By David A. Kelm Solar energy has long been relegated to the hippies living in the geodesic home out in the woods or the weird “off the grid” guy at the end of the block whose 1988 pickup truck smells like a Chinese restaurant because it has been converted to run on used restaurant oil. [...]
By Courtney Westlake Ginny Conlee gets things done. That has been my impression as I’ve witnessed Conlee’s work in her leadership roles for many years, though I’ve only just gotten to know her better personally in the last year. And after sitting down to lunch with her at Café Brio, I am more convinced of [...]
By Sarah Jane Delano Pavlik Is your residential lease up and you want to move? Is your lease not up and you want to move? Or, are you a landlord and want to evict a troublesome tenant? What are your options? First, as with any question regarding a document, you need to read your lease. You [...]
By Brant Mackey About 30 years ago one of the most hotly debated questions was which was “better,” a Mac or a PC? Back in the 80s it was all the rage to argue the advantages and shortcomings of each. Mac users were clearly in the minority and fiercely loyal while PC users simply thought [...]
By Joe Natale April – so said the poet – is the cruelest month. I don’t know if that’s a reference to paying income taxes or not; but to my way of thinking, January is certainly the coldest month. This is really old news, but the month of “January” is named in honor of the [...]
By Douglas L. Whitley What has been lost during the on-going debate on hydraulic fracturing in Illinois and across the country is the “other side of the coin.” What do I mean by that? When it comes to increased natural gas production, the other side of the coin is the increased demand and opportunities for businesses [...]
By Bridget Ingebrigtsen While perusing my company’s bookshelf for a good book to read, Patrick Lencioni’s “Getting Naked” grabbed my attention for obvious reasons. Published in 2010, I’ve heard about it but not as often as Lencioni’s other books like “Death by Meeting,” “Three Dysfunctions of a Team” and “The Advantage.” I figured that maybe [...]
By Courtney Westlake Constant listening and learning from the leadership are essential to building and bettering a company. So has been the mentality of Sarah Phalen, as she has concentrated on continual communication across the branches and departments of Illinois National Bank (INB) as president and CEO. Over lunch at Café Brio, Phalen told me [...]
By Thomas C. Pavlik, Jr. Sometimes, I think Texas got it right – their legislature only meets every other year. Ours, of course, meets much more often than that. What do we have to show for it? Check out these new laws that will take effect in 2014. Cell Phones and Driving. You’ve probably already heard about [...]
By David A. Kelm Christmas decorations are going up in neighborhoods and at area businesses as nearly everyone is getting ready for shoppers, family and festivities. From simple white twinkly lit wreaths to massive computer-aided, musically-timed, “Christmas Vacation” light shows, traditional holiday lighting is getting phased out and replaced by energy efficient LED (light-emitting diode) [...]