8 August 28, 2013

A rundown of the morning’s hottest headlines, from the editors of Grid.

1 Belly up

Chicago customer-loyalty system Belly nabs $12.1 million in new funding from Lightbank and other investors. [Fast Co.]

2 Penalties for JPMorgan

Federal regulators are ready to issue at least $80 million in fines against JPMorgan related to its dealings with customers during the recession. The nation’s biggest bank will also have to acknowledge internal flaws as part of the civil orders. [NY Times]

3 Rent to own

How long does it take till you’re throwing money away on rent? In Chicago, it’s 2½ years, according to our rental index. [Grid]

4 Police pay

A decision by the Illinois Labor Relations Board could end the Chicago Police union’s push for a retroactive pay raise. [Sun-Times]

5 Meister plan

The Radler is a contemporary German restaurant with a big mural, a fair bit of funding and very little competition. [Grid]

6 Ventra vexes

CPS parents using the CTA’s new Ventra cards are running into glitches. [Tribune]

7 Competitive lenders

BMO Harris increased its business lending by 4 percent in the last quarter, but saw revenue and profit compressed by Chicago’s highly competitive banking market. [Crain’s]

8 A boost for small biz

Meanwhile, if this study is to be believed, Chicago entrepreneurs should continue to see bankers loosen up as the housing market recovers. [Businessweek]