As WBBM Newsradio’s Brandis Friedman reports, foreclosure listing service RealtyTrac says one in every 369 homes in the state of Illinois received a foreclosure notice in January.

RealtyTrac says a total of more 14,369 homeowners received notices. That places Illinois at No. 7 among the states with the highest rates for foreclosures.

Illinois is outranked only by Nevada, California, Arizona, Georgia, Michigan and Florida.

Indiana came in at No. 10, with one in every 555 homes receiving a notice last month.

RealtyTrac says nationwide, foreclosures are up 3 percent from December, but down 19 percent since January of last year.

But experts predict the rate will worsen this year, after a $25 billion multi-state settlement with major banks is expected to pave the way for more foreclosures.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Brandis Friedman reports

And now, another major venue in Rosemont also has a new name.

The Rosemont Theatre, at 5400 N. River Rd. in Rosemont, has been renamed the Akoo Theatre at Rosemont.

The Village of Rosemont handed over naming rights to the Rosemont-based Akoo International interactive media company, according to a news release

Akoo paid $1.5 million for a five-year deal, as well as access to performers at the theater for music and video content.

“As operator of the leading out-of-home entertainment television network in the U.S., Akoo International is a perfect partner for the theater,” Rosemont Theatre executive director Harry Pappas said in a news release. “We’re very excited to have the Rosemont-headquartered company as an active contributor to the local community.”

The 4,400-seat Rosemont Theatre opened in 1995.

Back in 2008, Rosemont Mayor Bradley Stephens offered the venue to the State of Illinois for use as a casino, but the state’s 10th casino license ended up going to the Rivers Casino in nearby Des Plaines.

As WBBM Newsradio’s Dave Dahl reports, a new portion of the state’s tourism Web site, called Pride Illinois, has collected information about gay-friendly lodging and attractions, as well as links to information about pride festivals and other LGBT resources.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Dave Dahl reports

Illinois Office of Tourism director Jan Kostner says research indicates the LGBT community has disposable income.

“In a study conducted by OutNow Global, (LGBT) travelers spend an average of about $1,974 on leisure travel over the past year, and it’s a community that we want to know that they’re welcome,” she said.

Kostner says there is quite a bit of tourism information available that is specific to gay and lesbian travelers.

“There are some definite sights and things that people do that is non-specific to any interests that people would like to do, like the museums,” Kostner said. “But there are other things that may be specific, too. They’re also called TAG-approved accommodations throughout Illinois. There are properties that enforce their non-discrimination policies.”

Most of the events promoted on the front page of the site are in Chicago, but not all. The events include the Chicago Pride Fest – a lively street festival that takes place on Halsted Street in Boystown the day before the Gay Pride Parade – and Market Days, the August fair on Halsted Street that is billed as the largest two-day street fair in the Midwest.

The site also promotes Pride Day at Wrigley Field, a charitable event in early September in which the sale of Cubs tickets benefits six local LGBT and HIV/AIDS charities, and the Reeling Film Festival – the Chicago Lesbian and Gay International Film Festival held every September.

A downstate event also makes the front page. The Springfield Pride Festival – which features a “Drag Race” of the female impersonator variety – is held in May each year.

Also included on the page are information about civil unions, and links to gay rights organizations, publications and other information.

A California company called Community Marketing has set up some guidelines for approved LGBT-friendly businesses. A link to that information is also on the Pride Illinois site.

As WBBM Newsradio’s Bob Conway reports, Chicago investment manager and philanthropist Richard Driehaus has donated $30 million – the biggest gift ever to DePaul.

The Chicago Tribune reports the interest earned on the endowment will be used to recruit and keep faculty at the 100-year-old DePaul College of Commerce, which will be renamed the Richard H. Driehaus College of Business and the Charles H. Kellstadt Graduate School of Business.

Business college dean Ray Whittington tells the Tribune about 25 percent of the faculty members will reach the age of 68 during the next decade while a shortage of replacements is expected.

Driehaus earned both his undergraduate and master’s degrees from DePaul, the Tribune reported. DePaul president the Rev. Dennis Holtschneider approached Driehaus in June about the possibility of about making a large donation, the newspaper reported.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Bob Conway reports

About 90 percent of all businesses in Chicago are small, employing fewer than 100 people, but their smaller needs are often ignored by banks.

Many turn to pricey credit cards or risk personal retirement accounts to fund improvements or expand. They don’t have to.

You might say business is blooming for Sondra Thomas. A loan of just $15,000 gave her the ability to buy her neighborhood floral shop, My Bouquet, in the Beverly neighborhood last year.

That kind of micro-loan, which isn’t worth the effort of big banks, allowed Thomas to create a business that’s since hired three full-time workers.

“Being able to get a loan to not only to help me, but it’s helping a lot of other people, is a great feeling,” Thomas said.

“Big banks are not in the micro loan business,” said Chicago City Treasurer Stephanie Neely.

But in a way, Neely is. The lease of the Chicago Skyway provided her office with $1 million dollars a year for small business loans.

Neely has created a program concentrating on micro loans, ranging from $50,000 to as little as $2,000. They are amounts businesses owners often can only raise through high-interest credit cards or personal savings.

“A lot of small businesses don’t have the ability to go to a bank with tiny loans. … People dig into their 401(k)s, into their IRA accounts, ” Neely said.

Since 2009, the program has helped approve more than 115 loans. Continuing the program requires support from City Council, and Neely was lobbying for that support on Tuesday.

“For every dollar lent, micro loans create and retain more jobs than larger traditional loans,” said Neely in her testimony.

Turning to a credit card for this kind of money can mean interest rates well north of 15 percent. Rates are as low as 5.25 percent through the treasurer’s program.

Six lenders run the program for Treasurer Neely’s office. For more information on the program visit the City Treasurer’s website.

DePaul executive vice president Bob Kozoman said in a letter that the hospital had reached an agreement with DePaul for the three-story Belden Place building, 759 W. Belden Ave.

The Belden Place building is located at the southeast corner of Halsted Street and Belden Avenue, and is currently used for hospital administrative and human resources offices. It dates from the early 1990s.

Kozoman writes that DePaul is not yet sure how it will use the Belden Place building, but it is expected to devote part of the space to academic use. Public meetings will be held as DePaul and Children’s Memorial work with Ald. Michele Smith (43rd) on plans to rezone the building, Kozoman wrote.

The Belden Place building is directly across Halsted Street from the main DePaul campus. The 3.5-acre main Children’s Memorial Hospital building is located just to the northeast, on a plot bounded by Lincoln Avenue on the south and west, Orchard Street on the east, and Fullerton Avenue on the north.

Children’s Memorial Hospital last year sold the main building, as well as an eight-story office building across the street at 700 W. Fullerton Ave., and several other properties along Lincoln Avenue, to developer McCaffery Interests Inc., according to a news release issued in July of last year.

McCaffery plans to redevelop the hospital campus as a “town center” in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, with multi-income housing, retail and open space, the release said.

Meanwhile, a group of churches, social organizations, and neighbors have formed the Children’s Memorial Redevelopment Coalition. The group is working to guarantee an open process of decision-making, and the inclusion of affordable housing, the reuse of historic buildings, and sustainable design principles.

The new Children’s Memorial Hospital will be renamed the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital, and will open in June at 225 E. Chicago Ave. in the Streeterville neighborhood.

