[posted by Mike Murray]

* New regional administrator for SBA overseeing Illinois, other Midwest states

The U.S. Small Business Administration has appointed Marianne O’Brien Markowitz as the regional administrator to oversee programs and services in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

The Region V office, headquartered in Chicago, oversees the SBA district offices in Chicago and Springfield.; Indianapolis, Ind..; Cleveland, Columbus and a satellite office in Cincinnati, Ohio.; Detroit, Mich.; Madison and Milwaukee, Wisc.; and Minneapolis, Minn.

* Chicago gets new area code: 872

Chicago will get a new area code, 872, on Nov. 7.

The area code is required because the 773 area code has exhausted the numbers available to it, the Illinois Commerce Commission announced Monday.[…]

No one in the 312 and 773 area codes will have to change phone numbers, the ICC said. The new area code will be issued on new accounts only.

* Rep. Rush tries to save post offices

Rep. Bobby Rush of Chicago is spreading the word that some post offices in his district might be in danger of closing.

In a news release, Rush said that at least four post offices are being reviewed for possible closure as part of a major reorganization. He says they should voice concerns they have at their local post offices.

The U.S. Postal Service has seen a big drop in the amount of mail being sent and is projecting a $7.1 billion loss for fiscal year 2009. As a result, postal officials have sent a list of nearly 700 facilities for possible closure or consolidation to the Postal Regulatory Commission.

* Illinois AG Settles With Construction Firms Over Worker Classifications

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has reached an agreement to settle claims against five Chicago-area construction firms that were falsely classifying their employees as independent contractors, rather than fully employed laborers.

The settlement agreement requires the businesses to end the practice, which traditionally has been a way for companies to skirt Illinois labor laws. The practice greatly harms the misclassified workers by limiting their legal protections, including access to workers’ compensation, unemployment assistance and fair wages.

The settlement follows claims investigated by Attorney General Madigan and the resulting lawsuit alleging the five small construction companies were in the practice of misclassifying dozens of their workers as independent contractors when they were actually employees of the companies. Under Illinois law, workers must be treated as employees unless they meet specific criteria permitting them to be classified as independent contractors.

The defendants are:

* Hot weather helping crops, report shows

After a late start resulting from a cool, wet spring, both the corn and soybean crops have begun to catch up to last year and the five-year average, said a report released today through the Illinois field office in Springfield.

The report found 92 percent of the state’s corn crop has reached the silked stage compared to 96 percent at this point in 2008 and a five-year average of 99 percent. The soybean survey found 81 percent of the crop is in the blooming stage compared to 83 percent in 2008 and a five-year average of 94 percent.

As for the condition of the crops, 90 percent of the corn crop and 92 percent of the soybean crop were rated fair to excellent.

* Rural energy grants go to farmers, food processors

Some farmers and food processors in Illinois are receiving federal grants and loans to install renewable energy systems and make improvements in energy efficiency.

The grants announced Monday come from the Rural Energy for America Program. That program was established in the 2008 Farm Bill and is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that 365 recipients nationwide have been selected to receive more than $15 million in loans and grants.

Watershed Foods, which employs about 30 people in the central Illinois community of Gridley, is a grant-winner. Company president Jeremy Zobrist says the $189,000 grant will help update Watershed Foods’ free-drying process to make it more energy efficient.

* Suburban Bypass Project Gets More Funding

$60 million from Illinois’ capital plan will go toward building a bypass meant to clear up congestion near Midway Airport.

With new money from the state the Central Avenue Bypass project has now been allocated $170 million. That money will go toward pre-construction work like design and engineering analysis.

U.S. Congressman Daniel Lipinski says that phase is expected to take about two years. But he says more federal and state dollars will be needed for construction to begin.

* Durbin Says Super-High-Speed Rail is Too Expensive

Illinois U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin says bringing super-high-speed rail to the Midwest is unrealistic for the time being.

Illinois is competing for $8 billion in stimulus money to help build a network of 110-mph trains.

But some advocates say the state should invest in trains that go twice as fast.

Durbin says that would require a “massive investment.”

* SEC investigating Huron Consulting

Huron Consulting Group Inc., whose shares plunged in the wake of an accounting scandal, said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating it for acquisition-related payments, and it will delay filing its latest quarterly report.

Earlier this month, the consulting firm’s entire top management quit as it said it would restate more than three years of results, slashing its profits by almost half because it misreported costs related to acquisitions.

Huron’s board audit committee discovered that shareholders of four businesses that Huron acquired between 2005 and 2007 redistributed portions of their acquisition-related payments among themselves and to certain Huron employees.

The company continues to evaluate the impact of the restatements, it said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday.

* Southwest boosts bid for Frontier Airlines

Southwest Airlines, the biggest player at Midway Airport, bid $170 million for Frontier Airlines on Monday, setting the stage for an auction to determine who will take the Denver-based carrier out of bankruptcy protection.

Southwest’s bid is well above a previous bid of $108.8 million by regional airline operator Republic Airways Holdings Inc. Assuming Republic stays in the fight, an auction will be held to determine a winner.

Southwest said the auction will begin on Thursday.

Frontier accounts for about 1% of flights at Midway, the city’s Dept. of Aviation said last month.

* CWLP hikes Chatham’s water rate 17%

Chatham’s new rate is $2.577 per 100 cubic feet of water or $3.44 per 1,000 gallons. The village previously paid $2.20 per 100 cubic feet of water or $2.94 per 1,000 gallons.

* At retreats, jobless heal wounded spirits

“The economic situation is really forcing people to look at life through a different lens,” said Sister Mary Ruth Broz, program coordinator and spiritual director for the Portiuncula Center for Prayer retreat in southwest suburban Frankfort. “And many are finding that perhaps there’s a gift in all of this. And that gift is reawakening to the virtue of living simply.”

-Living simply is not my cup O’ tea, but whatever floats your boat.

* Hot dog boat captain sets sail with relish

Jim Napolitano, skipper of a boat that plies the Chain O’ Lakes serving frozen treats and hot dogs, recalled a typical eager customer.[…]

Napolitano’s “Crazy Cajun” is decked out like a Louisiana-style steamboat and has been a floating snack shop on the lake system for the last three seasons. […]

He also has an idea that might help him recoup some of his lost summer revenue. He is trying to get approval for a movie “boat-in.”

Napolitano would erect a big screen on metal poles driven into the sand near the Algonquin dam and offer the movies free while he sells refreshments.

- Best idea ever: bring fast food to the water. Now I can watch a movie and eat hot dogs and ice cream with as little effort as possible and all while I am boating. Great example why I love America, and why I can’t live simply. LOL