Illinois
Demolition under way at old Sears headquarters in Hoffman Estates, Illinois
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. (CBS) –An era has come to an end in northwest suburban Hoffman Estates, as crews on Thursday were working to tear down the old Sears, Roebuck and Co. corporate headquarters.
CBS News Skywatch flew the scene as crews began ripping apart the 2.4 million square-foot office building.
The property at 3333 Beverly Rd. in Hoffman Estates was acquired by Compass Datacenters in September of last year, and a new data center will be built on the site.
Sears first moved into the headquarters in 1992, after receiving a series of incentives—reportedly valued at $240 million—to lure the company to the sprawling suburban office park from its old corporate headquarters at the Sears Tower, now called the Willis Tower.
Sears filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2018, and the company formed to purchase its assets, Transformco, put the Hoffman Estates headquarters up for sale three years later.
Sears: A history intertwined with the history of Chicago
The roots of Sears, Roebuck and Co. date back to the 1880s in Chicago—when watch retailer Richard W. Sears and watch repairman Alvah C. Roebuck founded a mail-order company. Initially selling watches and jewelry, the Sears catalog quickly became an Amazon for the turn of the last century—selling, among many other things clothing, bicycles, sewing machines, sporting goods, musical instruments, and guns, the Sears archives website noted.
In 1895, clothing manufacturer Julius Rosenwald became a partner in Sears. Rosenwald is credited with bringing in the business strategies that sent Sears booming—with sales jumping from $750,000 to $50 million between 1895 and 1907, the Sears archive notes.
Rosenwald was also known for placing his focus on the customer, with the pledge of “satisfaction guaranteed, or your money back,” the Sears archive notes. He is also known for founding Chicago’s Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, and for his philanthropic efforts—notably including the establishment of thousands of schools for rural Black youth in the South.
Sears’ first retail store opened in 1925, under the leadership of Gen. Robert E. Wood, Brittanica notes. This store was at the Sears Merchandise Building at the company headquarters near Homan Avenue and Arthington Street on Chicago’s West Side.
Three more stores opened in Chicago 1928—at Lawrence and Wolcott avenues in Ravenswood, at 79th Street and Kenwood Avenue in Avalon Park, and at 62nd Street and Western Avenue in Chicago Lawn.
All these stores remained in business until relatively recent years. The Western Avenue and 79th Street stores both closed in 2013—the 79th Street store is now a self-storage facility, while the Western Avenue store was torn down in 2020. The Lawrence Avenue store closed in 2016 and has been redeveloped into apartments and a DeVry University campus.
Stores also quickly opened elsewhere around the country—and retail sales had outpaced mail-order sales by 1931, Brittanica noted. Sears benefited tremendously from an economic boom after World War II, and was not surpassed as the nation’s largest retailer until future parent store Kmart dethroned it in the 1980s, and Walmart later dethroned both, Brittanica noted.
In 1973, Sears moved into Chicago’s Sears Tower—which opened as the tallest building in the world. Nearly two decades later, Sears was offered the largest tax break ever for a company in Illinois to move to Hoffman Estates—a move that a 2020 Daily Herald and ProPublica review said did not pay off for the northwest suburban village as hoped.
Sears and Kmart merged in 2004. Published reports note that Sears hit a peak stock price of $195.18 a share in 2007, but then fell into decline—with the company no longer being profitable by 2010. Store after store closed around the country—with 1,250 locations left by the summer of 2017, compared with 3,400 at the beginning of 2006.
The last Illinois Sears store, at Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, closed in November 2021. There are now only 11 Sears stores left.
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Combined state and federal taxes would take more than 50% of the top-end income for 22,000 Illinois small businesses.
Proposals in the Illinois General Assembly could slam massive tax hikes onto small businesses, the state’s primary job creator historically and in the recovery from the COVID-19 downturn.
One measure would punish 22,020 Illinois small businesses with a huge increase in their marginal state income tax rate and create a top tax rate of nearly 50.3% for them, once all state and federal income taxes are factored in.
S-corporations and partnerships, which “pass-through” their business income to their owners, who pay taxes as individuals, would see their top marginal state income tax rate jump from 4.95% to 7.95%, a 61% hike.
That would happen because the legislation, House Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 21, adds a 3% income tax on income above $1 million. It is scheduled for a hearing April 23 at which it could pass out of committee and go to a potential full House vote.
Research has shown that an increase in the top marginal tax rate is associated with a decrease in entrepreneurs’ hiring activity and lower wages for their employees.
Illinois has one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation and among the slowest wage growth. These are exacerbated by some of the highest state and local tax burdens in the nation, including the second-highest property taxes and eighth-highest sales taxes.
In 2017 Illinois residents endured the largest permanent income tax hike in state history, when lawmakers increased the rate by 32%, from 3.75% to 4.95%.
Illinois already pushes out more businesses than virtually any other state. The “millionaire’s tax” could make the situation even worse. Illinoisans should reject this call for higher taxes on the state’s vital small business community.
Contact your state representative to stop the small business tax hike here.
SYCAMORE, Ill. – A Sycamore mother said she is still waiting for justice more than two years after her teenage son was stabbed to death.
The case is back in court this week, where a judge will consider a key request that could change how the case moves forward.
What we know:
A mother said her son’s life was cut short during a confrontation that turned deadly.
Heather Gerken said her 17-year-old son, Kaleb McCall, was stabbed during an incident in September 2023. She said Kaleb agreed to meet another teen for what he believed would be a fist fight while sticking up for a friend.
According to Gerken, the other teen, who was 15 at the time, pulled a knife and stabbed Kaleb in the chest. Kaleb later died from his injuries.
Gerken said a jury later found that teen guilty of second-degree murder after the defense argued he acted in self-defense.
Dig deeper:
The case is not over.
Gerken says the defendant’s attorneys are now trying to move the case out of adult court and into juvenile court. That decision could impact how the teen is ultimately sentenced.
What they’re saying:
Gerken said the legal process has been long and frustrating.
She said the case has stretched on for more than two and a half years and that ongoing court proceedings have made it difficult for her to grieve her son.
“He was everybody’s big brother,” Gerken said. “He had the biggest smile and the sweetest personality. He enjoyed fishing and being outside, and he was the best gift giver. He always got me flowers for every little holiday. Just a very thoughtful boy.”
Gerken also said the possibility of the case moving to juvenile court is especially upsetting, as she continues to push for what she believes is justice for her son.
“I don’t want anybody else’s child to die the way that my son died,” Gerken said. “Caleb is my whole world. I gave birth to him at 17 and he changed my life completely. He made me a better person. He taught me what real love truly is…And I just miss him so much more every day. And just knowing that he died the way he did. It makes me sick.”
What’s next:
The case returns to court Thursday morning.
A judge is expected to determine whether the case remains in adult court or is moved to juvenile court, a decision that could shape what happens next in the case.
The Source: The information in this article was reported by FOX Chicago’s Lauren Scafidi.
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