Strictly Business series event set
The Plainfield Public Library and the Plainfield Area Chamber of Commerce will present the final event for 2009 of the Strictly Business Series a noon Tuesday at the library, 15025 S. Illinois St.

Plainfield retirement home construction is under way

PLAINFIELD -- Next fall there will be a new option for retirement living in Plainfield.

Is recession finally over? Possibly
The economy accelerated last quarter. But is it driving off a cliff? The car comparison is apt, because economists believe the third-quarter improvement in the nation's Gross Domestic Product depended heavily on the "cash for clunkers" program. The tax credit for first-time home buyers also had a role.

Bill Jacobs fights -- and wins
Bill Jacobs Jr. is back in the driver's seat for the city's only Cadillac dealership. Jacobs, together with his staff, his congresswoman and the local community, all worked together to successfully appeal GM's decision to eliminate the Cadillac dealership from Joliet.

Falling dollar a bogus crisis

The dollar is falling and can't get up, and President Obama is to blame. This is the chorus from economic blogs and conservative critics, but is it true?

Wal-Mart goes big on plus-sizes

Hanesbrands Inc., the maker of Hanes underwear and the Wonder Bra, is getting twice as much space in more than 3,500 Wal-Mart stores to offer more clothing choices for the plus-size women who shop there.

Dow tops 10,000 for first time this year
The Dow Jones industrial average is back above 10,000 for the first time in a year.

Ace Buikema confident about growth, strength
Like many businesses large and small, today's economy has been a challenge for the Ace Buikema chain. For the first time in the company's 61-year history, it closed a location, its store on Douglas Road in Montgomery. Ace Buikema now has eight stores from Aurora to Romeoville, down from nine.

US Supreme Court will hear appeal of Enron's chief
The U.S. Supreme Court will consider throwing out the convictions of former Enron Chief Executive Officer Jeff Skilling for his role in the collapse of the one-time energy giant. The court said Tuesday it will hear Skilling's appeal of lower court rulings that upheld all 19 of his 2006 convictions of conspiracy, securities fraud, insider trading and lying to auditors involving the 2001 collapse of Enron.

Data and contacts vanish from Sidekick phones
Owners of Sidekick phones may have lost all the personal information they put on the device, including contact numbers, because of a failure of servers that remotely stored the data. The incident is a reminder of the dangers of trusting a single provider to safeguard information.

Not welcome in Plainfield?
The owner of a restaurant along Route 59 has closed its doors, saying the economy and road construction were part of the problem. Dino, the owner of Evangeline's restaurant, who did not want his last name used, said the village didn't help much either.