As part of our La Última Palabra series, Lou Sandoval, CEO of Supply Hive, says it’s time for Latinos to look to the tech industry for entrepreneurial inspiration.

Niles, a northwest Chicago suburb. It’s well known for its landmark replica of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but it’s also a community thinking about how to revamp one of its anchor businesses for the future. There are efforts to redevelop Golf Mill mall, a nearby park, and plans to improve infrastructure and pedestrian safety.

The housing market has been hot throughout the pandemic and so is the industry itself, with more people getting into the business. Membership at the Illinois Realtors Association is up 15% in the past five years and the past two years have seen the most significant growth.

The concessions are being written into an ordinance, which will come up for a second reading and final approval at a subsequent board meeting, possibly as early as Feb. 22. Failure to comply could lead to fines or even the suspension of Carvana’s business license.

The company faces challenges on multiple fronts, but it was a dismal earnings report Wednesday that triggered the sudden collapse in its share price.

The 14-story glass vending machine for cars, to be built across from a nature preserve, met with widespread opposition from residents and conservationists. At Monday’s board meeting, Skokie Village trustees gave the development the green light.

Delivering on a promise she made when the owners of the Chicago Bears announced their purchase of the Arlington International Racecourse property, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced the members of a working group tasked with reimagining the city’s lakefront museum campus.

Low-fare airlines Spirit and Frontier announce a multi-billion-dollar merger; the controversy over the Miami Dolphins may have an impact on the race for Chicago's casino; and three multi-million-dollar homes are now off the market for those searching for local luxury homes.

The agency said it would no longer use a third-party service, called ID.me, for facial recognition. Critics of the software said the database could become a target for cyberthreats. 

If you abstained from drinking throughout the first month of this year, a movement known as "dry January," congratulations — you made it!  Now, if you want to make it a tipsy February, a local business is bringing its version of a classic Mexican tipple to liquor stores near you.

The government's report Friday also drastically revised up its estimate of job gains for November and December by a combined 709,000. It also said the unemployment rate ticked up last month from 3.9% to a still-low 4%.

In the fall, UCAN announced Christa Hamilton would be the first female and first Black person to lead the organization. More recently, lifetime resident pastor James Brooks became the CEO of the Lawndale Christian Health Center.

As the so-called Great Resignation continues, companies have had to get creative with recruiting and retaining talented employees. The newest benefit some companies are experimenting with is a four-day workweek.

The controversial deli was issued two citations, which will trigger a hearing before fines ranging between $100 and $10,000 can be imposed.

Deerfield-based Walgreens Boots Alliance is taking bids for its international drugstore chain, Boots. Boeing makes a $450 million investment in Wisk, an autonomous air-taxi start up. And Chicago’s Loop Capital announces its acquiring BMO Asset Management. 

Stocks are mixed Monday as Wall Street heads for its worst month since the early days of the pandemic, weighed by worries that imminent hikes in interest rates will make everything in markets more challenging.