Latest news with #Deerfield-based
Chicago Tribune
02-05-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Regional superintendent, Fortune Brands honored at Lake County Partners' Big Event
Michael Karner's job as the Lake County Regional Superintendent of Schools focuses, in large part, on educating the children who can sometimes be a challenge for the county's 47 public school districts. Between operating the Regional Safe School for students who need placement outside their home district, offering classrooms for a student who may be suspended for a few days and creating a statewide virtual school, Karner continues to find innovative ways to educate. 'We established the Safe School for grades six through 12 for students when they needed an alternative placement,' he said. 'We give them what they need when their home district can't.' Getting the attention of the business community, Karner started Career Navig8 Lake County for middle and high school students to expose them to potential careers at a young age so they can incorporate it into their education. Karner received the Lake County Partners Talent Advancement Award on Thursday at the organization's annual Big Event in Lincolnshire in front of more than 500 people for his shaping of career pathways, among other achievements. 'Dr. Karner is a superstar in the education space, and the complete list of his accomplishments would blow you away,' said Steve Madden, the chair of the Lake County Partners Board of Governors. 'He has ushered in transformative thoughts, concepts and programs at the cutting-edge of education.' Along with Karner, Deerfield-based Fortune Brands — operator of more than 15 lines, including Moen, Master Lock and Sentry Safe — received the Community Investment Award as it makes a major investment in its corporate headquarters. Madden and Lake County Partners President and CEO Kevin Considine talked about the growth of business in the county over the past year, and future expectations. The crowd also learned about the makings of good locations for business from real estate economist Joshua Harris. Last year, Madden said businesses made $1.43 billion in capital investments, added 4,000 new jobs and, in part through Lake County Partners' efforts, kept 2,500 existing jobs from relocating across the state line to Wisconsin or other locations. Joining with Chicago and six other suburban counties including Cook, Madden said Lake County Partners formed the Greater Chicagoland Economic Partnership. Members including Considine and Lake County Board Chair Sandy Hart, traveled abroad selling the area to companies. 'We're not just individual organizations, cities or counties,' he said. 'Together, we're a powerhouse with unmatched competitive advantages and a high quality of life, and we want site selectors, business leaders, investors and talent to know it.' Appointed school superintendent in 2021 by Hart upon the retirement of Roycealee Wood, Karner was elected to the position in 2022. He has worked with state and federal officials to obtain $18 million in grants to fund many of the programs. After inaugurating the Safe School, Karner said he started the Illinois Virtual School in 2022, offering online learning to 10,000 students statewide, from kindergarten through high school seniors. Each time a student passes a course, their home district is reimbursed for the expense. The Navig8 Lake County career fair in October drew 4,200 middle and high school students to learn what 100 employers do. Karner said he also started a care navigation service to help find mental and physical health care. 'It gives one-on-one service to help people find health care appointments,' he said. 'It has changed a four-month wait to four days in Lake County. It is primarily for mental health needs.' Fortune Brands is making a major expansion of its Deerfield headquarters. Leigh Avsec, the company's executive vice president for external affairs, said for the first time the corporate staff of all of the company's brands will be housed in one place. Some of Fortune Brands' businesses are well known to consumers, like Master Lock. Avsec said the others are very well known in their industry. She talked about how their safes preserved valuables when people had to flee a disaster. 'People had three minutes to flee,' Avsec said. 'When they returned (almost) everything was lost. When they opened the safe, all their valuables were there — their papers, their jewelry. It was all there.'
