Noon Business Lunch

Segment 1: Mark Hamrick, Washington Bureau Chief and Senior Economic Analyst for Bankrate.com, joins John to talk about a new survey that shows 65% of Americans think tariffs would be bad for their personal finances. Mark also talks about the resiliency of the market, and the likelihood the Fed keeps interest rates steady.

Segment 2: Dennis Rodkin, residential real estate reporter for Crain’s, joins John Williams to talk about Dolton’s plan to take over Pope Leo’s childhood home facing a legal challenge, the condo market turning around, and the city upping the financial incentives for developers to rehab derelict homes.

Segment 1: Faron Daugs, CFP, Founder and CEO, Harrison Wallace Financial Group, joins John to talk about the market continuing to weather various storms, the status of President Trump’s tax bill, what we know about Trump’s trade agreements, the consumer feeling pretty good overall, the latest inflation data, and what he expects the Fed to do this week with interest rates.

Segment 2: Jim Dallke, Director of Communications, TechNexus Venture Collaborative, tells John about Chicago taking a slight dip in a new startup ecosystem ranking, a Chicago startup that makes an oral cancer detection tool raising $4M, and startup founders Godard Abel and Chris Shutts selling Logik.io to software giant ServiceNow for nearly $500 million.

Segment 3: Wealth advisor Zac Larson, Founder, Solstice Century, joins John Williams to talk about the 2nd annual Solstice Century Bike Ride and Fundraiser happening this Friday at Whalon Lake Forest Preserve in Bolingbrook!

Steve Grzanich has the business news of the day with the Wintrust Business Minute.

Ford has temporarily shut down its South Side Chicago factory as it struggles to get rare earth magnet supplies from China. Those components are essential to car production and have been trickling out of China as a result of the trade war. The Chicago plant makes Ford Explorer SUVs and shut down for a week last month. China implemented a new approval process that’s slowed down the export of rare earth magnets to the U.S. Ford’s CEO says the company has yet to see an improvement in the rare earth supplies. The materials are used to power various components in Ford vehicles, including windshield wipers, seats, and audio systems.

Also, accounting firm Baker Tilly is moving its U.S. headquarters from Michigan Avenue to the Fulton Market District. Listen for more below:

Ryan Burrow has the business news of the day with the Wintrust Business Minute.

This will be a big weekend for conventions and events in Chicago.  McCormick Place will host the U.S. Travel Association’s IPW 2025, the largest inbound international travel trade show in the country.  Also the HYROX World Championships, a four day sports extravaganza is taking place at Navy Pier.

Also, the Chicago Tribune is once again offering buyouts to its newsroom’s union members. Listen for more below:

Segment 1: Tom Fortino, Founder and Principal, Alpha Wealth Group, and host of “The Alpha Wealth Hour” on WGN Radio, joins John to talk about the impact of the Israel-Iran conflict on the U.S. economy, when the Fed will likely cut interest rates, why the market is still holding up despite all of the uncertainty, what is going to happen with tariffs and President Trump’s tax bill, where he sees opportunities in the market, and what he’s telling his clients right now.

Segment 2: Robert Sevim, President of the Chicago region of Savills, joins John Williams the outlook for the commercial real estate market in Chicago. What is the current state of the office leasing market? What’s the latest on return to office mandates? What can we expect from the market through the end of the year. Robert breaks it all down.

Segment 3: Kelly Clancy, Managing Partner, Lettuce Entertain You, joins John Williams to talk about the launch of Prime Meats by Lettuce!

Segment 1: Jason Turner, Chief Investment Strategist for Wintrust Wealth Management, joins John to talk about the fairly benign inflation numbers released this week, corporate earnings continuing to be healthy, and if he believes it’s time to lower interest rates.

Segment 2: Bree Fowler, Senior Writer, CNET, joins John Williams to talk about Tesla “tentatively” set to begin providing robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, later this month, and Disney and Universal suing popular artificial intelligence image-generator Midjourney.

Segment 3: Aki Ito, Chief Correspondent at Business Insider, joins John to talk about new data that shows that companies are hiring less in roles that AI can do.

Segment 4: Lisa Nucci, Chief Marketing Officer, Choose Chicago, joins John to talk about the launch of Choose Chicago’s new marketing campaign for the city,’ Never Done. Never Outdone.’

Nationally syndicated financial columnist and author Terry Savage joins John Williams to talk about long-term care insurance and what you need to know, what she thinks of President Trump’s plan to give newborns $1,000, and to answer all of your financial questions.

Steve Grzanich has the business news of the day with the Wintrust Business Minute.

United Airlines has partnered with Spotify to give flyers new in-flight entertainment. The partnership gives passengers free access to more than 450 hours of playlists, audiobooks and podcasts. The content will be available on United flights by 2026. United says it’s also working to allow passengers to sign into their own Spotify accounts. 

Also, 400 layoffs are being planned at CareerBuilder as the company prepares to close its U.S. headquarters in Chicago. Listen for more below:

Segment 1: Tom Gimbel, job expert and founder of LaSalle Network, joins John to talk the importance of getting feedback at work, and why networking is key when trying to get a job

Segment 2: Philippe Weiss, President, Seyfarth at Work, joins John to explain why the most valuable employees of 2025 are ambassadors and anticipators.

Segment 3: Carl Prouty, “The Technologist” at Abt Electronics in Glenview, joins John to talk about some gift ideas for Father’s Day. Also, Carl tells John about Abt’s newest attraction: The Bear, a remarkably preserved skeleton of an 85,000-year-old cave bear! Customers can also make history by helping name the Cave Bear through a social media contest running from June 9–15, 2025. One lucky participant will win a $100 Abt Gift Card. For full details and to submit your entry, please visit Abt’s Instagram page @abtelectronics.

Steve Grzanich has the business news of the day with the Wintrust Business Minute.

Chicago-based Potbelly is seeing growth after warning in 2020 about going out of business. Crain’s says the sandwich chain has seen progress in its turnaround plan, including positive net income in the first quarter. Potbelly had income of $85,000 compared to a loss of $2.7 million during the same period in 2024. Sales rose about 1%. The company’s earnings beat estimates. Potbelly shares are up 20% in the last month. The sales jump comes as other restaurants have seen a drop.

Also, Bally’s casino has settled a lawsuit filed by an activist group. Listen for more below: