Singapore Air Cargo Boeing 747 passes over Arlington Heights.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Monday unveiled a $200 million International Cargo Project that he claims will create 1,200 construction jobs, 1,200 permanent on-site cargo jobs and another 10,000 regional jobs over the course of a decade-long development. The cargo center could boost the Chicago economy if plans succeed.

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The economic recession that began in 2007 exposed and aggravated a government fiscal crisis that had been brewing for many years at the national, state, and municipal levels of the U.S.

Slow or negative economic growth, falling housing values, rising government spending, government borrowing to pay for current operations, and shortchanging workers’ pension funds are all factors that are case for alarm.

John Nothdurft writes in a Heartland Institute study Property Tax Levies in Cook County, Illinois: An Analysis that more studies have looked at the debt level of the federal government, and not as much at the state, county and municipal levels.

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News Corp. says James Murdoch steps down as executive chairman of News International.

Rupert Murdoch’s son James Murdoch has stepped down as executive chairman of News International, the British newspaper subsidiary of News Corporation. He is a subject of police and judicial inquiries into phone hacking and illegal payments to the police.

His titles include Chairman and CEO of News Corporation Europe and Asia, Chairman of SKY Italia, Chairman of STAR TV, Non-Executive Chairman of British Sky Broadcasting, and Non-Executive Director of GlaxoSmithKline.

On November 23, 2011, British newspapers reported James Murdoch resigned as chairman of NGN, News Group Newspapers, the holding company of the Sun, News of the World and Times Newspapers Ltd. NGN is the subject of a series of lawsuits all related to the phone hacking scandal.

Employees of the News of the World newspaper were accused of engaging in phone hacking, police bribery, and exercising improper influence in the pursuit of publishing news stories. Investigations conducted from 2005–2007 concluded that the phone hacking activities were limited to celebrities, politicians and members of the British Royal Family. However, in July 2011, other phone hacking activities were discovered, involving the phones of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler, relatives of deceased British soldiers, and victims of the 7/7 London bombings. The revelation of extended phone hacking resulted in a public outcry against News Corporation and owner Rupert Murdoch. Advertisers boycotted the publication, and News of the World was shut down on July 10, 2011, ending 168 years of publication.

Well-known assets and subsidiaries of News Corporation include …

Newspapers
The Sun
The Times
Sunday Times
New York Post
Wall Street Journal

Cable TV
Big Ten Network (49%)
Fox Business Network
Fox College Sports
Fox Movie Channel
Fox News Channel

Television
BSkyB [United Kingdom] (39.1%)
Sky Deutschland [Germany] (49.90%)
SKY Italia [Italy] (100%)
SKY Network Television [New Zealand] (43.65%)
Foxtel [Australia] (25%)
Star TV [India & Greater China] (100%)

Fox Interactive Media
AmericanIdol.com
AskMen.com
Fox.com
Foxsports.com
GameSpy
Hulu.com
IGN
MyNetworktv.com
Scout.com
WhatIfSports

and much more …

Northwest Community Hospital was presented a $78,370 rebate check by Nicor Gas on Wednesday for the hospital’s achievement in Nicor’s Energy Efficiency Program. Bob Klasek, vice president of Facilities Management at NCH, accepted the check from Nicor Gas President Ralph Cleveland.

Last year NCH worked with Edwards Engineering to upgrade the burners on two of its boilers to dramatically reduce the hospital’s natural gas consumption. NCH is now using 83,520 fewer therms each year, which translates into an energy savings of nearly 10 percent.

“The existing burners were in good condition and still had 15 years of useful life, but we determined we could be much more efficient and help our energy budget by switching to new generation burners,” said Tom Johnson, director of Plant Operations.

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Sport Clips Haircuts, a place that makes it good to be a guy, will open its newest location this Friday on 47 South Evergreen in Arlington Heights. This is the first location in the city, adding to the more than 850 Sport Clips across the country. “What’s better than being in a relaxing environment, where sports is on TV everywhere you look, with well-trained stylists and no need for an appointment when it’s time for a haircut?” said Tim Brown, owner of the new Sport Clips. “Those are just a few reasons why we know Sport Clips will be a hit for the guys here in Arlington Heights.”

The new Sport Clips will offer clients:

· The MVP Treatment – precision haircut, massaging shampoo, hot steamed towel treatment, and neck and shoulder massage

· Stylists who specialize in male hair care and stay up-to-date on industry trends

· Haircut services without an appointment – walk-ins are welcome

· Large, flat-screen televisions playing sports programming at each haircut station and in the lobby, along with reading materials

· Special lighting and massaging chairs in the shampoo area to promote relaxation

· Male-focused hair care and styling products

Brown, with more than thirty years of experience in retail operations, and his wife, Michelle, first became franchise owners in 2008 with CD One Price Cleaners. They began looking for another concept to add to their business portfolio and found that Sport Clips’ concept, support system, and brand presence matched up to their requirements. “It will be exciting to open our doors to our first location and let people come in and experience it for themselves,” said Brown. “The Sport Clips concept continues to grow as a hair care option for guys, a great place for stylists to work and as a franchise business investment opportunity. We’re glad to be a part of it.”

Sport Clips in Arlington Heights will be open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, visit http://haircutmendowntownarlingtonheightsil.com/

President Barack Obama says a $25 billion settlement between mortgage lenders and states over foreclosure abuses “will begin to turn the page on an era of recklessness that has left so much damage in its wake.”

Obama on companies that managed foreclosures …

” … didn’t give people a fighting chance to hold on to their homes.”

“… in many cases they didn’t even verify that these foreclosures were actually legitimate.”

“… some of the people they hired to process foreclosures used fake signatures on fake documents to speed up the foreclosure process.”

“… some of them didn’t read what they were signing at all.”

“Under the terms of this settlement America’s biggest banks — banks that were rescued by taxpayer dollars — will be required to right these wrongs.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller and Colorado Attorney General John W. Suthers announced today that the federal government and 49 state attorneys general have reached a landmark $25 billion agreement with the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers to address mortgage loan servicing and foreclosure abuses. The agreement provides substantial financial relief to homeowners and establishes significant new homeowner protections for the future.

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