CHICAGO, Illinois, Oct. 4 (TNSres) -- Circana, a company that says it is a leading advisor on the complexity of consumer behavior, issued the following news release: * * * Holiday shoppers plans to spend an average of 2% more than last year, and Black Friday hits 4-year high in expectation of best holiday deals * * * U.S. consumer sentiment and intentions related to the 2024 holiday shopping season are improved compared to the last two years, but are still falling short of 2021 levels in mos  more

CHICAGO, Illinois, Oct. 3 -- Barack Ferrazzano, a law firm, issued the following news release: BFKN is pleased to announce that for the second consecutive year, the firm has achieved Midsize Mansfield Rule Certification Plus. The Mansfield Rule, an initiative from Diversity Lab, measures achievement of certain structural metrics designed to better ensure our paths to leadership--including lateral hiring, client pitch teams, promotions, and appointments--are open and transparent to all qualified  more

ELMHURST, Illinois, Oct. 4 -- Elmhurst University issued the following news: Earlier this fall, Elmhurst University's School of Business launched the Institute for Professional and Community Engagement (IPCE), a resource hub that offers opportunities for students to develop professionally and give back to society. For its inaugural event, IPCE will host Lee Cockerell, former executive vice president of operations for Walt Disney World Resort, on Thursday, Oct. 17. Cockerell will participate in  more

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois, Oct. 4 -- The Illinois Auditor General issued the following compliance examination on Oct. 3, 2024, involving Illinois General Assembly, House of Representatives. Here are excerpts: * * * FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS INADEQUATE CONTROLS OVER THE REVIEW OF INTERNAL CONTROLS FOR SERVICE PROVIDERS The House had not implemented adequate internal controls over its service providers. The Office of the Clerk of the House (Office) and the House Democratic Leade  more

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois, Oct. 4 -- The Illinois Auditor General issued the following compliance examination on Oct. 3, 2024, involving Illinois General Assembly, Senate. Here are excerpts: * * * FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS INADEQUATE CONTROLS OVER EMPLOYEE TRAININGS The Senate did not maintain adequate controls to ensure timely employee completion of mandatory training. We noted the following exceptions: * Four of 14 (29%) new employees completed ethics and sexual harassment t  more

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois, Oct. 4 -- The Illinois Auditor General issued the following financial audit on Oct. 3, 2024, involving State Universities Retirement System, Special Funding Situation Allocation Schedules. Here are excerpts: * * * INTRODUCTION This digest covers the Special Funding Situation Allocation Schedules as of and for the year ended June 30, 2023. The State of Illinois is considered a non-employer contributing entity to the community colleges, State universities, Board of Exami  more

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois, Oct. 4 -- The Illinois Auditor General issued the following compliance examination on Oct. 3, 2024, involving Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois, Census Data. Here are excerpts: * * * INTRODUCTION This digest covers the Compliance Examination of Census Data for the following agencies (collectively, the Employers) as of and for the year ended June 30, 2023: * North Cook Intermediate Service Center #1 * DuPage County Regional Office of Education #19   more

CHICAGO, Illinois, Oct. 4 -- Kirkland and Ellis, a law firm, issued the following news release: Kirkland & Ellis advised GTCR, a leading private equity firm, on a definitive agreement to acquire TRANZACT, a leading direct-to-consumer insurance services company, in a corporate carve-out from WTW PLC (NASDAQ: WTW), a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company. GTCR is investing in TRANZACT alongside Recognize, a technology services investment platform. The transaction values TRANZACT  more

CHICAGO, Illinois, Oct. 4 -- Kirkland and Ellis, a law firm, issued the following news release: Kirkland & Ellis advised Ichthys Energy Partners, LLC on the closing of an equity commitment from investment funds managed by Post Oak Energy Capital, L.P. Ichthys seeks to execute its growth strategy through a targeted ground game focused on operated and non-operated leasehold acquisitions and strategic partnerships across the Permian. Based in Dallas, Ichthys is a newly formed exploration and prod  more

CHICAGO, Illinois, Oct. 4 -- Kirkland and Ellis, a law firm, issued the following news release: Kirkland & Ellis advised Talen Energy Corp., an independent power producer, on its acquisition of TeraWulf Inc.'s equity interest in Nautilus Cryptomine, a 200-MW nuclear-powered bitcoin mining facility in Berwick, Pennsylvania. As a result of the transaction, Talen now owns 100% of Nautilus. Read Talen Energy's press release (https://ir.talenenergy.com/news-releases/news-release-details/talen-ener  more

