Good Service, Atmosphere Keeps Indie Retailers In The Game

Wind Creek Chicago Southland said Monday more than 50,000 people had visited the casino in its first few days of operation, exceeding its expectations. Southwest of Halsted Street and Interstates 80/94 in East Hazel Crest, the casino opened to patrons Nov. 11, with hundreds of people lining up in advance of the 11 a.m.

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump’s decision on a treasury secretary is about far more than whose name will be printed on America’s money. The choice of how to fill his highest-profile outstanding Cabinet selection will be the clearest indication yet of how he intends to wield import tariffs in his new administration. The leading candidates for the role have expressed differing perspectives on how Trump should use the protectionist trade policies that he put front and center in his campaign for the White House, while Trump himself has offered seemingly contradictory views. Billionaire investor Scott Bessent, considered a leading candidate, has talked up tariffs as a negotiating ploy.

ATHENS, Greece — Greece will make an early repayment of 5 billion euros ($5.3 billion) in bailout-era debt in 2025, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told a banking conference in Athens on Monday, describing the move as a signal of the country’s fiscal recovery. “This … underscores our confidence in public finances and reflects our commitment to fiscal discipline,” Mitsotakis said. Finance Ministry officials say they plan to reduce debt through primary surpluses, loan repayments and combating tax evasion. Greece has rebounded from a 10-year financial crisis that forced it to borrow tens of billions of euros from its European Union partners and the International Monetary Fund. But Mitsotakis’ center-right government, elected for a second term in 2023, is struggling to address a cost of living crisis that has sapped Greeks’ spending power.

Construction on Metra’s Electric line will reshuffle station closures for riders in the Chatham, Roseland and Pullman neighborhoods, as construction continues along the line through the city’s South Side and south suburbs. The 79th Street station in Chatham, closed since summer 2023, will reopen Dec. 16. That same day, the nearby 87th Street station will close for construction.

A company affiliated with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones asked a federal judge on Monday to disqualify a bid by the satirical news outlet The Onion to buy Jones’ Infowars at a bankruptcy auction, alleging fraud and collusion. The company, First United American Companies, which is affiliated with a Jones website that sells dietary supplements, was the only other bidder at the recent auction, offering $3.5 million.

Nurses at University of Illinois Hospital & Clinics have ended a four-day strike after reaching a tentative contract agreement with UI Health late Saturday night. The nurses began their strike Nov. 13, with no set end date. The strike was the second one since August, when the nurses’ last contract expired. About 1,700 nurses are part of the Illinois Nurses Association unit that went on strike. The nurses returned to work Sunday morning. The tentative four-year contract agreement reached late Saturday night includes improved hospital safety protocols, higher wages and nurse input into staffing decisions, the union said in a news release.