The hospital said last year that it planned to retain some off-campus buildings in Lincoln Park, including its outpatient center at 2515 N. Clark St., and the Kids Doc at 1970 N. Clybourn Ave. The hospital also plans to go on leasing a building at 1731 N. Marcey St.

As WBBM Newsradio’s John Hultman reports, the order is worth a whopping $22.4 billion.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s John Hultman reports

It is the largest offer Boeing has ever received, both in dollar value and number of airplanes.

The order includes 201 of Boeing’s redesigned 737, called the Max, and 29 extended-range 737-900s. Lion Air has an option on 150 more.

Until this deal was confirmed, Boeing’s biggest confirmed order was from Southwest Airlines Co. That order was for 208 planes worth $19 billion at list prices.

Lion Air, Indonesia’s largest private airline, currently has a fleet of 76 planes, according to Airfleets.net. Sixty-eight of those are Boeing 737s.

(TM and © Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS Radio and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

The Chicago Department of Aviation reported Tuesday that two new wine bars opened over the weekend at the airport – Bubbles Wine Bar in Terminal 3 and Beaudevin Wine Bar in Terminal 1.

Both are operated by airport foodservice firm HMSHost.

Travelers can drop by either bar to enjoy fine wines and sparkling wines, which can be paired with gourmet entrées or small plates.

“Beaudevin and Bubbles are examples of the efforts Chicago is committed to making at our airports to cater to our global travelers’ palates with distinctive dining and beverage options, from sit-down restaurants to cafes to wine bars,” Aviation Commissioner Rosemary Andolino said in a news release.

Beaudevin, which is French for “the beauty of wine,” is located in Terminal 1, Concourse C near Gate 17, and allows travelers to unwind in what the Department of Aviation calls “an informal, European-influenced atmosphere, reminiscent of a château cellar.”

Beaudevin offers more than 20 red, white and sparkling wines by the glass, bottle or flight, along with small plates such as Olives de Provence or figs, or tartines such as a roasted herbed chicken, turkey berry goat cheese, or Scottish smoked salmon that are designed to complement the bouquets of the many varietals available.

Several of the wines at Beaudevin made from organically grown grapes, the Aviation Department said.

The Bubbles Wine Bar is in Terminal 3 near Gate H4, and focuses on sparkling wine and craft beer joined with sushi roll pairings. The bar chain was first introduced by HMSHost at Schiphol International Airport in Amsterdam, and has been named by Executive Life magazine as one of the “chic-est airport bars,” the Department of Aviation said.

“Travelers to and through Chicago O’Hare will enjoy visiting either of these stylish, relaxing wine bars with gourmet menus, where they can linger over a full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon with a charcuterie plate, or step in for a brief bite of sushi and a pleasant Ecco Domani as they find their way to a nearby gate,” said Stephen Douglas, vice president of business development for HMSHost. “We’re sure Beaudevin and Bubbles will delight travelers and wine lovers of all kinds.”

Both wine bars will feature piano music, and patrons can make song requests when pianists are working. But even when there are no pianists, modern-day player pianos will entertain passengers with more than 2,000 songs, the department said.

But WBBM Newsradio’s John Hultman reports a Chicago author says it just isn’t the case anymore.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s John Hultman reports

Sean Parnell, who is known online for his Chicago Bar Project site, also wrote a book two years ago called Historic Bars of Chicago.

Parnell tells USA Today that many taverns around the city are empty – gone because of the economy, gentrifying neighborhoods, changing tastes, and city regulations.

Historically, the corner tavern was as much a part of Chicago culture as 16-inch softball and deep-dish pizza. The legendary Mike Royko regularly extolled the virtues of the neighborhood watering hole.

“I know a lot about bars. More, I’m sure, than is good for my health. It was my family’s business in the long-gone days when the neighborhood tavern was the working-class equivalent of the country club,” Royko wrote in an Aug. 28, 1990, column in the Chicago Tribune. “The corner tavern was – as the theme song to the TV series ‘Cheers’ puts it – ‘where everybody knows your name.’”

But even back then, Royko was lamenting the demise of the old-school institutions. That very 1990 column was actually about the closing of the Acorn on Oak, and his tone wasn’t so reverent later in the column.

“Damn progress. Damn real estate prices and rentals. Damn the changing drinking habits of the American public. We have lost one fine bar,” Royko wrote in the column.

That trend has hardly ebbed in the years since, Parnell tells USA Today. He says tavern licenses are difficult to secure in areas that have re-gentrified, and licensing and insurance costs have risen dramatically.

As of 1990, there were about 3,300 Chicago establishments with tavern licenses, which allow them to serve alcoholic beverages, USA Today reported. Different licenses are issued for venues that feature live entertainment, primarily serve food, or charge admission.

The number of taverns has dropped as city officials worked to shut down bars that drew complaints and police calls, and since 2009, the number of tavern licenses has stood at about 1,200, USA Today reported. In total, there are about 5,000 city establishments that serve alcohol, the newspaper reported.

Real estate broker Mike Costanzo tells USA Today that getting a tavern license is fraught with red tape, since an alderman can seek a moratorium on new liquor licenses in spaces as small as two blocks, and buyers are thus forced to buy the corporate entity that holds an existing license, the newspaper explained.

As CBS 2’s Susanna Song reports, it’s unusual but welcoming news for Chicago drivers.

While the national average for gas prices has gone up in the past month, the Chicago average has gone down.

“As you see, I’m watching the tank, because I don’t want to go over a certain amount,” motorist L.V. Mayfield said as she pumped gas Monday morning.

No matter where you live in the country, you’re watching the prices because it’s more expensive now to fuel your car, than compared to one year ago.

“I want to fill up, but I can’t,” Mayfield said. “I’m still unemployed, I’m looking for work, and so I have to be careful about spending.”

Driver Akta Sehga said, paying for gas “unfortunately cuts my budget a lot, because I’m actually, am a resident and so, unfortunately we don’t really make a lot of money.”

But, for Chicagoans known to pay some of the highest gas prices in the U.S., there’s a silver lining.

While the national average for gas prices has gone up 12.3 cents per gallon in the last month, Chicago has seen a dip of 8.8 cents per gallon from one month ago.

“I’m really shocked, because, I mean, since I moved to Chicago, gas prices have actually been unbelievably high, so I’m definitely shocked,” said Sehga. “But, I mean, it’s a good thing for us, so we’re happy to hear that.”

Larry Rogers said, “We’re going down to meet the national average. It’s not a true decrease. The question is why were we so high in the first place?”

Chicago gas prices are still 16 cents higher than the national average.

Beth Mosher, director of public affairs for the AAA Motor Club in Chicago, explained why prices have been falling locally, but not nationally.

“Demand for oil is at a 10 year low … and refineries are really cutting down on production and, so, that’s why we’re seeing these prices come down a little bit,” Mosher said.

As for why the national average is still going up, Mosher said, “places like California are way, way up.”

So will Chicago’s gas prices continue to fall?

“Trends tell us that, as we head into the spring and into the summer months, trends would show us that prices go up,” Mosher said.

Even with the recent positive trend, Chicago drivers still pay more than most of the nation for gas.

The average for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in Chicago is $3.63. The national average is 3.47.

