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

Segment 2: Amy Danzer, Program Director, Printers Row Lit Fest, tells John everything we need to know about this weekend’s Lit Fest!

Segment 3: Chris Gladwin, CEO of Ocient and board chair at P33 Chicago, joins John Williams to talk about the second annual Chicago Climate Tech Week, the importance of addressing climate, how technology is taking on climate change, and why Chicago is a leader in climate technology.

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

Frequent-flyer programs of the top four U.S. airlines, including Chicago’s United Airlines, are being investigated. The Department of Transportation has launched the probe to determine whether the programs involve deceptive or anti-competitive practices by the airlines. The investigation will also look into programs at American, Delta and Southwest. The Department of Transportation has ordered the airlines to submit records about their rewards programs, which generate billions of dollars annually for the carriers. The feds also want to see any customer complaints received by the airlines. In some cases, the rewards programs generate more revenue than flight operations. The programs encompass credit card, consumer incentive, loyalty and frequent flier programs.

Also, American Airlines says it will launch flights from Chicago to Madrid next year. Listen for more below:

A new report shows Illinois, California and New Jersey have the highest concentrations of at-risk housing markets in the country. The report was compiled by ATTOM, a curator of land, property, and real estate data. The Special Housing Risk Report spotlights county-level housing markets vulnerable to declines, based on home affordability, underwater mortgages and other measures. It found some of the biggest clusters were around Chicago, New York City and inland California. The locations around Chicago include parts of Cook, Kendall, McHenry and Will Counties. Lake County, Indiana is also highlighted. Counties are considered at-risk based on the percentage of homes facing possible foreclosure, the portion with mortgage balances that exceeded estimated property values, the percentage of average local wages required to pay for home ownership expenses and local unemployment rates. 

Also, there’s a new ranking of the country’s top 100 colleges and universities with startup founders. Listen for more below:

Segment 1: Jason Turner, Chief Investment Strategist for Wintrust Wealth Management, joins John to talk about today’s job data, employment gradually cooling, why the data is not panic inducing, inflation slowly moving towards the Fed’s target, and what the labor data will mean for Fed policy later this month.

Segment 2: Bree Fowler, Senior Writer, CNET, joins John to talk about X being suspended in Brazil, the Biden administration seizing Russian-run websites and charging two state media employees in an effort yet to push back against Russian attempts to spread disinformation, and Verizon buying Frontier Communications.

Segment 3: Dale Buss, writer for Food Technology, Contributing Editor of Chief Executive Magazine and Founder/Executive Director of The Flyover Coalition, joins John to talk about the use of AI in the food industry.

Segment 4: Mike LaVitola, Foxtrot Café & Market Chairman, joins John to talk about the reopening of their first store in Chicago’s Gold Coast today.

Nationally syndicated financial columnist and author Terry Savage joins John Williams to talk about market volatility recently and what you should be aware of if you are close to retirement. Terry also answers all of your financial questions.

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

United States Steel says thousands of job cuts could happen if its acquisition by Nippon Steel is blocked. U.S. Steel operates facilities in northwest Indiana. The company says without the support of Nippon, it would have to pivot away from blast furnaces, a move that would imperil jobs and undermine the competitiveness of American steel industry. Politicians and union leaders have been pushing to stop the acquisition by the Japanese company so that the American steel industry doesn’t come under foreign control. Nippon has promised to invest nearly $3 billion in U.S. Steel’s older mills including $300 million for the Gary Works facility. 

Also, Chicago-based Molson Coors Beverage Company is cutting some of its diversity efforts after a right-wing activist threatened to target the company. Listen for more below:

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

Foxtrot’s comeback begins this week in Chicago. Crain’s reports the company is reopening its Gold Coast store at 23 W. Maple this Thursday. The Old Town location is expected to be the second of the Chicago stores to reopen later. Foxtrot abruptly closed all of its locations earlier this year. It says the newly reopened locations will look largely the same as before with similar layout and merchandising. The stores will sell the same items but the food experience will be revamped. Foxtrot plans to reopen about a dozen stores, most in Chicago. 

Also, a new report shows labor union participation is down in Illinois. Listen for more below:

Segment 1: Tom Gimbel, job expert and founder of the LaSalle Network, joins John to talk about what we can expect from Friday’s August labor report, his thoughts on how the economy is doing in general, and what you need to consider if you are looking for a job this fall.

Segment 2: Longtime Chicago radio veteran Harvey Wells, Founder, Lower Tech Bills, talks to John about how he helps customers lower their internet, cell phone, and television costs. 

Segment 1: Steven Esposito, President of Yellowstone Wealth Management in Lake Forest, talks to John about the economy getting better across the board, how many Fed rate cuts does he expect before the end of the year, why he remains pretty bullish, the positive impact that lower rates will have on the economy, inflation continuing to come down, and if the election will have any impact on the market.

Segment 2: Jeff Rogers, television host, professional emcee, and best-selling author, talks to John about how leaders in business use can use storytelling to communicate better with their teams.

Segment 3: Ryan Brown, Managing Director at HIRE360, joins John to talk about HIRE360’s mission to expand employment and advancement opportunities in the hospitality, manufacturing, and construction industries.

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

The City of Chicago has cut the ribbon on O’Hare Airport’s Northeast Cargo terminal following the completion of phase III of the project. The new terminal adds an additional 130,000 square feet of cargo storage and two more plane parking spaces. A new ramp can also handle up to 12 jumbo freighters per day. In total, the new facility has 900,000 square feet of storage, 13 jet parking spaces and a fueling station. Mayor Brandon Johnson says the expansion makes Chicago an even bigger player in global trading. It’s expected to create 200 permanent jobs. 

Also, a suburban company that specializes in medical device design and development is expanding its operations and launching a new unit. Listen for more below: