Browsing: Business

James Derwinski, Metra’s CEO and executive director, speaks following the completion of a $32.6 million expansion and upgrade of Metra’s mechanical shops and training facilities at the Metra Rock Island District Mechanical Shops on Sept. 30, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)

Rivian has a head start on a number of competitors as it vies to become the Tesla of trucks. In July, Ford unveiled the F-150 Lightning, an electric version of its popular pickup truck, at a special summer edition of the Chicago Auto Show. The F-150 Lightning, which starts at just under $40,000, offset by the $7,500 federal tax credit, is due in dealerships by the middle of next year.

By law, Illinois is required to allocate $66.4 million of the tax money collected annually from Rivers Casino, the state’s busiest casino, to the School Infrastructure Fund. When revenues declined in 2020, the state came up about $16 million short, and made up the difference with a nearly $83 million distribution to the fund in fiscal year 2021.

Built in 1894 and known as the Frederick Bagley House after its first owner, the five-bedroom, 5,503-square-foot Dutch Colonial-style house recently was on the market for $1.3 million. The house, which has been owned by the Goldstone family since 1978, had been listed in the real estate agents’ private network, meaning that the fact that it was on the market was being shared with only a limited audience.

Medical group leaders specifically chose the name Duly, in part because its first two letters are the same as the former name, helping to connect the two, he said. Also, they felt the name Duly conveyed the group’s attitude toward the importance of quality health care.

During the week ending Monday, an average of 2,287 COVID-19 patients per day were filling hospital beds statewide, up from an average of 2,207 during the week ending Aug. 31, an increase of about 13%. During the previous two-week period, the average jumped from 1,787 patients per day to 2,201, a 23% increase.

“It’s a great opportunity for a large corporation to take advantage of people who maybe can’t work at a regular 9 to 5 job, don’t have the ability to keep themselves at a major corporation in the sense where they would have protections or any sort of fallback plan if something were to happen to them while they were working,” said Lori Simmons, a member of an organization called Gig Economy Workers, at the Aug. 16 meeting.

Apple is also promising better cameras on the iPhone 13, including an improved ultrawide lens, a cinematic-like video feature and technology for better nighttime pictures. (The latter mirrors a feature Google has long offered in its line of Pixel phones, which haven’t been big sellers yet.) As usual, the latest iPhones are supposed to have longer-lasting batteries, too.

Kroger Co. said Tuesday that the service, called Kroger Delivery Now, will offer 25,000 items and reach up to 50 million homes. The company, which has more than 2,700 stores, will offer the service for its namesake stores as well as groceries under the Kroger umbrella including Mariano’s, with 40-plus locations in Illinois, Ralphs, Fred Meyer, King Soopers, Fry’s, and Smith’s.

This Friday, Aug. 26, 2016, file photo shows a sign for the Illinois Teachers Retirement System in Springfield, Ill. In a report released on Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021, the Pew Charitable Trust found that the four states with the most endangered pension systems — Illinois, Kentucky, New Jersey and Pennsylvania — have been ramping up contributions even faster, averaging annual growth of 16%. (Seth Perlman/AP)