As WBBM Newsradio’s Bernie Tafoya reports, the Get It strip club is supposed to open in the spring in the 3800 block of West Lake Street in Stone Park. Behind it live the Missionary Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo, or the Scalabrians.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Bernie Tafoya reports

Bob Itzkow, the developer of the strip club, says he wants his business to be judge fairly by what it has done, and not by a mocking press, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

In a statement quoted in part by the Sun-Times, Itzkow referred to the nuns in the convent as “our non-tax-paying neighbors,” and asked that “you treat us as we have treated you, by not trying to unduly disturb us by imposing your religious beliefs on us or others.”

Last week, one of the nuns at the convent, Sister Marissonia Daltoe, said the planned strip club flies in the face of the religious life the nuns are trying to create.

“We are concerned about the neighborhood youth. There are plenty of problems in the area, and we don’t want to have another one,” Daltoe said.

Sister Marcana Zambiasi told CBS 2′s Dana Kozlov last week that the nuns don’t object only to the fact that the strip club would be in sight of their convent, but that it exists at all so close to a residential area.

“We are not concerned only about ourselves here, but about the neighborhood children,” Zambiasi said.

The nuns are not alone in their opposition to the strip club.

Ronald Serpico, the mayor of neighboring Melrose Park said, “I am shocked and sickened by the placement of an adult entertainment business immediately adjacent to residential areas of Melrose Park. The siting and construction of this business, which was authorized by the Village of Stone Park, was not only ill thought-out, but I can only assume that no consideration for neighboring residents was given at all.

For generations, the small suburb Stone Park has been infamous as a seedy place, with strip clubs and adult bookstores lining the major roadways, prostitutes working the streets, and organized crime figures running the show.

Legend has it that Al Capone himself ran a brewery in Stone Park during the Great Depression.

But current Stone Park Mayor Beniamino Mazzulla told the Sun-Times he is trying to shake the sleazy image in the town.

Following Itzkow’s latest comments, the Sun-Times reports the nuns are reflecting on what to do next.

As WBBM Newsradio’s Bob Conway reports, Caterpillar says there were two major reasons for its decision. One is the fact that the plant would need access to an ocean, which Illinois obviously doesn’t provide.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Bob Conway reports

But the other is what Caterpillar chief executive officer Doug Oberhelman considers to be something of an unfavorable business climate.

On Sunday, Oberhelman wrote an op-ed for the Chicago Tribune titled, “Why job creators skip Illinois.”

He specifically cited the state’s budget problems, a lowered bond rating and workers compensation costs.

“Let me be clear. Caterpillar is not threatening to leave Illinois,” Oberhelman wrote. “Rather, we want to grow our presence here. For Illinois to really compete for new business investment and growth, the state must address these matters.”

Quinn on Sunday defended the state’s business climate saying he was disappointed in Oberhelman’s comments. He says the state has taken steps to attract business.

Last year, there was talk of Caterpillar leaving Illinois altogether as state lawmakers raised the corporate tax hike from 7.3 percent to 9.5 percent. But the company decided to stay following a meeting with Gov. Pat Quinn.

“Pallet Wrapz are an eco friendly alternative to plastic stretch film that is wrapped around boxes on pallets,” said Pallet Wrapz president Matt Jacobs.

Chicago-Based Company Thinks Green With Pallet Wrapzview gallery

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Lisa Fielding reports

Jacobs says the product is designed to reduce the plastic waste that ends up in landfills.

“It takes 135 linear feet of plastic stretch wrap to wrap one pallet and that weights about one pound. If you multiply that by a company that has 500 pallets in one day you can do the math and see how much plastic stretch waste is going to the landfills,” added Jacobs.

Made of sturdy industrial-grade mesh, Pallet Wrapz can be used over and over to wrap and secure full pallets of product.

A single worker can install the wrap. The edge is rested against the pallet and is walked around the skid. The two ends are used to locate the sides. The straps are put through the loops and drawn tight. The straps areVelcroed to the holding strip.

The entire operation takes less than 1 minute.

The company has about 150 clients including grocery stores, liquor distributors and automotive supply. The key, Jacobs says, is about sustainability.

“This will lower your carbon footprint because you are eliminating plastic stretch wrap that is made of petroleum,” Jacobs said.

He says there has never been an alternative for plastic stretch film until now.

“This is something new. This is a patented product, it’s made in the U.S.A. and we want to make sure that the customer knows how to use it and maximizes it to maximize their savings,” he said.

Americans are becoming more green minded and Jacobs says Pallet Wrapz are perfect for companies who want to follow that lead.

“So this is a perfect thing to lower their carbon footprint and that’s what it’s all about,” he said.

For more information about Pallet Wrapz, (312) 733-4880 or by clicking here.

As WBBM Newsradio’s Mike Krauser reports, Exelon chief executive officer John Rowe saw his compensation increase by nearly 50 percent to $10.7 million.

Crain’s Chicago Business reports the increase was a reward for negotiating the acquisition of Constellation Energy, and for winning rate hikes for ComEd in Springfield over the veto of Gov. Pat Quinn.

Most of the top executives at Exelon had similar raises, even though the stock price rose just 2 percent, Crain’s reported. That figure is far below the 14.8 percent return for the S&P 500 Utility Index.

The board says it changed its assessment of executive performance from shareholder return – which is largely dictated by energy prices – to accomplishing operational and financial goals, Crain’s reported.

Earlier this week, Northbrook-based insurance giant Allstate elected Roe to join its board.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Mike Krauser reports

As WBBM Newsradio’s Bob Roberts reports, Michael LaPidus, owner of Q BBQ at 70 S. LaGrange Rd., says he’s trying to be a good neighbor.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Bob Roberts reports

“It doesn’t do me any good to fight with my neighbors. It does me good and my business good to get along with everyone,” LaPidus said.

But Honor Lorenzini, owner of Urban Sole Boutique next door at 72 S. LaGrange Rd., says the barbecue smell has permeated the clothes on its racks, costing them business and prompting returns.

“Let’s say you have 30 customers a day. I would say 20 of them commented on the smoke smell,” Lorenzini said.

Management at Urban Sole says the odor of barbecue smoke has permeated their clothes, shoes and shop so severely that they have decided to shut the store down.

“”Basically, everything just went downhill ever since we’ve had the problems with Q,” said Urban Sole manager Colleen Clark, “and, you know, when every customer that comes into the store says something, you can’t ignore it.”

LaPidus says he has raised smokestacks and put in a pricey exhaust system voluntarily. He adds that management at Urban Sole should not be blaming him for the fact that the store did not work out.

“Maybe your business plan didn’t work and you should look in the mirror — and I think that’s what’s going on right now,” he said. “They’re trying to blame other people for some of their shortfalls.”

Lorenzini closed a second store in Hinsdale several years ago, and now says she wishes she had kept that store open instead.

CBS 2′s Vince Gerasole reports on a positive sign for the economy.

From the fast and the furious, to the sporty and fuel efficient, there is a different, upbeat buzz motoring through this year’s Chicago Auto show.

“People are conscious about money. They’re spending it wisely,” said Auto Show co-chair Michael Ettelson.

Ettelson said he sees evidence of the 10 percent rise in U.S. auto sales every day at his Chicago area dealerships.

Last year, 12.7 million cars were sold in the U.S., and the industry expects to reach nearly 14 million car sales in 2012.

