Category Archives: Services

Chicago Law Clinic Helps Women Entrepreneurs

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The DePaul Business Law Clinic at DePaul University is offering female entrepreneurs legal advice, business acumen, and industry guidance at an affordable price. For $500 per semester, women entrepreneurs across Chicago are getting the help they need to thrive and succeed.

Female law students are paired with the business owners and offer direct consultation and legal aid.

The clinic was founded by Julie D. Lawton and says the program is “mutually beneficial for businesses and students. For our students, this is a wonderful, dynamic and interdisciplinary experience, and for our clients, they are able to obtain this holistic support. Not only legally, but also technically. “

The clinic has offered this service for the past four years. All business types and sizes are encouraged to work with the DePaul law students.

Chicago Sites for Pumpkin Composting

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Illinois is offering residents an earth-friendly alternative for jack-o-lantern disposal, saving thousands of gourds from landfills and reducing methane emissions. Scarce, a local organization, has set up 49 different sites across the state where people can bring their pumpkins.

University of Illinois Extension educators continue to raise awareness, partially in an effort to combat bad advice being disseminated on social media, including recommendations to leave pumpkins in fields, abandoning them in natural areas for animals, or feeding them to household pets. These are all not advisable because of the legal prohibition of dumping anything on private property or in a nature preserve. Most animals don’t eat pumpkin naturally, so consuming the vegetable is likely to do more harm than good.

The first pumpkin drive was held in 2014 when close to 10 tons of pumpkins were composted. Last year, collections skyrocketed to 159 tons, as more people learned of the initiative.  

2021 Sites in Chicago include:

Plant Chicago, 4459 S. Marshfield Ave.

Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences, 3857 W. 111th St.

Edgewater Environmental Coalition and Andersonville Chamber of Commerce, 6040 N. Clark St.

Chicago and Microsoft Partner for Digital Training

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On October 1, Microsoft announced a new partnership with Chicago to provide free digital skills training courses for at least 300,000 residents.

 “Accelerate Chicago,” is meant to boost the employability of Chicago citizens who either lost their jobs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic or those who have few digital skills at all. It will also offer “cross-training” for those looking to pivot their career paths. Accelerate includes free courses on several Microsoft applications and programs.

Lori Lightfoot, Mayor of Chicago, explained that the new program will allow the city to remedy the “socioeconomic fallout” of the COVID-19 pandemic by offering participants “good-paying, sustainable” jobs.

“We have an important opportunity to use this moment to better the lives of those who were struggling long before this pandemic ever struck.”

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, at a news conference with Microsoft President Brad Smith.

Accelerate has already been launched in New York, Atlanta, Houston, and Louisville, Kentucky.

Local Hospitality Industry Transactions

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Despite the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, there have still been some business transactions in the works.  Here, we look at two local ones in the hospital industry: a brewery and a food delivery firm.

Having ceased operations during the coronavirus outbreak, Argus Brewery has now been put up for sale for $2.5m. This facility produces and distributes beer and is located in a Pullman District. The space – measuring 9,700 square foot has the capacity to make 10,000 barrels each year.  There is at least one camera in each room, a huge freight elevator with a fully operational original motor designed by Nikola Tesla.  The $2.5m price tags includes the delivery vehicle, equipment, and any remaining furniture and intellectual properties.

Then there is the Amsterdam-based food delivery firm Grubhub. This is being purchased by Just Eat Takeaway.com for a $7.3b price tag.  This will make it the largest online food delivery platform in the world (except for China). Each share of Grubhub is being valued at $75.15.  Matt Maloney, founder and CEO of Grubhub will take up membership on the board at Just Eat Takeaway.com. at the end of 2020, there were approximately 2,700 employees; 1,200 of these are in Chicago. It is anticipated that the deal will be complete by Q1 2021.