinsdorf won't face deposition in Phoenix Coyotes bid effort

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:12:00 EST

(AP) — Jerry M. Reinsdorf and his partners won't be subjected to questioning by attorneys for team owner Jerry Moyes as they work to put together a bid to buy the Phoenix Coyotes in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Judge Redfield T. Baum rejected Monday a request by Moyes to have Reinsdorf and ...

Abbott, GlaxoSmithKline to work on cancer test

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:32:00 EST

(AP) — Abbott Laboratories and GlaxoSmithKline PLC said Monday they will work together to develop a test that focuses on an antigen found in many types of cancer. Abbott said it will create a molecular diagnostic test to screen for non-small cell lung cancer tumors expressing the an antigen ...

ShoreBank slapped with order to address loan woes

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:42:00 EST

(Crain’s) — ShoreBank, the high-profile South Side community lender focused on low-income neighborhoods, has agreed to an order from federal and state banking regulators to beef up its capital levels and recognize more delinquent loans. The “cease and desist” order from the Federal ...

Funding for Midwest high-speed rail facing tough competition, tight deadline

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:17:00 EST

(Crain’s) — Illinois is facing stiff competition and a tight deadline to get a slice of $8 billion in stimulus funding available for high-speed rail. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Monday that 40 states requested funding for 270 rail improvement projects totaling $93 billion in ...

Dow closes up 185 points

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:53:00 EST

(AP) — Investors are betting that strength in banks will flow to the rest of the economy. Rising financial stocks pulled the market sharply higher Monday after an influential banking analyst raised her rating on Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which reports earnings Tuesday. Analyst Meredith ...

Navistar laying off 275 in Miss.

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:14:00 EST

(AP) — Navistar International Corp., a manufacturer of blast resistant military vehicles, has announced it will lay off 275 workers, leaving 200 employees at its West Point, Miss., plant. The layoffs come after the company failed to win a $1.06 billion Pentagon contract, which went to Oshkosh ...

Guv signs $31B construction plan

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:09:00 EST

(AP) — Gov. Pat Quinn has signed off on a $31 billion state construction plan that includes money for everything from bicycle trails and university buildings to a major overhaul of Illinois highways. The plan is an effort to repair the state's crumbling infrastructure and create thousands ...

McD's plans European HQ in Geneva

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:42:00 EST

(AP) — McDonald's Corp. said Monday it will establish a European headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, by the end of 2009. Spokeswoman Cath O'Grady said the fast-food chain now has European offices in London, Paris, Munich and Siena, Italy that house executives. None, however, are considered ...

Ill. Sen. Rutherford to run for state treasurer

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:36:00 EST

(AP) — Illinois Sen. Dan Rutherford has announced he's running for state treasurer and he says now isn't the time for Illinois to be considering an income tax increase. Rutherford, a Republican from Chenoa, says Illinois first needs to see how the economy does after Gov. Pat Quinn signs a ...

Analyst optimistic about Kraft; upgrades stock

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 11:41:00 EST

(AP) — An analyst on Monday upgraded Kraft Foods Inc., saying the food maker's turnaround will become evident given the weakening U.S. dollar, changes in management and dropping ingredient prices. BMO Capital Markets analyst Kenneth Zaslow raised his rating on the Northfield, Ill.-based ...

Deere sets up JV in India

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 10:05:00 EST

(AP) — Deere & Co., the world's largest agricultural-equipment maker, said Monday it has completed legal requirements to establish a farm equipment manufacturing joint venture in India. Financial terms were not disclosed. The agreement between the Moline company's Worldwide Construction & ...