Nationally syndicated financial columnist and author Terry Savage joins John Williams to talk about the economic forecast for 2025. Terry and John are joined by the always engaging Dr. Bob Froehlich, expert money manager and Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, President & Owner, Kane County Cougars Baseball Club, who makes his stock market prediction for the year. Does Dr. Bob think the Dow will hit 50,000?

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

The Civic Federation of Chicago, the local budget watchdog, is warning that finances are so bad in Chicago Public Schools, that the State of Illinois may need to take control of the school system.  The organization says the CPS budget is structurally imbalanced and relies heavily on temporary revenues. It also lacks provisions for impending union contract costs. CPS also owes $9.3 billion in outstanding debt and has below investment-grade bond ratings. The Civic Federation says it has serious concerns about how the district will survive in the future. 

Also, there’s improvement to report in the startup world where funding is concerned. Listen for more below:

Segment 1: Tom Gimbel, job expert and founder of LaSalle Network, joins John to talk about how the Bears have been conducting the search for their next coach, the rise of ‘ghost jobs,’ and the companies that are requiring employees return to the office.

Segment 2: Dennis Rodkin, residential real estate reporter for Crain’s, joins John to talk about a number of his recent stories including the owner of Michael Jordan’s former home selling $1 million ownership shares, Mike Ditka landing a buyer for his Florida home, and St. Regis having multiple multimillion-dollar condo sales.

Segment 1: Ilyce Glink, owner of Think Glink Media and Best Money Moves, joins John Williams to talk about Illinois being the 7th best state to raise a family, what she took away from Friday’s labor report, the cost of the wildfires in California, and the latest on mortgage interest rates.

Segment 2: Jim Dallke, Director of Communications, TechNexus Venture Collaborative, tells John about the Trump administration announcing a plan to spend $20B on data centers in several states, including Illinois, and Simple Mills, a Chicago startup that makes healthy crackers and baking mixes, getting acquired for nearly $800M.

Segment 3: Marissa Lynn Jones, Executive Director, League of Chicago Theatres, joins John to tell us everything we need to know about the upcoming Chicago Theater Week!

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

Chicago’s downtown office vacancy rate ended 2024 at a record high. According to Crain’s, the share of available office space downtown rose to 26.3% during the final three months of the year. It’s the 10th consecutive quarter that the vacancy rate hit a record. The data is provided by real estate services firm CBRE. The downtown office vacancy rate climbed nearly 3% in just a year and is up from 13.8% at the beginning of the pandemic. The effects of remote work are mostly to blame as work patterns and work space needs have changed. 

Also, a new study ranks Illinois as the 29th best state for entrepreneurs in 2025. Listen for more below:

Segment 1: Craig Bolanos, Founder and Wealth Advisor at VestGen Wealth Partners, joins John Williams to talk about why today’s terrific labor report is bad for the market today, what this means for a long-term investor, how the Fed will react to this data, how many rate hikes he expects next year, his thoughts on cryptocurrency, and the hot areas to invest in right now.

Segment 2: Carl Prouty, “The Technologist” at Abt Electronics in Glenview, gives John the highlights from this year’s Consumer Electronics Show. Carl goes to CES every year with Abt’s video production team and turns out over 50 videos on all the products and trends he sees on the CES showroom floor. Watch those videos here.

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

Deerfield-based Walgreens had a better-than-expected fiscal first quarter. Shares rose as the company outlined ongoing plans to revive its struggling business. Walgreens says its made progress on improving shrinking prescription reimbursement and closing stores. The company has also been exploring strategic options, including a sale. Revenue was higher during the quarter, driven by higher prices for branded drugs and prescription volumes. Walgreens international and U.S. health care units also beat on sales. 

Also, Wisconsin-based Kohl’s is closing more than two dozen under-performing department stores, most of them in California. Listen for more below:

Segment 1: Mark Hamrick, Washington Bureau Chief and Senior Economic Analyst for Bankrate.com, joins John to talk about jobless claims this week, inflation continuing to be sticky, what he expects to see in tomorrow’s labor report, investors not anticipating the Fed cutting interest rates later this month, and Bankrate’s Q4 Economic Indicator Survey.

Segment 2: Emily Stewart, Senior Correspondent, Business Insider, tells John how politics fuel how America feels about the economy.

Segment 3: Nika Zisman from TWO MEN AND A TRUCK Northbrook talks to John about the inaugural Movers for Meals campaign.

Nationally syndicated financial columnist and author Terry Savage joins John Williams to talk about the Social Security Fairness Act passing, why interest rates are creeping higher, ongoing inflation concern, and what you should know about the January Stock Market barometer. And as always, Terry answers all of your financial questions.

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

A Chicago-based company that makes gluten-free snacks and baking mixes is being purchased by a Georgia company. Simple Mills will continue operating as is after the deal closes, according to Crain’s. Flowers Foods, whose brands include Nature’s Own and Wonder Bread, is buying Simple Mills for $800 million. Simple Mills was founded in 2012 and has annual revenue of $200 million. The company makes crackers, cookies, snack bars and baking mixes, which are sold in 30,000 stores. Half of the company’s 111 employees work in Chicago. 

Also, AT&T has unveiled a new guarantee program that addresses network interruptions. Listen for more below: