Many stores and offices are closed on the two holidays to give employees a chance to spend time with loved ones during the holiday season. This year, Christmas Eve falls on Tuesday, Dec. 24, and Christmas falls on Wednesday, Dec. 25.

The lawsuit alleges the Federal Trade Commission is violating the U.S. Constitution by using an in-house tribunal to challenge Kroger’s $25 billion mega-merger with Albertsons — the biggest proposed supermarket deal in American history.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., asks the court to block the payment until the attorneys general have reviewed Albertsons’ proposed merger with Kroger Co.

The Federal Trade Commission is expected to review the $25 billion deal between Kroger and Albertsons to ensure it complies with antitrust laws. Locally, the merger would combine the parent companies of Chicago grocery stalwarts Jewel Osco and Mariano’s.

Chicago native Bob Mariano, CEO of Mariano's, is here to update us on the grocery store's Chicagoland expansion, his approach to business, and his views on the economic outlook for Illinois.

Chairman Bob Mariano, from the grocery store chain Mariano’s, joins us to talk about the chain’s expansion in the Chicago area. View a map of store locations.

Mariano's Fresh Market is paying $36 million in cash to Safeway Inc. to take over 11 local Dominick's grocery stores. View a map of the locations.