Chicago Public Radio - Business

Known for catchy jingles, carpet giant Empire buys rival Luna

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:25:00 -0600

Two well-known Chicago flooring supply stores will now be under one organization. Empire Today LLC., finalized a deal to buy out rival Luna last week.

In a statement from a spokesperson for Empire, no Luna employees are expected to lose their jobs. The statement also says Luna is expected to keep its brand name, along with its commercial jingle.The statement also says Luna’s retail stores will keep their names.

Luna provides carpet and flooring installation services in the...

Boeing's 787 has another manufacturing glitch

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:32:00 -0600

Chicago-based Boeing is inspecting its new 787 Dreamliner airplanes after the company discovered a manufacturing flaw. It's the latest setback for the Dreamliner, which Boeing started delivering last fall, three years late.

The latest manufacturing glitch was first reported by Jon Ostrower, editor of the web site Flightblogger. He says Boeing found three planes that had a problem in the way the skin was attached to the aircraft’s skeleton.

Ostrower says it doesn’t pose...

Defense cuts test lawmakers' resolve on deficits

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:20:00 -0600

President Barack Obama's call to shrink the military, shut bases and cancel weapons to meet the demand for budget cuts tests the resolve of lawmakers who came to Washington determined to slash the deficit....

Super Bowl boosts Indy's image

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 09:39:00 -0600

Indianapolis was once called Naptown and India-No-Place for a reason.

Native son Kurt Vonnegut Jr. referred to it in 1970 as "the 500-mile speedway race, and then 364 days of miniature golf, and then the 500-mile speedway race again." People used to roam city streets on Sundays, picking off pigeons with shotguns as part of "Operation Pigeon-Rid." For decades, there was no reason to stay downtown after dark.

This week, as 150,000 visitors descended on a new, vibrant district...

Cook County Board kicks medical examiner issue to Finance Committee

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:19:00 -0600

There are still questions over whether the Cook County chief medical examiner could get fired. After recent photos of bodies piling up in the Cook County Morgue, Dr. Nancy Jones came under attack. She runs the morgue and has given a variety of explanations for the problems.

But in the process of all the attention, county Commissioner John Fritchey discovered an old county ordinance. It essentially gives the chief medical examiner a lifetime term in office.

On Wednesday, new...

Quinn: End natural gas tax, give families relief

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 06:57:00 -0600

Gov. Pat Quinn used Wednesday's State of the State address to call for ending an Illinois tax on natural gas.

The Democratic governor also proposed the creation of a new tax credit for parents with children, which he said will save $100 a year for the average family of four. And he called for expanding an existing tax credit for companies that hire unemployed veterans.

In his speech, Quinn also set a goal of higher education for 60 percent of adults by 2025.

He said...

Chicago home prices drop in November

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:58:00 -0600

It got cheaper to buy a home in Chicago in November. According to the Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller Home Price Index, prices are now back to 2001 levels.

After...

A behavioral economist on what works, and what falls flat, in global poverty relief

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:40:00 -0600

When it comes to global poverty, there’s often a gap between the billions we pour in and the outcomes that actually result. A behavioral economist at Yale University, Dean Karlan is trying to uncover the reasons behind this gap.

Dean is co-author of a new book called More than Good Intentions: How a New Economics if Helping to Solve Global Poverty....

4 things $100 million could buy the Midwest (besides political ads in Wisconsin)

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:09:00 -0600

Talking Points Memo, an influential political blog, is estimating that as much as $100 million could be spent on the recall fight involving Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker.

It quotes analysts saying...

Mayor announces changes for TIF districts

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 06:47:00 -0600

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced Monday increased oversight for tax increment finance districts, or TIFs. But a Chicago watchdog group says reforms to the city's special taxing districts don't go far enough.

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