Judith Crown

Mar 4, 2025 | chicagobusiness.com | Judith Crown

Microsoft last year acquired more than 500 acres for a data center in southwest suburban Plano. Compass Datacenters is building a five-building campus on 200 acres at the former Sears headquarters in Hoffman Estates. CyrusOne is also developing a 230-acre complex near Yorkville.

Mar 4, 2025 | chicagobusiness.com | Judith Crown

Inside a building not far from the lakefront is where you can clearly see the industrial age meet the digital. A 109-megawatt data center operated by Austin, Texas-based Digital Realty, the 1.1 million-square-foot space serves as a connection point for 600 tenants such as Comcast, Microsoft and Amazon. A series of eerily empty corridors inside the building leads to locked closets housing stacks of servers and networking equipment. But the eighth floor of 350 E.

Feb 10, 2025 | chicagobusiness.com | Judith Crown

By Judith Crown February 19, 2025 In the five years since the COVID-19 lockdowns upended lives and businesses, many have returned to what looks like a pre-pandemic “normal.” But not all. The pandemic’s effects still weigh on Chicago in numerous ways. Memories may have faded with time, but who can forget worrying about not having enough face masks? Or whether "contact tracing" worked?

Feb 10, 2025 | chicagobusiness.com | Judith Crown

It isn’t just the lowest-income Americans at risk of losing health care if Congress votes to reduce benefits. Lower- and middle-income Americans who buy insurance on the Affordable Care Act, or ACA, marketplace face higher costs that could cause some to drop the coverage and become uninsured. That’s because enhanced tax credits started during the COVID pandemic are set to expire at the end of the year, making them an easy cost savings for Republicans because there’s no vote or action required.

Feb 10, 2025 | chicagobusiness.com | Judith Crown

By Judith Crown February 24, 2025 On a typical day at his Sinai Chicago clinic, Dr. Michael Malone sees patients with chronic health problems — diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, congestive heart failure and asthma. A majority of them are on Medicaid. Without that safety-net insurance, Malone worries how his fragile patients would get the medications, tests and other care they need. “How am I going to help someone with congestive heart failure?” he says.