1 Whole Foods Englewood
Whole Foods Market — the high-end grocer known for its high-end prices — is planning to build an 18,000-square-foot store at 63rd and Halsted by 2016. Whole Foods’ co-CEO Walter Robb tells the Sun-Times why the company would move into impoverished Englewood, acknowledging “it’s probably a stretch in your readers’ minds.” [Sun-Times]
2 Italian times two
The restaurateur behind Sopraffina is doubling-down on Italian food in a new Streeterville space. He walks Grid’s Madeline Skaggs through his business plan — including his plan to serve sustainable beef, for a price. [Grid]
3 Transit task force
Gov. Pat Quinn created a task force to figure out how to fix the Chicago region’s mass-transit systems. As its first order of business, the task force received a 156-page brief describing what a mess the current system has become. [Sun-Times]
4 First responder
Mayor Rahm Emanuel rushed to the aid of a cyclist who’d been “clipped by a truck” at Ogden and Milwaukee. [Sun-Times]
5 Concrete falls on LSD
A few hours later, the mayor appeared out of nowhere to protect Lake Shore Drive motorists from chunks of concrete plummeting from an overpass. Not really. Concrete did fall onto the drive just as rush hour began last night, shutting down the North Avenue on-ramp for hours. But the mayor was probably busy pulling orphans out of a burning school bus or something. [Sun-Times]
6 Apartments.com on the block?
Classified Ventures is considering a sale of Apartments.com, one of two online-classifieds businesses it operates. [Crain’s]
7 Blight beater
The Cook County Land Bank is closer to materializing. The proposed public agency would attempt to combat blight by acquiring vacant property, getting rid of back taxes and liens, and making it fit to sell. [Sun-Times]
8 Schooled
An Englewood high school teacher did a Q&A with readers of the London-based Guardian newspaper. Dave Stieber talked about violence, budget cuts, school closings and why Mayor Emanuel is a “terrible joke.” [Guardian]
