Segment 1: Mark Hamrick, Washington Bureau Chief and Senior Economic Analyst for Bankrate.com, joins John to talk about the Fed announcement on interest rates, the continuing effort to fight inflation, and what he’s expecting from tomorrow’s April labor report.

Segment 2: Bree Fowler, Senior Writer, CNET, joins John to talk about World Password Day,  A bipartisan group of senators pushing for restrictions on the use of facial recognition technology by the TSA, and lawyers for both the Department of Justice and Google presenting arguments to conclude antitrust case.

Segment 3: Anthony Stefani, Partner, The Stefani Restaurant Group, and spokesperson for Castaways Beach Club, tells John about the return of the iconic Castaways this Memorial Day!

Segment 4: Richard Bloomfield, Founder, Funkytown Brewery, joins John to talk about why he and his lifelong friends decided to start a craft brewing company, how their beer stands out from the competition, what it’s like being a black-owned beer business in Chicago, their mission to continue outreach in the Black community, and their collaboration beer with Sam Adams.

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

Chicago’s WCIU-TV will begin operating as an independent station this summer. The station is dropping its CW26 branding and will return to being “The U.” CW programming will return to WGN-TV starting Sept. 1. WCIU says it’ll continue airing local shows like Block Club Chicago’s “On The Block” plus high school sports and Chicago Sky Games. Its new lineup will include sitcoms and a game show. The CW is owned by Nexstar Media Group, the parent company of WGN Radio and TV, and carries shows like “Walker,” “All American” and LIV Golf. 

Also, Amtrak is launching a new daily route between Chicago and Minneapolis-St. Paul. Listen for more below:

Nationally syndicated financial columnist and author Terry Savage joins John to talk about the market showing some weakening, if there is a chance the Fed might actually raise interest rates again, what today’s Fed announcement will mean for the market, her thoughts on J.B. Pritzker’s comments regarding inflation, and everything you should know about buying I bonds right now. And as always, Terry answers all of your financial questions.

Segment 1: Tom Gimbel, founder and CEO of LaSalle Network, joins John to talk about the 3 kinds of toxic employees you never want to be.

Segment 2: Dale Buss, Contributing Editor of Chief Executive Magazine and Founder/Executive Director of The Flyover Coalition, joins John to talk about a new Chief Executive survey that ranks the best and worst cities for business.

Segment 3: Segment 3: Tom Fortino, Founder and Principal, Alpha Wealth Group, and host of “This Week in Wealth” on WGN Radio, joins John Williams to talk about how the market has been performing this month, how earnings are impacting the market, inflation continuing to be stubborn, and what the Fed might say about interest rates tomorrow.

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

University of Chicago Medicine’s new facility in Crown Point opens today. It’s UChicago’s first freestanding facility in Indiana and it’s largest offsite location, located near I-65 and 109th Avenue. UChicago Medicine Crown Point will offer advanced specialty care including cancer, heart, obstetrics and gynecology. The facility will also offer pediatric care from Comer Children’s Hospital experts. It’ll employ about 200 clinical and non-clinical staff and is expected to accommodate 110,000 patient visits each year.

Also, American Airlines is the latest carrier to cutback service in Chicago. Listen for more below:

Segment 1: Ilyce Glink, owner of Think Glink Media and Best Money Moves, joins John to talk about Republic First Bank shutting its doors on Friday, and a new study that shows first-time homebuyers must earn $120,000 to afford the average house.

Segment 2: Lucy Brennan, Director, Founder’s Team, P33, joins John to talk about the new season of TechRise, where Chicago’s most promising early-stage overlooked founders take the virtual stage, pitching their ventures to a panel of VCs for a chance to win $25-50K in non-dilutive funding.

Segment 3:  Ray Stout, Executive Director of Illinois Craft Brewers Guild joins John to talk about the upcoming Illinois Craft Beer Week and Beer Under Glass, a cornerstone festival and fundraiser that kicks off the weeklong celebration on Friday, May 3.

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

The new owners of The Onion say they’ll keep the staff intact in Chicago, where the publication has been based since 2012. The satirical news outlet has been sold to a company called Global Tetrahedron. The Global Tetrahedron is a running gag from The Onion. One of the buyers is Jeff Lawson, the former Twilio CEO and co-founder. Several other digital media veterans are also part of the purchasing team. Lawson says The Onion’s new owners will eventually introduce new products and get into new mediums. The price of the deal has not been disclosed.

Also, the median asking price for Chicago-area homes hit a new record high last week. Listen for more below:

Segment 1: Segment 1: John Bever, Financial Advisor, Phase 3 Advisory Services, joins John to talk about the tension in the stock market, the economy continuing to be stable, the possibility of stagflation, the looming debt crisis, why the Fed’s inflation target remains at 2%, what is driving inflation right now, and what to know about President Biden’s proposal to increase the capital gains and dividend tax rate.

Segment 2: Tom Appel, Publisher, Consumer Guide Automotive, and host of the Consumer Guide Car Stuff podcast, joins John to talk about the EV market cooling, and the latest news on the EV front, and why it might be a good to buy a Tesla right now. And as always, Tom answers all of your automotive questions.

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

The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in Chicago is getting a brand makeover, the first in 20 years. The 167 year old museum is trying to appeal to a wider demographic. Notebart’s CEO tells Crain’s the museum wants to be place that welcomes all ages, even though people might think it’s a place for children. The museum has launched a new website design and logo. The design prominently features Illinois prairies with the tagline “Inspiring Nature Champions.” The re-brand coincides with the launch of a new butterfly exhibit.

Also, Northbrook-based Allstate will resume selling new homeowners insurance policies in California. Listen for more below:

Segment 1: Greg Williams, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO, Acrisure, talks to John about their tech-driven financial services provider, the formation of their new Midwest Region, the products they currently offer, how technology and AI is impacting their business, and what has led to rise in insurance rates over the last couple of years.

Segment 2: Bree Fowler, runner and Senior Writer, CNET, joins John to talk about President Biden signing into law legislation that could lead to a ban of TikTok, the Connecticut Senate passing one of the first major legislative proposals in the U.S. to rein in bias in artificial intelligence decision-making and protect people from harm, including manufactured videos or deepfakes, and Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta saying its first-quarter profit more than doubled to over $12 billion.

Segment 3: Scott Bauer, CEO of Prosper Trading Academy, talks to John about why the market is sliding today, why the CPE data number will be a market mover tomorrow, and if he thinks this is a good buying opportunity in the market.

Segment 4: Elizabeth di John, owner, Wildflower Mercantile, tells John about her shop in Wheaton, the importance of delivering an experience to the customers while they are shopping, why they are intentionally a brick-and-mortar shop, where the idea of opening a stor came from, the type of products that they sell, and how they are truly as eclectic as a field of wildflowers!