“We see more people happy to buy a car, not because they have to, but because they want to,” Ettelson said.

Away from the show floor, manufacturers who lived through 2009′s deadly drop in sales were again stepping up production. With sales of the Ford Explorer up 60 percent, Chicago’s Torrence Avenue Ford plant is adding another 1,200 employees.

“We made a concerted effort to restructure our business, resize our business, and match our production to the natural demand in the marketplace,” Hau Thai-Tang, executive director of Ford Motors said.

Hyundai CEO John Krafcik said, “Almost every car maker made money, a lot of money, in 2011.”

Krafcik said, with the average age of the U.S. car right now at 11, there is pent-up demand for new cars.

“That’s the primary reason right now that the industry expects some growth in 2012, is people have held onto their cars for so long,” he said.

But to create fuel-efficient cars that last longer, the average cost of a vehicle has now risen to some $30,000.

“The industry made some tough choices,” Krafcik said. “Prices are higher now for cars for consumers, and that’s not necessarily good for the viewers,” Krafcik said.

The road to recovery for U.S. automakers will be a slow one. Even if auto sales do reach 14 million in the U.S. this year, that would be well below the 15 to 17 million annual car sales in the years leding up to the 2008 recession and analysts don’t expect to reach that level anytime soon.

As CBS 2’s Derrick Blakley reports, former ThyssenKrupp Elevator Corp. employee Montrelle Reese and Rev. Jesse Jackson have met with the company’s head of U.S. operations, who pledged racial bias would not be tolerated at his company.

“I’ve offered my apologies to Montrelle Reese, his parents, and we will do everything to settle this matter,” Christian Koenig, president of ThyssenKrupp USA said Wednesday.

The problem is, Reese insists racial harassment was tolerated for months at the company’s Westchester office. And the apology didn’t come from the people who were directly responsible for the racial discrimination.

“They sound very sincere with their apology, but they didn’t use the N-word around me, they weren’t parading around in black face in a skit,” Reese said.

The skit occurred at a regional conference in front of corporate managers. Reese provided a photo of a ThyssenKrupp manager in blackface during the skit.

It was just part of what Reese said he endured for almost three years as a sales representative for ThyssenKrupp.

Company lawyers vehemently denied the charges until they became public.

“Just as of Saturday, their attorney said ‘We’ll take it to court.’ They were fighting it. It wasn’t important to them,” Reese said.

ThyssenKrupp is an international behemoth, operating in 80 countries, with 20,000 employees in the U.S. But, as Reese found, its Chicago-area workforce is anything but diverse.

“(Reese) is gone, but there are still zero black salesmen since he has left,” Jackson said. “And only one black mechanic out of 120 since he has left. So, far beyond, he is just a symptom of a deeper malady.”

Jackson said he wants not only a fair settlement for Reese, but also sensitivity training for the entire company, and a serious plan to diversify the company’s workforce.

Koenig said he hadn’t heard about the discrimination issue until it hit the media.

Reese said that’s precisely part of the problem and he still holds the option of filing a federal lawsuit.

Emanuel sat down with the employees for an hour at United’s offices in the Willis Tower, discussing why he thinks Chicago is attracting more families and companies. He also heard from some of the airline’s newest Chicago-based employees.

United asked that their workers remain anonymous.

A few employees who relocated from Houston or Elk Grove Village complained about crowded CTA trains.

“Probably three … two or three days a week, we won’t get on the train, because it’s already full,” an employee from Houston said.

A colleague originally from New York echoed that sentiment.

“I drive to work,” he said. “I did take the CTA and that was unpleasant.”

But one of the workers found another less-crowded way to get to work.

“I take the water taxi to work,” he said.

“You really do?” Emanuel asked.

“It only runs five months a year,” the man added. Several different tour boat companies also operate water taxis that run along the Chicago River and provide transportation between Union Station, Ogilvie Transportation Center and several other downtown spots along the river, including the Willis Tower and Navy Pier. Some water taxis also run along Lake Michigan between the Museum Campus and Navy Pier.

That employee also asked about the proposed CTA express train to O’Hare, a dream of former Mayor Richard M. Daley that has gone unfulfilled for several years.

Emanuel said that plan has been put on the back burner.

“On the Blue Line, I have actually people working on what would it take to take 10 minutes off that travel,” Emanuel said. “That to me is more of an immediate.”

Officials hope repairs between Belmont and Damen on the O’Hare branch of the Blue Line can eliminate existing slow zones and speed up the commute from the airport to downtown.

Another United employee said she thinks Chicago is a great improvement over Houston or her birthplace, Sao Paolo, Brazil.

“There is this natural beauty component, I think, that lacks there,” she said.

Several United workers agreed that Chicago is full of beauty and life and they’re happy to be here.

But in far west suburban St. Charles, Al Capone’s Hideaway and Steakhouse has gone dark after 38 years.

On the bustling Indian-American business strip in the West Rogers Park neighborhood, Urban India opened late last month at 2601 W. Devon Ave.

IDine.com says the new restaurant was opened by the owners of the vegetarian Indian restaurant Uru Swati, down the street at 2629 W. Devon Ave., and Raj Darbar, at 2660 N. Halsted St. in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, which reevied attention from the Michelin Guide last year.

Urban India features “state-of-the-art tandoor clay ovens and modern décor,” according to IDine, which encouraged visitors to “unwind into the sleek setting and order up any number of favorite dishes, including succulent lamb and chicken, and of course, friendly baked naan.”

Urban India, which opened Jan. 20, has also set up a Facebook fan page.

The restaurant opened on the longtime site of Gandhi India, which opened back in 1983 when the boom on Devon Avenue was just beginning.

In a 1995 Reader article on vegetarian dining, political activist Don Rose called Gandhi India his favorite Indian restaurant, with its “16 vegetarian specialties plus some appetizers and pilafs.” As late as 2002, the Chicago Reader was still praising the staff at Gandhi India for the classic northern Indian cuisine and “gracious staff” at the “simple, long-standing corner eatery.”

But in 2009, Gandhi India quietly closed its doors, and the space remained shuttered for nearly three years until Urban India took its place.

Meanwhile in St. Charles, WBBM Newsradio’s Pat Cassidy reports the long-popular Al Capone’s has closed its doors after 38 years offering steaks, wines, microbrews and premium cigars.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Pat Cassidy reports

The restaurant’s three-story building, at 35-W-337 Riverside Dr. in the unincorporated Valley View subdivision, was the home of Al Capone’s was built in the early 1920s. At one time, a restaurant there was known for serving bathtub gin during Prohibition, with ties with the real Al Capone, the Daily Herald reported.

The newspaper reported the answering machine for Capone’s said, “We are closed and it’s time to take a break and refresh.”

No further information has been revealed about why the restaurant closed.

Members of the group Action Now brought the golden toilet to the CME Headquarters last month, after the company accepted the Tax Increment Financing funds. The CME Group deciding not to accept the $15 million it had received.

Two other corporations – the CNA Group and Bank of America — also returned TIF money in the amounts of $13 million and $5.4 million, respectively, Crain’s Chicago Business reported last month.

“We petitioned them, and we went there to them, and we had a (bake sale) right beside there and we went to their places, and we begged them, and we sent them letters to refund our money, and up above all things – something that they’ve never done – they refunded it, and that was a good thing. This has never been done before and we appreciate it,” said Action Now board member Charles Brown.

