1 We still own Midway
After one of the two remaining conglomerates dropped out of the bidding process, Mayor Emanuel put the kibosh on the effort to privatize Midway. An airport is apparently airport less desirable than 75 years of parking meter rights. [Sun-Times]
2 Jobs report misses mark
The eagerly anticipated August jobs report was a downer, with the 169,000 jobs added lower than economists’ expectations. Meanwhile, the jobs figures for June and July were revised downward by 74,000 and the labor force participation rate fell to its lowest level since 1978. [WSJ]
3 Braintree on the block
Braintree, the Chicago-based mobile payments company that processes payments for tech darlings like Airbnb and Uber, is shopping itself around. Asking price: $1 billion. [TechCrunch]
4 Lie to your co-workers
Grid unveils a new business etiquette advice column for the young and the hapless. First piece of advice: Stop talking about getting hammered in Philadelphia. [Grid]
5 Healthy wallet
Chicago’s Protein Bar, a fast-food chain with a healthy bent and a dozen locations, is in late-stage talks to sell a majority stake to a Connecticut private equity firm for $22 million. [Crain’s]
6 Goodness, gracious
Employees at the James Hotel have created an emergency fund to help out colleagues who have fallen on hard times. Recipients have included one worker who had the heat switched off and another who needed plane fare to visit an ailing parent in Mexico. [Grid]
7 Teach a prisoner to farm
The Sun-Times dives deep into a gruesome death at Cook County Jail. The victim? A chicken, part of the city’s unconventional training program for nonviolent inmates. Yes, there is a jailbird pun. [Sun-Times]
8 Capital gains
Two panhandlers are suing the city of Springfield, claiming that the downtown ban on verbal solicitation of money violates their First Amendment rights. If they’re successful, legislators could consider camping out in parks with tin cups labeled “pension.” [WSJ]
