Kate Rockwood

A hospital operating room and an airplane hanger may seem worlds apart, but A layoff prompted Mark Leybla to make the transition. After 14 years as a mechanic with United Air Lines, Leybla lost his job when the company closed its Indianapolis maintenance shop in 2003. Rather than join thousands of displaced coworkers in an extended job search, he seized the chance to pursue a career in nursing.

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Originally published May 31, 2007, Medill Reports.

Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc. is tabling the idea of selling its Mariott Lincolnshire Resort until at least the end of the third quarter this year, CEO Laurence Geller announced Thursday when discussing first-quarter results of the Chicago-based company. Strategic, the operator of high-end luxury hotels and resorts, reported to shareholders a wider loss of $9.6 million, or 13 cents per diluted share, on early debt repayment and unfavorable foreign exchanges, from a year-earlier loss of $1.4 million, or 3 cents per diluted share...

Originally published May 4, 2007, Daily Herald

Kraft Foods Inc. plans to roll out a new line of cheese products at the Food Marketing Institute show in Chicago on Sunday, in an effort to cash in on the latest consumer trend toward nutritionally enhanced foods. The Northfield-based food giant will unveil a line of probiotic cheese cubes and individual cheese sticks, under the sub-brand LiveActive, that includes living microorganisms aimed at balancing naturally occurring gut flora and at aiding consumer digestion...

Originally published May 3, 2007, Daily Herald .

Organic food demand is growing but with big-name grocers like Whole Foods Market and Wal-Mart entering the mix, supply has become increasingly tight, meaning organic produce in supermarkets is as likely to be shipped in from California as grown near Chicago. So some consumers who balk at the idea of eating produce that’s traveled thousands of miles are guaranteeing themselves a local supply by buying in advance a share of a small farm's produce. The device is called community-supported agriculture, or CSA.

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Originally published April 26, 2007, Medill Reports.

When Naperville residents finally raise a glass at the newest Morton’s steakhouse, scheduled to open early next year, odds are strong they’ll be sipping a “Heavenly Mortini” cocktail and rubbing shoulders with a decidedly younger set. But they won’t be the only ones raising a glass to Morton’s hot new bar concept...

Originally published April 25, 2007, Daily Herald

Morton’s Restaurant Group Inc. reported record first-quarter revenue, swinging the company to a profit of $5 million or 29 cents per diluted share from a loss of $21.6 million or $1.57 per diluted share a year earlier. The company met analysts’ expectations.

Chicago-based Morton’s, a steakhouse chain with 75 locations in the U.S., Canada and Asia, reported revenues of $88.9 million for the quarter ended April 1, up from $83.1 million a year earlier, a 7 percent increase.

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Originally published April 25, 2007, Medill Reports.

Anixter International Inc. reported a 71 percent increase in first quarter profits on higher copper prices, acquisitions and favorable foreign exchange rates. First-quarter earnings soundly beat analysts’ expectation, and the stock rose 4.5 percent Tuesday.

Glenview-based Anixter, a leading global distributor of communications infrastructure products and industrial wire and cable, earned $53.6 million or $1.27 per diluted share in the first quarter ended March 30, compared with $31.3 million or 74 cents per diluted share for the year-earlier period.

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Originally published April 24, 2007, Medill Reports.

If you're getting a tax refund this year, odds are strong that your mind is still spinning with 1040s and W-2s. So the thought of dealing with more money management is less than appealing. You've earned a fancy dinner out (or a vacation or a flat-screen television), you tell yourself. After all, it's money that you weren't expecting. It's almost like it's a gift. Hold on, Daddy Warbucks...

Originally published April 22, 2007, Times of Northwest Indiana