But now, Action Now is calling on Mayor Rahm Emanuel to spend the money on job creation – particularly in the public libraries and schools.

Brown also called for an end to the use of TIF money to benefit large and successful corporations.

In a TIF district, property tax dollars for schools, parks, and other taxing districts are frozen for at least 23 years, so that all property tax increases afterward to go into a fund to neighborhood improvements. But critics such as the Chicago Reader’s Ben Joravsky have complained that while TIF funds are supposed to be used to improve blighted neighborhoods, they are actually used as slush funds.

“We’re also ready to draw a line in the sand,” Brown said. “Our taxpayer dollars should never have gone to these corporate giants.”

Protesters added that the TIF funds could have created many jobs and rescued people in need.

“Let’s put a moratorium in that TIF money going to extras for whomever, and put that money into jobs. Put that money into the mental institutions. Where are those people going? They’re going on the streets, and we don’t need them on the streets,” said retired Chicago Public Schools teacher Lois Nelson.

The group asked Mayor Emanuel to come out of his office and meet with them personally. Mayor’s assistant press secretary Caroline Weisser came out and offered to hand the group’s documents to the mayor, but Emanuel himself did not speak to the group.

The CME Group had been threatening to leave Illinois after state lawmakers approved a 45 percent hike in the corporate income tax at the beginning of last year. But in December, lawmakers approved a substantial tax break for CME, the Chicago Board Options Exchange, and Sears Holdings Corp., which also had been threatening to leave.

As CBS 2’s Derrick Blakley reports, just days after Mayor Rahm Emanuel applauded the firm for bringing its North American headquarters to Chicago, state officials said ThyssenKrupp had created a hostile work environment for black employees at its Westchester office.

On Tuesday, ThyssenKrupp issued an apology, under pressure from Emanuel and the Rev. Jesse Jackson. The company also pledged to address the situation and come up with the targets of alleged discrimination on an appropriate resolution.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Bob Roberts reports

An African-American sales representative had sued the company, alleging he faced a relentless barrage of racial insults.

Former ThyssenKrup salesman Montrelle Reese said “my direct supervisor used n***** in front of me; not on one occasion, but two occasions, and thought nothing was wrong with it. The first time he said it, he laughed and he apologized. The second time he said it, he shrugged his shoulders and he went about his business. This is important, because he’s my direct supervisor and directly impacts my success at the company.”

Reese worked at the company’s Westchester office for more than two years before resigning in January 2010.

He said he endured constant, almost casual use of the N-word; disparaging comments about black neighborhoods; and a skit performed in blackface at a company meeting in Indianapolis

On Tuesday, ThyssenKrupp president and CEO Rich Hussey issued a statement saying:

“We understand that these allegations have been the source of distress and hurt to members of the African-American community, citizens of Chicago, our employees and others. For that, we offer our sincerest apologies and recognize our responsibilities in this matter.”

He also acknowledged the use of racial epithets was a mistake and said the company needs to take further measures to prevent such behavior. The company will retrain workers in an effort to correct the problem.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio Political Editor Craig Dellimore reports

Emanuel praised the company for taking action, saying the city won’t tolerate discrimination.

“Those are not the values of Chicago. We have a core set of values and, to be a good citizen, you must enforce it and also educate to it. They’ve taken the action you saw today, so they’ve done what they’re supposed to do,” he said.

Emanuel admitted he applied some Chicago-style arm-twisting on ThyssenKrupp officials, speaking to executives to urge them to find a speedy resolution to this issue.

Last week, Emanuel welcomed ThyssenKrupp’s announcement that it would bring 100 new jobs to Chicago by making the city its North American headquarters.

As WBBM Newsradio’s Regine Schlesinger reports, baby boomers are staying on the job much longer by their sheer numbers, because they’re in better shape than previous generations, and due to the recent economic downturn.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Regine Schlesinger reports

For many boomers, full retirement age has been raised to 66, but many are staying in the workplace even beyond that.

The U.S. Department of Labor says in 2010, for the first time since 1948, Americans 65 and older outnumbered those under the age of 20.

Chicago Kent College law professor Howard Eglit, who specializes in legal issues facing older workers, says there’s still plenty of age discrimination.

“Overall, the notion is older workers are not your best bet and that’s just wrong. It’s wrong,” Eglit said. “They bring experience, knowledge to the job that younger workers cannot bring to the job.”

Figures show that older workers who lose their jobs have a much tougher time finding work than their younger colleagues.

As WBBM Newsradio’s Nancy Harty reports, fans of the companies’ catchy phone number-based jingles need not worry. Empire Today LLC’s purchase of Luna Carpet does not mean either jingle will go away.

An Empire spokeswoman told the Chicago Tribune both companies will be run separately and consumers will not see changes.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Nancy Harty reports

Both are family-run businesses that started about 50 years ago.

Luna has five showrooms in the north and west suburbs.

According to its website, Empire sells carpet, flooring and window treatments in 45 major metropolitan areas, by sending sales representatives into customers’ homes. It is headquartered in Northlake.

Elmer Lynn Hauldren, the longtime Empire pitchman known as the Empire Man, created the company’s memorable TV and radio ad jingle, which touts its phone number: “5-8-8, 2-300, Empire!” He died last year at the age of 89.

In recent years, his Empire Man character was transformed into a cartoon figure, but he continued to do voiceover work for Empire until his death.

Luna’s ads are also known for their own catchy tune touting their phone number: “7-7-3, 2-0-2, LUNA!”

As WBBM Newsradio’s John Cody reports, there was a lot of hope at the Holiday Inn at 185th Street and Harlem Avenue in Tinley at National Career Fairs’ job fair on Monday, but not a lot of action.

Antoinette and Amber said they looked around, but left no résumés with the companies hiring at the job fair. Antoinette said she didn’t see what she sought.

“I was looking like, mainly … health care services, or daycare, or hair stylists,” she said.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s John Cody reports

Michelle, who had 15 years of accounting experience, said she has been on a job hunt for three years.

“There’s a lot of people trying to recruit for schools, to attend their schools. So, yeah, that leads to a job, but if you’re in immediate need of a job, it doesn’t really help too much,” she said.

For Herbert, it’s been another three-year hunt. He worked for 17 years with Bank of America, until mergers left him out of a job.

About half of the job seekers at the career fair wore suits and other business attire. Others wore jeans or slacks as they lined up to hand in résumés and tour the 15 booths, including three schools offering training.

There were also three insurance companies seeking commissioned agents.

Actually providing paying jobs, Michael Knight at Remote Access Technology said he’s getting résumés from folks who want office work, which is not where his people work.

Knight said workers at his company are more likely to be at the “end of a rope, 500 feet in the air, maybe doing a repair on a smokestack or something like that. Or down … crawling in a confined space inside of an industrial boiler, cleaning coke off the walls and doing welding repairs.”

An informal survey of 10 people leaving the job fair found those looking for jobs thought the economy is improving, just not necessarily for them.

As WBBM Newsradio’s Regine Schlesinger reports, prominent social media companies such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are on a hiring surge in Chicago.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Regine Schlesinger reports

Crain’s Chicago Business reports in addition, the market is vibrant for home-grown giants such as Groupon, Orbitz and GrubHub.

