Workers at the Rochester, NY Hickey-Freeman plant, which is owned by parent company Hartmarx, voted Wednesday to join Illinois workers in a sit-in if Wells-Fargo shutters and liquidates the Des Plaines suit maker, effectively throwing 3,500 families out of work. “There are a lot of married couples that work here. If they lost their jobs, their families would be devastated,” said Debbie Glinski, who has worked at Hickey-Freeman in Rochester for 15 years. more ›

Workers at the Des Plaines Hartmarx suit plant voted Monday to stage a sit in - a la Republic Windows and Doors - if Wells Fargo goes forward with plans to liquidate the company and its assets. Hartmarx filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January, and Wells Fargo, which took $25 billion in federal bank bailout funding in October, holds over $100 million of the company’s debt. Wells Fargo issued a statement on Monday saying that Hartmarx "has been in default of its loan obligations to banks in the group that have provided it credit, including Wachovia Capital Finance, part of Wells Fargo." more ›

From cross-dressing bank robbers to little old ladies, bank robberies are on the rise. The Chicago Tribune reports 206 bank robberies in Chicagoland so far this year. We'll make it to about 280 robberies, past the 2005 record high of 240, if the current rate keeps up. more ›