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The third annual Northwestern Pritzker School of Law Alumni Awards Luncheon took place recently and saw six alumni honored. The event took place on October 23rd and was part of the Alumni Weekend and Reunion 2015 series of events. There were more than 120 alumni, faculty, families, friends and administrators were there to honor the alumni. Certainly, they had a large pool from which to select and they have many esteemed professors such as Alyson Carrel, Geoff Richards, Bernard Black and more. Those given awards included the following. The Honorable Horace Ward was given the Distinguished Alumnus Award; Keating Crown and Esther Joy King received The Emerging Leader Award; The Honorable Paul Lemmens received the International Alumnus Award; Steven Elrod received the Volunteer Service Award and Russlynn Ali was honrored with the Dawn Clark Netsch Award. The Law School, where Geoff Richards is an adjunct professor, is constantly abuzz with new activities, innovations and research. It is always an honor to have the chance to reflect on the accomplishments of some of the alumni and to honor them for their work....
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Summer is coming and that means that it’s time to get back on the water in Chicago. There are many fabulous ways to enjoy the water, even if you don’t own your own boat. Here are a few suggestions for ways to get more from your summer in the area. First, if you’re going to enjoy the water, you should have some water safety. You can become certified in boat safety at many levels from a location like the Chicago Yacht Works with Rob Hannah. They offer classes to get your boating license, to learn about coastal cruising and night navigation, to learn about navigation and radio usage and more. Look for a location that is US Power-boating and IYT accredited and certified and make sure that their classes come with certifications. At Rob Hannah’s location, for instance, the certifications can help you to reduce your insurance costs and to charter vessels both in the US and abroad. If you own a boat already, or are hoping to purchase one, you’ll need to think about your storage facility. Look for a facility that has computer controlled heating storage, a great location for your needs, and plastic coverage for protection in the winter. Ask the crew how much experience they have with moving, blocking and shoring power and sailboats. Make sure, as well, that they have video and physical security at the location 24/7. These are just a few of the suggestions for helping you to have a great time on the water this summer. You can certainly also take lessons in water skiing, you can rent jet skis, and you can enjoy the water in so many other...
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The Italian beef restaurant, Buona Beef, based in Berwyn, and in business for 35 years, is taking its business model to the next level: fast and aggressive expansion. The venerable business will be opening its first proper Chicago location in April in the Beverly neighborhood. This opening, says principal Joe Buonavolanto Jr, will be just the beginning of a major five-year plan to open between 4 and 5 new restaurants a year, which is twice its present rate of expansion. The Beverly location will be the company’s 17th store all together. The fast-paced opening of new restaurants is just one aspect of the company’s planned growth. Buona, which has about $80 million in yearly sales, is also growing its catering and delivery business. It is also now investigating the popularity of its brand in the grocery store, offering tubs of frozen beef and gravy at Costco. They are also negotiating the sale of its products at Wrigley Field and US Cellular Field. The driving force behind Buona Beef’s new aggressive business style is the changing restaurant landscape combined with the company’s desire to stay a family business. Buona was founded by Buonavolanto, his four brothers, and their parents, back in 1981. Offers to purchase the business are constantly being offered, but new customers are also coming in. Last year’s average sales were up by 11...
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Chicago Magazine has been busy with employee shuffles recently. With new hires and new owners, the monthly journal owned by Tribune Publishing has been busy in the last few weeks. First up was the replacement of the editor and publisher. Susanna Homan – head of Splash (a Chicago Sun-Times newspaper insert focused on the arts, culture and society) has replaced Tom Conradi who may take on another position at Chicago Magazine but this has yet to have been confirmed. Currently editor-in-chief, Elizabeth Fenner, left as soon as the Homan announcement was made. In other news, Oscar Munoz, CEO of United Continental Holdings, announced that he is going to be coming back to the company’s helm following his temporary departure in October of last year, due to a heart attack and transplant. But his return does not look to be so smooth since investors have rendered the board that hired him “ineffective and underqualified.” So now, six new board members have been nominated by Shareholders Altimeter Capital Management and PAR Capital Management in an effort to “shake up” the declining airline, by “revers[ing] long-standing poor board governance and the resulting many years of substantial and inexcusable company underperformance relative to United’s competitors.” So that’s what’s happening with two of Chicago’s businesses right...
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Chicago has not traditionally been known for its focus on health at public eateries. According to Max Austin-Williams, executive director of the Downtown Oak Park Business Association, a salad bar has been “the one thing we don’t have.” Until now… Enter two new food initiatives. Sweetgreen (a salad chain well-known in the technology and restaurant industries), and Romaine Greens and Grill (cheap and cheerful, salads, wraps, soups, sandwiches and more, etc.). Things in the Chicago eatery industry are about to change…nutritionally, for the better. Sweetgreen has just leased a Chicago location. Measuring in at 2,350 square feet, the 621 N. State Street, River North address will mark Sweetgreen’s first Chicago presence. Established by Nicholas Jammet, Jonathan Newman and Nathaniel Ru back in 2007, it does however, have 40 restaurants spanning California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia. These days Sweetgreen has well-known investors including Steve Case (founder of AOL), Danny Meyer (founder of Shake Shack) and others. There is a plan in the future for additional Chicago locations of Sweetgreen, but this first one is set to open sometime later this year. Romaine Greens and Grill (1053 Lake Street, Oak Park) opened last month. Owned by brothers Mohamed and Mousa Al-Sheikh, this restaurant has “thrilled” Austin-Williams with its self-service salad bar, grilled poultry/meat/fish and more. The owners believe the Oak Park area is a great spot for their “salad-focused concept” due to the rising popularity of clean, healthy eating. And the Al-Sheikhs know their audience – as owners of 11 year old Jerusalem Café, they long ago spotted “a trend: The salad platform was growing faster than anything else on the menu, and by a lot.” So Chicago could really be becoming nutritionally sound (at least in public) in...
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