All of this is boosting Chicago’s profile in the world of high-tech, Crain’s reported.

Crain’s says part of the reason for the beefed-up presence in Chicago is the lure of consumer giants such as McDonald’s, Kraft, and Sears – all of which spend billions in advertising each year.

Chicago is also home to a thriving advertising industry, Crain’s points out.

Crain’s says the new tech jobs are largely sales positions, and in some cases could pay $100,000 or more.

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (CBS) — If you love building with Legos, there is a job opening that might be just your thing.

As WBBM Newsradio’s Regine Schlesinger reports, since December, the Legoland Discovery Center in Schaumburg has been without a master model builder.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Regine Schlesinger reports

Senior builder Dave Specha calls it a “dream job.” He says it requires creativity and a childlike imagination.

“They definitely have to be basically still a Lego kid at heart,” he said. “They really do have to have an ability to work with kids and work with the people who visit our center; really be creative and have an artist’s eye and a touch.”

Applicants must submit their résumés and a one-minute YouTube video showing their qualifications. All applicants must be 18 or older.

Applications for the job are being taken online through Feb, 17, and the 10 finalists will square off, building models at the center on March 4.

During the build-off, applicants will be given mountains of pre-selected Legos, and will need to build complex Lego models using only those bricks. Panels of adults and children will judge the creations.

The winner of the job will be announced a short time later.

For more information or to apply, click here.

The new Garrett Popcorn at 27 W. Jackson Blvd. isn’t hard to find. Just follow your nose to the scent the caramel.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s John Cody reports

“It’s a beacon that calls everyone around to come in,” said store manager Mike Callahan.

Callahan shows off the air popper which pops almost all the kernels – two types, mushroom shape and butterfly shape – and burns none.

“You know, we have it set up so it pops about 60 pounds of seeds per hour. If I let it do that all day long, this whole room would be filled with popcorn, so we kind of turn it on and off as we need popcorn,” he said.

Callahan says even in the winter, lines can stretch around the block at the 10 Chicago stores.

“Yeah, I mean, a lot of those people were in line with grandma and grandpa when they were 5 years old, and now they’re 65, in line with their own kids and grandkids,” he said.

Garrett Popcorn has 10 Chicago locations. In addition to the Jackson Boulevard store, you can find Garrett’s at:

• 26 W. Randolph St.
• 4 E. Madison St.
• 625 N. Michigan Ave.
• 737 E. 87th St.
• Navy Pier
• The Merchandise Mart Food Court
• The Citigroup Center, 500 W. Madison St., 2nd floor
• O’Hare International Airport, Terminal 1, Concourse B
• O’Hare International Airport, Terminal 3, Concourse H

There are also Garrett Popcorn shops in New York City, Dubai, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Crain’s Chicago Business reported Friday that a new PetSmart store, and a Buy Buy Baby store, have signed leases for a combined total of 45,000 square feet of space in a building just now getting under construction at 1415 N. Kingsbury St.

Crain’s reports a $14 million loan for the new shopping center closed in January, and construction began this week. The building should be finished by October, Crain’s reported.

Buy Buy Baby is a sister store to Bed, Bath and Beyond, and presently has six suburban locations. The Kingsbury Street location will be the first in the city, Crain’s reported.

PetSmart is set to take over about 18,000 square feet, which leaves 8,600 square feet in the new shopping center that still need a tenant, Crain’s reported.

Located just across the North Branch Canal from Goose Island, the area where the new shopping center is being built is a largely industrial district that for many years was in the shadow of the high rises of the Cabrini-Green public housing development.

Until the 2000s, retail development in the neighborhood was largely limited to the area north of North Avenue. The only exception was the popular nightlife district along Weed Street.

But development has taken off south of North Avenue since Whole Foods opened its megastore at 1550 N. Kingsbury St. in 2009. The new store replaced the city’s first Whole Foods, which had been located since 1993 in a shopping center at 1000 W. North Ave. near Clybourn and Sheffield avenues.

Nearby, Crain’s reported, Target paid $8.8 million late last month in a deal for a parcel at Clybourn Avenue and Larrabee Street, as part of a land shop with the Chicago Housing Authority. The CHA took the site just after Target bought it, and in turn gave Target the land at the northwest corner of Division and Larrabee streets where a new store is planned.

The CHA told Crain’s Clybourn Avenue site, which had been home to the White Way Sign company, will be part of the redevelopment of the Cabrini-Green area. But it is not clear exactly how.

CHICAGO (CBS) — Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Thursday announced that a German maker of elevators, steel and other items is opening its North American headquarters in Chicago.

ThyssenKrupp will open its Regional Headquarters for North America in the city in 2012. The mayor says the new headquarters will bring 100 new jobs, and boost the city’s profile as a center for manufacturing and technology.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio Political Editor Craig Dellimore reports

“ThyssenKrupp’s decision to locate their North American headquarters in Chicago is a testament to the world-class business environment the city offers,” Mayor Emanuel said in a news release. “By combining transportation, infrastructure, and the best workforce in the world, Chicago is a destination for the greatest companies around the globe, and ThyssenKrupp is a perfect example of this.”

Essen, Germany-based ThyssenKrupp employs 180,000 people in more than 80 countries. In addition to elevators, the company manufactures premium carbon steel, auto parts, escalators, and passenger boarding bridges.
ThyssenKrupp North America chairman and chief executive officer Torsten Gessner said the city did not have to offer economic incentives.

“We haven’t asked for any economic incentives – even in this development process – because our position was that the decision should be based on facts. I mean, every economic incentive is a short-term thing,” he said.

And while Illinois raised its corporate income tax last year, Mayor Emanuel says the broader picture is different.

“You cannot reduce economic development and job growth to a factor,” Emanuel said. “It is a factor. You have to approach it. But what matters is, do you have a skilled workforce?”

ThyssenKrupp is looking for office space in the downtown area, and will be recruiting top talent. The company also plans to hold a product show in Chicago each fall, according to the Mayor’s Office.

The city’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection and Ald. Anthony Beale (9th), who chairs the City Council Transportation Committee, said Thursday that a hearing on the fare hike request will be held after a set of new taxi regulations is in place in July.

The city granted Chicago cabbies a hearing on their request for a fare hike, even though taxi drivers did not collect the required number of valid signatures on their petition.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Mike Krauser reports

To get a hearing on a fare hike, cabbies must collect the signatures of 10 percent of all active, licensed cab drivers. The city has 11,202 active, licensed taxi drivers and cabbies submitted 1,500 signatures on their request for a 22 percent fare hike, but the city determined 430 signatures were void because the drivers’ licenses were suspended, expired, inactive, revoked or otherwise invalid.

Several cabbies lined up at a taxi stand at Randolph and Michigan avenues Thursday morning said they felt like they’re being pushed around by the city.

“So we need a rate increase for the cabbies. Then, if they increase rates, they increase the lease in a sensible way, I won’t complain,” one taxi driver said. “But the mayor doesn’t seem to be on our said.”

“The gas prices went up, okay? Like air fares, the trains, the buses; all transportations, you know, went up. But not, except for cabs. I don’t know why, it’s not fair,” another cabbie said.

Although the Transportation Committee will hold a hearing on the request for a fare hike, Beale wanted to wait until new rules and regulations for the taxi industry go into effect in July, so the hearing won’t be held for six or seven months.

