Noon Business Lunch

Segment 1: Jane Oates, Senior Policy Advisor and recent President, WorkingNation, joins John Williams to break down the latest labor report. What were Jane’s big takeaways from the numbers?

Segment 2: Phillip Shoemaker, Founder of the Apple App Store, currently founder of Identity.com, talks to John about the impact that Chinese AI company DeepSeek has made on the tech market, investors, and consumers.

Segment 3: Karen Cardarelli, Executive Director of FACETS Film Forum, tells John about the 50th anniversary of the iconic art house cinema, their focus on films that spark conversation, the mission to lift up bold filmmakers, and the exciting programming they have planned for 2025.

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

Chicago-based Levy has been contracted to revamp the food offerings at The Chicago Botanic Garden. The hospitality group will revamp the menu at Garden View Cafe first before moving on to other menus. The company has been tasked with creating menus inspired by the surrounding scenery, with fish and salads among the expected menu highlights. Levy operates several restaurants in Chicago and runs food and beverage service at Wrigley Field, Soldier field, United Center and Rate Field. 

Also, another round of incentives are available in Illinois for electric vehicles. Listen for more below:

To see Levy’s previous and current offerings from their partnerships with the Bears, Blackhawks, Bulls and White Sox, check out our Chicago’s Very Own Eats galleries: Soldier Field | United Center | Rate Field

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

There’s some good news about the retail vacancy rate in Chicago’s Loop. Crain’s reports the rate held steady in 2024 at just under 30%. The vacancy rate is compiled by Stone Real Estate, a local retail brokerage firm. The Loop retail vacancy rate was 29.8% in 2024, down from 30.1% in 2023. Since March 2020, retailers have vacated 222 storefronts in the Loop district. Of the 1,307 storefronts, 449 are empty. The report says that adds up to about 1.3 million square feet of vacant space. 

Also, Northbrook-based Allstate says it expects $1.1 billion in losses from the California wildfires around Los Angeles. Listen for more below:

Segment 1: Mark Hamrick, Washington Bureau Chief and Senior Economic Analyst for Bankrate.com the current state of the labor market, the importance of the job market being balanced, and inflation continuing to be sticky.

Segment 2: Bree Fowler, Senior Writer, CNET, joins John Williams to talk about Elon Musk’s lawyers facing off with OpenAI in court, Musk’s power over the federal government, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issuing a ban on Chinese artificial intelligence company DeepSeek for government-issued devices.

Segment 3: Tim Paradis, Future of Work Correspondent, Business Insider, joins John to talk about the power shift at the workplace and how bosses are back to having more power than the employees.

Segment 4: Art Velasquez, CEO, Baja Foods, joins John to talk about the launch of a new brand called Chef Gustavo and its first product, the Chicken & Cheese Enchiladas with Salsa Verde, that you can now find at Costco!

Segment 1: Nationally syndicated financial columnist and author Terry Savage joins John Williams to talk about everything we need to know about tariffs. Terry gives us a lesson on Tariffs 101. Terry also answers all of your financial questions.

Segment 2: Michael Magnusson, Founder and CEO, Pinnacle Advertising based in Chicago, joins John to talk about their business and the Super Bowl commercial they created for WeatherTech.

Segment 3: Tina Feldstein, Owner, South Loop Farmers Market, joins John to talk about the Winter South Loop Farmers Market Indoor Market, now open for the winter season at Roosevelt Collection!

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

Agricultural producer Archer Daniels Midland is preparing to layoff as many as 700 employees. The Chicago-based company is looking to cut costs, after disappointing earnings in 2024. The layoffs will be worldwide, including suburban locations and downstate Decatur. The company is primarily a food processor, making products that go into food for humans and animals.

Also, The Mariano’s store in Northfield is closing. Listen for more below:

Segment 1: Tom Gimbel, job expert and founder of LaSalle Network, joins John to share his thoughts on the rise of ‘no-work Fridays.’

Segment 2: Philippe Weiss, President, Seyfarth at Work, joins John to talk about the growing trend of senior executive side gigs.

Segment 3: Phillip Shaw, CFP, Senior Advisor, Goldstone Financial Group, tells John what we know about President Trump’s tariff’s, how proposed tariffs could impact the economy, and why we should be paying attention to changes in social security after the Biden administration passed the Social Security Fairness Act.

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

Chicago’s Grubhub has reported a cyber breach. The company says hackers accessed the personal details of customers and drivers after breaching internal systems. The food delivery platform has more than 375,000 merchants and 200,000 drivers in 4,000 cities. During the hack, the personal details of customers, merchants and drivers who interacted with Grubhub’s customer care service were accessed. That info included names, email addresses, phone numbers, and partial payment card information, including the last four digits of card numbers. 

Also, United Airlines will add six more gates at O’Hare Airport this year. Listen for more below:

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

Chicago’s CBOE Global Markets says trading on its equities exchange will expand to 24 hours on weekdays. The move comes amid growing demand for U.S. stocks. Trading on the CBOE EDGX Equities Exchange will move to 24 hours after regulatory approval and cover Sunday night through Friday night. It’ll not operate on the weekends. CBOE already allows some after hours trading, and according to Bloomberg, average daily trading volume increased 135% between 2022 and 2024. 

Also, United Airlines says there are no plans or current talks about merging or partnering with another airlines. Listen for more below:

Segment 1: Ilyce Glink, owner of Think Glink Media and Best Money Moves, joins John Williams to break down President Trump saying he will impose tariffs on Mexico, China, and Canada. Ilyce also talks about how much the typical American spends on home expenses.

Segment 2: Jim Dallke, Director of Communications, TechNexus Venture Collaborative, tells John about Illinois pitching NVIDIA on a plan to join its south side quantum campus, a new $130M initiative to fund health care innovations at University of Chicago, and Google and Salesforce giving grant funding to mHUB, a local tech hub for hard-tech startups.

Segment 3: Linda McGill-Boasmond, Owner and President, Cedar Concepts, joins John Williams to talk about the business she runs, the products they help get to market, they type of the work they do in Chicago, how business is going right now, the way they attract business, being a black female in a male-driven industry, what proposed tariffs might mean for the company, and how ‘they make chemicals for everyday life.’