The iconic Allerton Hotel, located at 701 N. Michigan Ave., is in foreclosure after its owners defaulted on $70 million in loans. A foreclosure lawsuit was filed at the end of April. The joint venture that owns the hotel purchased it for $84 million in 2006 and sank another $10 million into renovations. But in December, the hotel was appraised as being worth $60 million and revenue fell 23 percent from its 2008 totals, bringing in only $16.9 million in 2009. more ›

The saga of Mr. Beef's recent misfortunes continues today as co-owner Joseph Zucchero testifies before Congress regarding his recent struggles with Midwest Bank, which holds the lien on the River North institution, has cut off Zucchero's line of credit, and threatens to foreclose on the restaurant. This despite Midwest Bank recently being the recipient of $85 million in TARP funds from the Treasury Department. From the Tribune's "Swamp" Washington Bureau blog more ›

Things are getting rough for Donald Trump as the lead lender on his tower going up downtown has filed suit, seeking to collect $40 million in guarantees Trump made about the building. The suit was filed Friday by Deutsche Bank Trust Co. Americas, claiming Trump has defaulted on the $640 million loan when he didn't pay off the remaining $334.2 million to the bank and other lenders by November 7. Trump has previously filed suit against the lenders in which he "asked a judge to uphold a so-called force majeure clause in the loan agreement, which permits an extension due to an extraordinary event — in this case, the global financial crisis, according to the complaint." more ›

Crain's reports that Fitch Ratings cut the issuer default rating on Tribune Co. stock from "B-" to "CCC," saying that default "is a real possibility." [Crain's] more ›