SPENDING SPREE LIFTS ILLINOIS COMPANIES; Capital expenditures here outpace national trend, but hiring growth doesn't keep up.(News)

Crain's Chicago Business, April, 2006 by Merrion, Paul

Byline: PAUL MERRION Chicago-area companies are budgeting double-digit increases for new equipment and facilities this year, outpacing a strong national boom in capital spending. From restaurant chains to retailers to the industrial machinery firms that form the backbone of the Illinois economy, local companies are investing billions of dollars to meet growing demand, become more efficient or expand into new markets.

"We're building our brand,'' says Morton's Restaurant Group Inc. CEO Thomas Baldwin. The newly public firm is using cash flow to double capital spending to $30 million with a major renovation and expansion of its Las Vegas steakhouse and four or five new restaurants this year, including one in Northbrook. Illinois is both participant and...

Read the rest of this article with a Free Trial at HighBeam Research.

Premium Content Partnership | HighBeam Research provides an in-depth online archive library of reference works.