Are you one of those people who can't leave work at the office? The laptop's always on your lap and your thumbs always gliding across the Blackberry so you can deal with your job even when you're supposed to be off-duty?

When Juli Shipman looks out the front window of her rural Hillsboro home, she sees a retirement fund and a way to pay for college for her three children. She never envisioned her future would be tied to four-legged animals named Cocopuff and Skippy.

John and Linda Underwood have seen poverty close-up in the 10 years they’ve provided free medical clinics in Haiti.

Edward Fitzpatrick, vice president of retail operations for Fannie May, said the company is opening 11 Midwestern stores this year. The new locations include Springfield and Bloomington-Normal.

The newly opened Talecris Plasma Donor Center has seen more than 800 donors since opening its doors last month, and officials expect traffic to remain steady during the holiday season.

For retailers, a foundering economy can mean trouble — when fewer people are working and consumers are reluctant to spend, stores keep a close eye on their inventory.

Unlike the bleary-eyed salespeople who will man the big-box retailers Black Friday, owners and employees of independent stores plan to be well-rested and ready for the rush of holiday shoppers.

Drive, baby, drive. Time to leave the hybrid at home and fire up the HEMI-powered gas-guzzler for the trip to grandma's house this holiday weekend?

Short sell is the latest buzzword for selling a home for less than what is owed the lender. “It’s an option for people who are trying to avoid foreclosure but can’t stay in a home,” said Bob Campbell, executive director of the Rockford Area Affordable Housing Coalition. “If they don’t have any equity built up in the house and they’ve suffered a job loss, divorce ... it gives them an option to move on without a foreclosure on their credit report.”

Exactly one year after launching the Storyteller's Blends of coffee, Lori McCombs, owners of Leaves & Beans Roasting Co., is calling it quits.

People may be shopping less this holiday season, but they’re visiting FatWallet.com more. The Rockton-based online shopping portal has grown in every measure — more unique visitors, more members, more employees and more office space.

 For 12 years, Loren Shanle worked as an independent insurance agent out of a small office on Walnut Street in Rochester, just south of Rochester Station.  By spring, Shanle hopes to have the roughly 1,000-square-foot space converted into a winery that doubles as an infrared sauna retailer. He plans to make the wine on-site, using juices and concentrates from vineyards across the world, and will offer wine-tasting as well as winemaking equipment.
 

Sure, gas is costing less, but more people will be spending Thanksgiving at home this year.
Forty-one million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home over the weekend, a 1.4 percent decrease from last year, according to AAA Chicago. It’s the first Thanksgiving drop since 2002 and the fourth straight travel holiday to see a decline this year.

It’s one of the most common questions uttered by retailers these days: Credit or debit? Either choice can net consumers certain benefits, as well as certain drawbacks. But consumer groups warn that fees, limits and security issues could catch shoppers off guard, and recommend not always relying on swiping to make transactions.

Retailers aren’t waiting for Black Friday in this economy. They can’t afford to, say retail executives and industry analysts. A just-released annual holiday forecast from the National Retail Federation found nearly three-quarters of people surveyed nationwide have only just begun holiday shopping.