Earlier this month, the City Council approved plans for a permanent $1 fuel surcharge for all cab rides, meaning a passenger would have $3.25 on the meter before the cab moves.

The new taxi regulations also include a limit on the age of vehicles that can be on the roads, by lowering the maximum number of miles on a newly-converted taxi to 75,000 from 150,000.

Also, on-the-road training will be required before cab drivers are licensed and driving records will be reviewed more than once a year.

Drivers will also be restricted to 12-hour workdays – excluding breaks – and taxi companies must keep detailed records of how long their cabbies are on the road every day.

The new rules also authorize the city’s consumer protection department to create rules to require GPS technology in all cabs to help enforce the 12-hour driving limit for cabbies.

The ordinance also provides incentives for cab companies to use vehicles that are fuel-efficient and wheelchair-accessible.

Cabs must also have swipe machines in the back so passengers can pay with credit cards.

BELVIDERE, Ill. (CBS) — As U.S. automakers’ fortunes rebound, Chrysler has brought some of the benefit to Illinois, with 1,800 new jobs at its Belvidere Assembly Plant.

Gov. Pat Quinn was joined by Chrysler chief executive officer Sergio Marchionne Thursday to announce plans to reconstitute the third shift at the plant. The shift was eliminated four years ago, and 1,000 jobs were lost.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Regine Schlesinger reports

To apply for a full-time, salaried skill position, click here.

As CBS 2′s Vince Gerasole reports, the fact 1,800 jobs are coming to Chrysler’s Belvidere plant is a testament to the workers who lived through the dark times the company faced in recent years. In 2009, fewer than 200 people worked the line.

“We went through a little valley here at the plant, you know, wondering if you were going to have your job or not,” Chrysler worker Ed Castro said.

“Chrysler went through quite a tough time where they filed bankruptcy and nobody really knew what was going to happen,” co-worker Nate Thamberlin said.

But as Chrysler reorganized, a workforce that was still manufacturing two Jeep models stepped up to the challenge and grew. The plant recently ranked third in the world for productivity.

“The story we have written since then is exceptional,” Marchionne said.

Just over a year ago, Chrysler spent $600 million to modernize and equip the plant for the production of future models.

Combine that with a $60 million dollar incentive plan from the state, and Chrysler will employ 4,500 people at the Belvidere plant by summer, as it reintroduces the Dodge Dart.

“This is Dodge Dart country,” Quinn said. “This is a 21st century vehicle, made by people right here in Illinois.”

Marchionne emphasized the importance, and success, of the Belvidere plant.

“It is no secret that this plant has always been one of the best assembly plants for Chrysler for performance; for productivity, and it is a benchmark which is now being measured against European plants,” Marchionne said.

In a survey of auto plants in both the U.S. and Europe, Belvidere ranked third out of 34, he said.

The news is welcome in a town where Chrysler is the largest employer, and where so much of the local economy depends on a thriving plant.

“We’re doing real well for Illinois, for America and for everybody who works hard,” Quinn said.

In all, Chrysler has invested nearly $700 million in a high-tech body shop at the Belvidere plant to construct the Dart for a world market. About 500 of the new workers will be dedicated exclusively to the fuel-efficient Dart, incorporating Italian design from parent company Fiat.

“I think it makes everyone feel better in what’s going on around here, you know, gets everyone’s hopes up,” Castro said.

The men and women who work the lines know they are the lucky ones, because they have work; but each and every one of them knows a friend or neighbor or relative who needs a job.

Castro said the jobs would mean a lot to the community, including the stores and restaurants where they shop and eat.

“That, too, would bring the housing market back up,” Castro said. “Because eveyone’s gonna have a steady job working.”

WBBM Newsradio’s Bernie Tafoya went to his own Facebook page, and asked his “friends” if they’re planning to buy or not.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Bernie Tafoya reports

Marty Gerendasy says anyone who is on Facebook should be made a shareholder automatically, and free of charge. Such a move would affect 1 billion people in total.

Jim Orlando says the retail investor will not be able to get in on the initial public offering. He wants to see what the stock trades at on day one, and they decide.

Bill Kresse says he is not buying the stock, and thinks Facebook will eventually become uncool.

Jean Wright Medina points out that as the product on Facebook is really the users sold to the advertisers, we would all essentially be buying stock in ourselves.

And Pat McCann says that while he believes Facebook stock will be strong for quite a while, he won’t be jumping into the Facebook stock pool himself.

CHICAGO (CBS) — Cook County commissioners have approved a measure that will give them the final say in whether major entertainment events like Lollapalooza will get an exemption from the county’s amusement tax.

The popular and profitable Lollapalooza summer music event in Grant Park has never paid the county’s amusement tax.

But as WBBM Newsradio’s Mike Krauser reports, a measure sponsored by Cook County Commissioner Bridget Gainer (D-10th), that could soon change.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Mike Krauser reports

Currently, Lollapalooza does not pay Cook County or the City of Chicago any amusement taxes on its tickets.

A measure approved by the County Board on Wednesday gives the board final authority to vote on any amusement tax exemption that would cost the county $150,000 or more in revenue. Until now, the county’s revenue director had the final say on such tax breaks.

Gainer said, when Lollapalooza first came to town, it made sense to give the festival a tax break because nothing like it had been tried here. But now, the event brings in $20 million. The tax break cost the county $350,000 last year.

“The county needs the money,” Gainer said. “I mean, when we look at what just the $350,000 could do from this amusement tax, that could hire 150 kids this summer to have a summer job – maybe their first experience with working. So this isn’t just some philosophical change. These are real things that have impacts on people’s lives.”

It is not as if Lollapalooza would be singled out in having to pay the tax, she said.

“When Dave Matthews came and he went down to the U.S. Steel site, which has zero amenities, he paid the full tax. When the Restaurant Association does their Chicago Gourmet in Millennium Park, they pay all the tax,” Gainer said. “So this is kind of an anomaly.”

Such events as the concert series at Wrigley Field and the Pitchfork Music Festival in Union Park also pay amusement taxes.

The tax break for Lollapalooza also costs the City of Chicago $1 million per year. WBEZ.org critic Jim DeRogatis said last year that Mayor Rahm Emanuel has also been considering a change that could send some money back to the city.

The original contract gave the tax exemption to Lollapalooza in exchange for the guarantee that it would stay in Chicago through the year 2018.

Lollapalooza is co-owned by Austin, Texas-based C3 Presents and William Morris Endeavor, the talent agency owned by the mayor’s brother, Ari Emanuel.

Lollapalooza began as an itinerant festival, but has been held only in Chicago since 2005.

As WBBM Newsradio’s Bob Conway reports, the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau and the Office of Tourism and Culture are being combined.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Bob Conway reports

The Office of Tourism and Culture is a department within city government. The Convention and Tourism Bureau is a nonprofit dedicated to selling Chicago as a destination for vacations and business travel, the Chicago Tribune explained.

The Tribune reports the aim of the merger is to reduce costs and use the savings to help pay for a more extensive marketing campaign on the city’s behalf.

The new entity starts operations July 1, with the goals being to increase the number of visitors by 10 million over the next few years.

The city is also hoping to lure more tourists from overseas.

Despite being the nation’s third largest city, Chicago currently ranks 10th in the nation in the number of foreign visitors.

