Applications for unemployment aid fell 40,000 from the previous week, the Labor Department said. They fell in 30 states, including big drops in California, Florida and Texas. But claims rose significantly in Arizona, Illinois and Michigan.

Surging COVID-19 infection rates triggered new restrictions that will take effect Friday in Chicago. What that means for the small business owners who can no longer serve diners and drinkers indoors.

A second Wall Street ratings agency sounded the alarm over Chicago’s budget on Wednesday as aldermen continued weighing Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s $12.76 billion spending plan for 2021.

By the end of the week, Chicago and the surrounding suburbs will be operating under tightened rules designed to stop the spread of the coronavirus, including a suspension of indoor services at bars and restaurants.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot pushed back late Tuesday on Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s order to suspend indoor dining and drinking in Chicago, the latest sign of a serious split between the officials leading the effort to stem the pandemic.

Wall Street’s losses mounted for the second straight day Tuesday as momentum slows on worries about rising virus counts and Washington’s inability to deliver more aid to the economy. 

New restrictions for Chicago begin Friday. “For a time in late summer, Chicago seemed to have this more under control than other regions in Illinois, but that’s no longer the case,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said.

Illinois moves up in a technology and innovation ranking as skilled workers move into the state. Crain’s Chicago Business Editor Ann Dwyer takes us behind the headlines of that story and more.

A year after the fanfare-filled launch, city officials said the program had begun to show results — with $70 million in public funds attracting $300 million in private investments.

As Chicago grapples with a second wave of the pandemic, a Wall Street ratings agency fired a shot across the bow as aldermen prepared to start a month of hearings on Mayor Lightfoot’s spending plan.

Chef Jesus Delgado talks about making Peruvian plates for Chicago palates.

Purdue Pharma will plead guilty to three federal criminal charges as part of a settlement of more than $8 billion, Justice Department officials told The Associated Press.

The coronavirus has had a disparate impact on Black and Brown communities. What would an equitable recovery look like? Dr. Helene Gayle tells us about a new initiative for equitable economic recovery.

What may look like news websites are instead thinly veiled organizations pushing partisan agendas without journalistic standards, according to investigations from the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. 

American Airlines says it’s bringing Boeing 737 Max planes back into service. Crain’s Chicago Business Editor Ann Dwyer takes us behind the headlines of that story and more.

Twitter blocked a post Sunday from an adviser to President Donald Trump who suggested that masks do not work to stop the spread of the coronavirus.