State start-up investment hopes to create new jobs in Illinois (video)

By Jasmine Cen The second round of the Illinois Growth and Innovation Fund will create an estimated 3,600 jobs in technology start-ups in the next three years, according to Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs. The state of Illinois is investing $220 million in the fund. Eligible candidates for investment funding must be businesses in the biological […]

Coalition offers different take on the state of the state (VIDEO)

Governor Rauner will give his State of the State address tomorrow and it’s likely a key issue in the speech will be the Illinois budget impasse. A number of groups called The Responsible Budget Coalition (RBC) reached out to Rauner today to tell him what they believe are the real effects on the people of […]

Apple offers downbeat sales forecast

By Xuanyan Ouyang Apple Inc. turned in stronger-than-expected first quarter results Tuesday evening, but the high-tech giant warned investors that sales will fall short of Wall Street forecast in the second period. In the quarter ended Dec. 26, Apple’s net income increased by 1.9% to $18.36 billion, or $3.28 per diluted share, from $18.02 billion, […]

Deere & Co. expects a decline, but most analysts say Hold or even Buy

Deere & Co. tractor

By Alison Martin Deere & Co., producer of the iconic green-and-yellow tractor brand John Deere, recently warned investors to expect sales declines by 7 percent in 2016–but most analysts are still telling investors to hold onto their stock. The company’s sales remain tethered to the ever-changing agriculture industry, which faces a number of problems. The yearly demand […]

To get more out of your travel dollar, experts point overseas

By Xiumei Dong A family trip to Europe, an exploration of Canadian national parks, or a wildlife adventure in Australia: These were some of the trips Americans had in mind last weekend as the dollar is strong. The Chicago Travel & Adventure Show returned to the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in suburban Rosemont,  mixing travel lovers, […]

Find inner strength for winter fitness

Ricky Rodriguez walks during winter

By Adriana Fernandez Finding the motivation to exercise – even getting to the gym to exercise indoors – can be a challenge in winter. Filmmaker Graham Agcaoili, said these factors don’t deter him from accomplishing the challenge he has imposed on himself as he continues to run twice a day a few days a week. […]

Logan Square farmers market continues to serve community – even in winter

Logan Square Farmers Market

By Alison Martin It’s 10 a.m. on a cloudy and cold Sunday morning. North Milwaukee Avenue is quiet. If it were summer, shoppers with the cloth bags would be lining up to get into the Logan Square Farmers Market, but in January, the scene is much different. Still, it’s Sunday, and the Logan Square Farmers […]

Meet the Irvins, the South Side’s basketball dynasty

Irvin family

By Aishwarya Kumar Lakshminarayanapuram Mac Irvin elbowed his older brother, Nick Irvin, so he could dunk the basketball on the makeshift backyard court of his South Side house. He smirked at him and pointed to his T-shirt, which read “Mac Irvin Fire,” the name of his late father’s Nike-sponsored AAU team. Competition runs deep in […]

Curling: A sport where the beer is always cold

By Erin Barney Mike Rane, a 50-year-old lawyer, kneeled on a long sheet of bumpy ice and shoved a 40-pound granite stone toward a red-and-blue target 114 feet away. Two teammates used brooms to sweep a path for the rock, a fourth monitored its trajectory, and all four yelled at each other to sweep harder […]

Consumers grow more confident, despite financial-market swings

A customer examines carefully prices at a CVS Pharmacy store in Chicago on Monday, Jan. 25, 2016.

By Lucia Maffei Consumer confidence in the U.S. improved moderately in January, a business group reported Tuesday, as Americans shook off a falling stock market and showed cautious optimism in business conditions. The non-profit New York-based Conference Board said that its monthly Consumer Confidence Index rose to 98.1 from 96.3 in December. That was above […]