1 It’s over
The political stalemate that shut down the federal government for 16 days ended last night when President Obama signed a buzzer-beating bill, passed despite the opposition of tea party-backed Republicans, funding the government through mid-January and allowing the Treasury to borrow normally until Feb. 7. [Sun-Times]
2 But not really
Last night’s deal averted a potentially catastrophic federal default. But only for the time being — the bill simply kicks the can down the road a few months and doesn’t address the spending cuts that are exacerbating unemployment. Bottom line: Economic uncertainty isn’t going away. [Washington Post]
3 GOP left bruised, battered
House Republicans who forced the shutdown didn’t get anything they wanted in the compromise bill. Nothing. Now the party is left to lick its wounds, wonder how it got itself into this mess, and seek redemption with American voters. [Sun-Times]
4 New federal sheriff in town
So, what else is happening? For one thing, Chicago has a new U.S. attorney. Zachary Fardon received confirmation from the Senate last night and will take over for corruption-crusader Patrick Fitzgerald. Sen. Mark Kirk wants Fardon to focus on gang violence. [Sun-Times]
5 Tough customer
Elliot Weissbluth pulls no punches. The CEO of Chicago-based financial services firm HighTower has bad-mouthed big brokerages and built his shop into one of the fastest-growing in the country. Grid talked with him about what he looks for when hiring to meet that growth. Answer: He wants to see some fire in your belly. And he doesn’t care where you went to college. [Grid]
6 Twitter makes big Chicago hire
Twitter poached a key sales executive from Google’s Chicago office. J.J. Hirschle headed Google’s retail sales and will do the same at Twitter. The move could signal that the social media giant intends to bulk up its presence here. [Bloomberg]
7 Derrick watch
Derrick Rose took the court at the United Center last night, for the first time since blowing out his knee in April 2012, and he looked good. He went for 22 points in 20 minutes. [Sun-Times]
8 Venture cash creeping back up
After an anemic first half of 2013, venture funding in Chicago picked up in the third quarter. But local startups are still drawing far fewer investment dollars than they did last year. [Crain’s]
