The money keeps rolling in at CBOE and the Mercantile exchange even as their managing groups lobby to pay less in state income taxes. more ›

One of the complaints about Groupon, from the perspective of a business owner who takes advantage of the deal-a-day company's ability to reach a customer base, is that in the long run it winds up only netting modest profits for the businesses, or worse, they lose money. more ›

Facing a $654 million budget hole and no longer able to pretend like we didn't totally get hosed on the disaster that was the Parking Meter Lease, the City is now turning up the heat on others to help fill the gap. This time around, according to a memo obtained by the Sun-Times, it's the Chicago Police Department and the number of parking tickets they're issuing. The memo doesn't explicitly tell the CPD to "WRITE MOR TICKETS PLZ" but it does put the onus of falling revenue on fewer tickets written, saying that if the drop in issued tickets continues, the city will "witness a dramatic decrease in annual revenues and not meet 2010 targets." While the private company hired by the company that's leasing the meters has stepped up its ticket writing game, it seems the number of tickets issued by the CPD has dropped compared to this time last year. The CPD issued around 850,000 tickets in July 2009 but in July 2010 only wrote 642,000 tickets. more ›

A new deal that consolidates the CTA's advertising duties could help the agency garner at least $80 million in new revenue, according to Crain's. Titan Outdoor LLC will handle ad placement on buses, trains, and at train stations. Only bus shelters remain under the domain of another company (JC Decaux). Crain's reports: more ›

According to the Tribune, there's been a jump in tickets issued - up 26 percent in January through August 2009 over the same time period last year - and an increase of revenue. But CBS 2 points out that the jump in revenue may have more to do with the parking ticket amnesty that was offered early this year than the new tickets actually being paid. more ›

Mayor Daley's budget for 2010 has been presented and, as expected, there were no new taxes but lots of cuts. There will also be much taken from the parking meter lease fund. In fact, by this time next year, don't expect much to be left from the $1.15 billion/75-year deal, the deal we may have gotten hosed on. Having already spent $400 million of that money this year, according to the Tribune, Daley is looking to spend an additional $600 million of that money in 2010. We're no math geniuses and even we know that doesn't leave a whole heck of a lot left in the pot for the remaining 70+ years of the lease, something that concerned Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) earlier this week. All told, Daley claims that there will still be around $700 million left in reserve funds - the combination of the Skyway and parking meter leases - next year. A cut in the city's tourism budget also raised eyebrows. And besides the cuts to entertainment and furlough days for non-union employees and elimination of vacant jobs, there are smaller cuts, too, such as the scaling back of the city's recycling program. more ›

Citing a lack of results, the city of Schaumburg is getting rid of the one red light camera they had installed. Curious to see how the cameras worked, the city installed one at a particularly busy intersection close to Woodfield Mall. What happened next led to the eventual decision to scrap plans for more. more ›

In what has become a rite of passage for Chicagoans, like that first glorious spring thaw or the annual Cubs collapse, it's time again for another CTA Doomsday warning. This time, the culprit seems to be the economy and according to the Trib's Jon Hilkevitch, "The new numbers are so bleak that the "doomsday" service cuts and fare increases threatened more than a year ago appear mild in comparison to the sweeping measures that would be needed to fill gaping budget holes the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra and Pace are facing." Yikes. The CTA, Metra, and PACE are all facing huge tax revenue shortfalls which mean huge funding reductions for both 2008 and 2009. more ›

As casino revenues fall across the nation, they're falling even faller in Illinois and casino execs are blaming the state's smoking ban for the drop instead of the tanking economy. Many gambling states are reporting revenue drops of five to seven percent, but Illinois' casino revenue is down a whopping 20.3 percent, which translates to $150-160 million. Tom Swoik, executive director of the Illinois Casino Gaming Association, has been claiming all along revenues would be down with the smoking ban in effect:

There's a high correlation between smokers and gambling. Although the number of people coming to the casinos is about the same, the time they spend inside is down. They're outside smoking. And in this business, if you're not putting money in the machine or on the table—time is money.

In an effort to boost revenue, the CTA may begin selling naming rights for their train stops to corporations. The CTA is currently mum on which stations and which corporations are involved. Now, we're not exactly purists here and if it means there's money to plug that budget hole, fine. Still, giving directions like, "You get on at the Hershey Brown Line Stop, transfer to the Red Line at the Coca-Cola stop, and get off at the AT&T Stop and you're right there at U.S. Cellular Field," sounds kind of silly, but we're sure we'll deal with it. As long as Macy's is no where near the deal. more ›

Porn is like a money tree. If you need some cash, just go out and shake the silicone until a few hundred thousand dollars drop out. So how exactly can the nation’s foremost “gentlemen’s magazine” be losing money? Playboy announced a 4th-quarter loss today, losing $1.1 million compared with a $3.7 million profit at this time last year. more ›