LAKE FOREST, Illinois, Oct. 3 (TNSres) -- Lake Forest College issued the following news: Assistant Professor of Chemistry Will Conrad has been awarded a "life-changing" $425,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support his years-long research into the cause of tuberculosis. Conrad learned of the prestigious award in September and recalls whooping with joy, high fiving everyone nearby, and immediately texting family and friends a screenshot of his award notice. "It's a lif  more

CHICAGO, Illinois, Oct. 3 -- Barack Ferrazzano, a law firm, issued the following news release: The BFKN Corporate & Securities and Luxury Groups served as legal counsel to LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE in its sale of Off-White LLC, the company associated with the fashion label founded by Virgil Abloh in 2012, to Bluestar Alliance. BFKN served as lead counsel to LVMH in this transaction. The team was led by corporate partners Kait E. Kelly and Daniel L. Dominguez, with assistance from ass  more

CHICAGO, Illinois, Oct. 4 -- Mayer Brown, a law firm, issued the following news: Mayer Brown's Tax practice has been honored with six awards at the International Tax Review's (ITR) 2024 Americas Tax Awards. The accolades include "New York Tax Firm of the Year," "Washington DC Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year," and "Tax Court Firm of the Year," among others. Mayer Brown and Tauil & Chequer Advogados, in association with Mayer Brown, also secured the "Impact Deal of the Year" for advising ENGIE  more

CHICAGO, Illinois, Oct. 4 -- McDermott Will and Emery, a law firm, issued the following news release: International law firm McDermott Will & Emery welcomes Candice Nichol as a partner in its market-leading tax practice. Candice is the ninth London-based partner to join this year, and her arrival further strengthens the Firm's standing in the London market. "We're impressed with Candice's superb experience, and we're thrilled to welcome her onboard," said Timothy Shuman, global head of McDermo  more

CARBONDALE, Illinois, Oct. 3 -- Southern Illinois University issued the following news release: Southern Illinois University Carbondale will dedicate the $7.2 million BioLaunch lab, a new, 10,000-square-foot space for cutting-edge life sciences research and more, at 1 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4, with a public ribbon-cutting ceremony at the McLafferty Annex, 1785 University Press Drive, with tours of the facility to follow. Funded in part by a $2.7 million grant from the Illinois Department of Commerc  more

CHICAGO, Illinois, Oct. 3 (TNSres) -- The University of Chicago issued the following news: * * * Finding points to expanded role of RNA in human gene expression * * * By Louise Lerner Inside every cell, inside every nucleus, your continued existence depends on an incredibly complicated dance. Proteins are constantly wrapping and unwrapping DNA, and even minor missteps can lead to cancer. A new study from the University of Chicago reveals a previously unknown part of this dance--one with si  more

EVANSTON, Illinois, Oct. 3 -- Northwestern University issued the following news release: EVANSTON, Ill. - Researchers have long observed that a common family of environmental bacteria, Comamonadacae, grow on plastics littered throughout urban rivers and wastewater systems. But what, exactly, these Comamonas bacteria are doing has remained a mystery. Now, Northwestern University-led researchers have discovered how cells of a Comamonas bacterium are breaking down plastic for food. First, they ch  more

EVANSTON, Illinois, Oct. 2 -- Northwestern University issued the following news release: Shanice Harris CHICAGO - Following a term in which the U.S. Supreme Court made historic rulings regarding presidential immunity, abortion, government regulation of businesses and unhoused people, the Court is set to be back in session this Monday, Oct. 7. With a contentious presidential election looming, and reviews of the Court remaining near historic lows, the public will be interested to see how the Co  more

EVANSTON, Illinois, Oct. 3 -- Northwestern University issued the following news release: CHICAGO - Following a term in which the U.S. Supreme Court made historic rulings regarding presidential immunity, abortion, government regulation of businesses and unhoused people, the Court is set to be back in session this Monday, Oct. 7. With a contentious presidential election looming, and reviews of the Court remaining near historic lows, the public will be interested to see how the Court pivots if at  more