(TM and © Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS Radio and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

Mocking the legislation as the “right to work for less” bill, Quinn joined opponents who have called such laws an assault on organized labor.

As WBBM Newsradio Political Editor Craig Dellimore reports, the legislation was approved by the Indiana House earlier this month and is headed for a final vote before the Indiana Senate on Wednesday. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels has said he will sign it.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio Political Editor Craig Dellimore reports

The measure would prohibit union contracts that require workers to pay union dues.

Proponents have said it will make Indiana more attractive to businesses, but opponents say such laws are an attack on labor unions and will drive down workers’ salaries.

Quinn said it is bad legislation and he said he doesn’t think it will start attracting companies to Indiana. The governor said companies do quite well in Illinois with union labor.

“Having a good union work force like Caterpillar and John Deere and Ford and Mitsubishi and Chrysler; they all have – Navistar as well – they’re all organized by the UAW and the UAW believes in making sure that people get a decent wage, get a decent health care plan and a decent retirement,” Quinn said.

Quinn said major companies like those are thriving in Illinois with union labor.

“Take a look at Caterpillar. They had their best year in 2011 since, I think, 1947 was the last year they were as good as they were last year. They sold a lot of machinery all over the world; 90 percent of what they make in Illinois, they export to the world,” Quinn said.

The governor also said he’s not worried about losing Illinois businesses to Indiana.

“That ain’t gonna happen, I’ll tell you that. I think that’s a bad bill and I’m very sorry that Mitch Daniels is gonna sign the ‘right to work for less’ bill. That’s a bad bill for the incomes of hard-working people,” Quinn said.

As WBBM Newsradio’s John Cody reports, Illinois realtors say housing prices dropped 4.9 percent last year, and Hurst, of the Booth School of business, says it shouldn’t get any worse.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s John Cody reports

“We have hit the bottom,” he said.

But Hurst says over time, houses don’t appreciate more than about 1 percent per year in constant dollars. Sometimes, they don’t appreciate at all.

Hurst says the $500,000 house you buy in Chicago this year should be worth about $500,000 next year, and the year after that.

Hurst says the Case-Shiller housing price index shows housing prices are just about where they should be, given historical trends.

There was, indeed, a tremendous bump up in the average housing price in 2006, but Hurst points that the spike didn’t reflect common sense.

“That was not based upon any fundamental that can be sustainable over long periods of time. When house prices go up that much, they’ve got to come down,” Hurst said. “That’s exactly what we saw. They went up, and they’ve come down.”

In 2006, a house that should have been worth 175-thousand dollars was going for 275-thousand on average across the entire United States. .

Chicago housing statistics break down the 4.9 percent drop in city home prices through December 2011. That month, the following neighborhoods saw the following average home prices:

Lincoln Park: $496,000
Bucktown: $486,000
Bridgeport: $260,000
Beverly: $251,000
Englewood: $150,000.

Animal conservationists are upset with the ad because they say it sends the wrong message about the endangered species. They also say it is highly insensitive and exploits a species that could be extinct within the next 50 years.

The ad was unveiled online this week, in anticipation of its debut on television during Sunday’s big game.

Not everyone was offended.

“I think it’s excellent,” Chris Vates, a Lincoln Park Zoo visitor, told CBS 2’s Mai Martinez after viewing the commercial. “Any time you see monkeys in people clothes, it’s hilarious.”

But the zoo’s chimpanzee expert, Dr. Stephen Ross, isn’t laughing.

“I think what we really want people to think about is the balance between a few seconds of laughing at something that appears funny on the surface and thinking a little bit about what it took to get those few laughs,” Dr. Stephen Ross said.

Ross says to get those laughs, chimps are normally taken away from their mothers at very young ages so they can be trained, and the separation scars them for life.

“Primates, especially great apes, really rely on that early time with mothers in order to develop properly as an adult,” Ross said.

He says the abundance of chimps in movies and commercials skews the public perception of what is actually an endangered species.

Ross says CareerBuilder should pull the ad.

The company is not budging. In a statement, a spokeswoman says CareerBuilder supports the fair and humane treatment of all animals and the chimpanzees were treated well and not harmed in any way.

“We hired top trainers known to provide the highest standard of care for their animals.  We also had a member of animal rights group, the American Humane Association, on set during the entire filming to ensure the chimpanzees were treated with respect. This was very important to us,” the statement said.

Click here to download an educational book, “Chimps Should Be Chimps,” from Apple and presented by Lincoln Park Zoo. It is compatible with iPads.

WBBM Newsradio’s Regine Schlesinger reports, a lobbying group representing small business owners said they are struggling and want to hear Gov. Pat Quinn to propose real reforms in his State of the State message on Wednesday.

“We need big, big, bold changes,” said Kim Clarke Maisch, Illinois director for the National Federation of Independent Business.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Regine Schlesinger reports

Maisch said Illinois’ business climate has deteriorated, especially since last year’s income tax hike.

“Some of the signals coming out of the governor’s office is that he has no intention of that being a temporary tax increase, which is how it was sold,” Maisch said. “Not only would we like that to be temporary, we’d like to see that repealed.”

She also said the group wants more done to reform worker’s compensation.

“We can’t let the governor put a check mark and say ‘We’re done.’ We are not done in that area,” Maisch said. “We need a home run in that area. Illinois is one of the most expensive states when it comes to workers’ compensation. We hear it every day from our members.”

The group also wants major pension reform, saying the state’s existing pension system is a major drag on the Illinois economy.

Maisch said the time for baby steps has passed, especially when other states are taking steps to attract businesses away from Illinois.

“We need big, bold ideas, because we are very concerned about the state of business in Illinois,” Maisch said. “Certainly, in Michigan, and in Indiana, and in other states, they are passing huge reforms – Wisconsin. They are really taking bold steps.”

She said the governor should start considering how Illinois can compete against neighboring states that have enacted or are considering right-to-work legislation. The Indiana House recently approved a proposal banning contracts between companies and labor unions that require employees to pay union dues. The Indiana Senate will consider the measure this week and is expected to approve it. Gov. Mitch Daniels has said he will sign it.

Supporters say right-to-work laws make a state more attractive to businesses, but opponents say such laws are an attack on labor unions and will drive down workers’ salaries.

“Indiana is a game-changer,” said Maisch. “Most of the economic growth over the past 20 years has occurred in the right-to-work states in the South and West. But it’s coming to the Midwest now, not just in Indiana but Michigan is looking at it too, and that is going to give businesses here a very convenient alternative to Illinois.”

She warned that Illinois has to keep up with its neighboring states or its business climate will get worse.

As WBBM Newsradio’s Regine Schlesinger reports, AAA says pump prices for January hit their highest level ever for this time of year.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Regine Schlesinger reports

In Cook County, a gallon of regular gas averages $3.69 – 18 cents higher than last month, and up 32 cents from a year ago.

The average of $3.37 in northern Indiana also represents the highest ever for January.

ChicagoGasPrices.com says the highest price Monday morning was at the Mobil station at 3159 W. Chicago Ave. on the city’s West Side, where gas was going for $4.09 per gallon.

AAA spokeswoman Beth Mosher attributes the spike to high oil prices, and says it would have been even worse if not for sluggish demand.

With Persian Gulf tensions ratcheting up over Iranian nuclear ambitions, oil prices are not likely to come down anytime soon.