* Airlines seek to scale back O’Hare’s expansion

Marking an unprecedented break with City Hall that contradicts the public appearance of solidarity on the $15 billion O’Hare project, executives at six of O’Hare’s largest airlines advised city planners in letters sent this summer to downsize the large-scale remake of the airport to better fit the new economic realities of the struggling industry.

The airlines’ position poses the latest threat to Mayor Richard Daley’s efforts to modernize cramped and outdated facilities at O’Hare by 2014, a process critical to Chicago’s bid to land the 2016 Olympics.

The goal of the O’Hare project is to replace the airport’s outmoded layout of intersecting runways with a parallel runway system that promotes more efficient arrival and departure of airplanes. New passenger terminals are also envisioned to balance the growth in airfield capacity.

But American and United labeled the city’s plan for a new passenger terminal on the west side of the airfield as “ill-conceived.”

* O’Hare to open new runway

* Deflation fears grow as stocks fall

* Oil falls below $53 on fears of deep recession

* Gas not the only price that’s plunging

Core prices, which exclude food and energy, fell by 0.1 percent last month, the first drop in core prices in more than a quarter-century.

* Fed sees economic woes persisting into next year

* Business Leaders Say Next Year Could Bring Economic Rebound

Some Chicago-area business leaders say the nation’s financial crisis could rebound as soon as next year. And, they say the Chicago region will fare better than other parts of the U.S.

* Sara Lee Announces Plant Closing

The South Side plant closing means about 185 workers will lose their jobs within the next three months. The move comes as Sara Lee eliminates brands such as Best’s Kosher and Sinai Kosher. Mike Cummins is a spokesperson for Sara Lee. He says kosher meats aren’t as profitable for the company as its other products.

* Lean economic times mean more at pantries

* Don’t let travel ruin your fowl mood

Experts predict 600,000 fewer people on the roads and in the skies this Thanksgiving season, but the drop in numbers doesn’t guarantee open highways or vacant airports.

* Hard times strain mental-health system

* Durbin gathering FutureGen supporters for renewed effort

* SJ-R Opinion: Bill to help coal study deserves Senate approval

* Pat Gauen goes back to the Illinois lottery

As a result, we have the scariest economic climate I can remember. Who among us will have their livelihoods shaken, and how badly, I cannot tell.

THAT is why I bought the lottery ticket.

* Expert: Half of retailers facing crisis in 2009

Retail analyst Britt Beemer forecasted Wednesday that half of today’s retailers will be in big trouble some time next year due to the country’s financial meltdown.

“I wouldn’t buy gift cards [this holiday],” he said in an interview following an appearance before a Conference Board-sponsored seminar in Chicago.

Sears and Kmart could disappear next year, and Macy’s faces a difficult future, said Beemer, CEO and founder of America’s Research Group.

* Rockford buses will run — at least through end of the year

* The golden ticket

The struggle over Metra parking has become a growing problem in other suburbs, too, as commuter train traffic has increased. Commuters also wait years for parking permits in Lisle, Tinley Park and Downers Grove, among others. In Chicago’s northern suburbs, many officials said they don’t issue parking permits—all spaces are first come, first served. Still, many said their commuter parking lots fill as early as 7:30 a.m. weekdays.

* Ads for ‘Grand Theft Auto IV’ reappear on CTA buses

* Life in the HOT lane

Will HOT lanes solve the Chicago region’s traffic woes? We’re not sold, though we’d like to be. The metro area keeps outgrowing its highway system, and it’s not a problem that can be addressed indefinitely by building more roads or adding more lanes. We need transportation alternatives that will reduce the number of cars on the roads. Fewer cars mean lower emissions, also a good thing.

* Congress Consults Sheriff Dart On Foreclosures

* Budget proposal a hit

* City Council passes Daley’s 2009 budget

* Chicago aldermen approve $6 bil budget

* Aldermen Bemoan Painful Cuts But Okay Daley’s Budget

* You’ll pay more as city services are cut back

* Cook Co. board not buying $260 million “scare tactic”

* Stroger foes decry borrowing idea, unpaid bills

* Senate sends lead-warning bill to governor

* House passes ‘Drew Peterson law’

* State law allows hearsay evidence from murder victims