Chicago Tribune
01-05-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Baxter International expects tariff impact of $60 to $70 million this year
Tariffs will likely cost Deerfield-based Baxter International $60 to $70 million this year, the company's chief financial officer said in an earnings call Thursday. Baxter expects to see most of the impact from increased tariffs in the second half of the year, said Joel Grade, Baxter executive vice president and chief financial officer. Baxter makes IV fluids, a number of pharmaceuticals and other hospital products. 'We are able to mitigate a portion of these impacts,' Grade said. ' … Currently a majority of Baxter's products sold in the U.S. are manufactured in the U.S. and made largely from U.S.-made components. However, international procurement is part of our business operations and as such we are impacted from the U.S. and retaliatory tariffs that have been issued.' Though only a small percentage of Baxter's total sales are in China, 'given the magnitude of the tariffs that have been enacted between the two countries, these tariffs now account for nearly half of the total impact,' he said. President Donald Trump has proposed sweeping tariff increases on a number of countries in an effort to boost jobs and manufacturing the U.S. Last month, Trump suspended most of those tariffs – except for China – for 90 days. The Trump administration has not yet increased tariffs on pharmaceuticals, but is now investigating how imports of pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients affects national security. Baxter's assumptions do not include any potential changes to tariffs on pharmaceutical products, Grade said. Baxter is considering a number of strategies to mitigate the impact of tariffs, including carrying additional inventory, identifying alternative suppliers, alternative shipping routes and 'targeted pricing actions,' Grade said. Baxter is also working with its trade association partners to advocate for possible exemptions, he said. 'Some of these actions will be able to realized more near-term to help mitigate the impact in 2025, and others will require more time to be implemented but will help offset the impact in future years,' Grade said. Grade's comments about tariffs came during otherwise positive quarterly results Baxter, which saw its net income increase $126 million in the first quarter of this year, compared with in increase of $39 million in the first quarter of last year. The quarterly results were Baxter's first since selling off its kidney care business to global investment firm Carlyle for $3.7 billion earlier this year. That business is now called Vantive and its headquarters is in the former Caterpillar building in Deerfield. In recent weeks, a number of companies have been quantifying the impacts of tariffs. The CEO of north suburban-based Abbott Laboratories said during an earnings call last month that he expected tariffs to cost the company 'a few hundred million dollars' in the second half of this fiscal year.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Walgreens to pay $300M to settle with Department of Justice over opioid allegations
Walgreens Boots Alliance has agreed to pay $300 million to settle allegations that it filled millions of invalid prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances and illegally billed federal programs such as Medicare for those medications, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday. The federal government had alleged that Deerfield-based Walgreens filled prescriptions with 'egregious red flags,' according to an amended complaint filed last week in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The government alleged that Walgreens filled prescriptions with high dosages of opioids, filled prescriptions for the drugs too early, and filled prescriptions for a dangerous combination of three drugs, from late 2013 to early 2023, according to the complaint. The government had alleged that Walgreens pressured its pharmacists to fill the prescriptions quickly, without giving them time to check if the prescriptions were valid. The government also alleged that Walgreens submitted the invalid prescriptions to federal health insurance programs, including Medicare for reimbursement, in violation of the federal False Claims Act. 'Walgreens knowingly filled numerous invalid controlled-substances prescriptions that were either not issued in the usual course of professional practice, not for a legitimate medical purpose, or both,' the government had alleged, according to the settlement agreement. 'Walgreens knew that such prescriptions raised significant concerns and were highly likely to be invalid. But Walgreens nevertheless filled numerous such prescriptions without resolving the significant concerns those prescriptions raised.' Walgreens has denied the allegations. The settlement agreement does not include any admission of wrongdoing or liability by Walgreens. 'The Company entered into the Settlement Agreement to resolve the last anticipated major opioid regulatory matter and to avoid the cost and uncertainty of continued litigation,' Walgreens said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday. U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a news release, 'Pharmacies have a legal responsibility to prescribe controlled substances in a safe and professional manner, not dispense dangerous drugs just for profit.' As part of the settlement, Walgreens will also have to pay interest on the money, and it will have to pay an additional $50 million if the company is sold or merges with another company before fiscal year 2032. Walgreens announced last month that it had agreed to be sold to a private equity firm in a deal expected to close in the fourth quarter of the year. That sale announcement followed years of financial struggles for the retail pharmacy giant, which has been grappling with changing consumer habits, challenges related to medication reimbursement and a ill fated foray into primary care. As part of the settlement agreement, Walgreens must also maintain policies and procedures requiring pharmacists to make sure controlled substances are valid before filling prescriptions for them, among other requirements. The allegations against Walgreens were originally brought by whistleblowers who were former Walgreens employees, with the first of the whistleblowers filing a lawsuit in 2018. The U.S. Department of Justice intervened in the consolidated cases in August. The federal False Claims Act allows whistleblowers to sue on behalf of the U.S. government and receive a share of any money recovered. The four whistleblowers will receive 17.25% of the settlement money, according to the Department of Justice. The settlement announcement comes less than two months after Walgreens said it had agreed to pay a separate, $595 million settlement to a virtual care company over a dispute involving COVID-19 testing.
Chicago Tribune
21-04-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Walgreens to pay $300M to settle with Department of Justice over opioid allegations
Walgreens Boots Alliance has agreed to pay $300 million to settle allegations that it filled millions of invalid prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances and illegally billed federal programs such as Medicare for those medications, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday. The federal government had alleged that Deerfield-based Walgreens filled prescriptions with 'egregious red flags,' according to an amended complaint filed last week in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The government alleged that Walgreens filled prescriptions with high dosages of opioids, filled prescriptions for the drugs too early, and filled prescriptions for a dangerous combination of three drugs, from late 2013 to early 2023, according to the complaint. The government had alleged that Walgreens pressured its pharmacists to fill the prescriptions quickly, without giving them time to check if the prescriptions were valid. The government also alleged that Walgreens submitted the invalid prescriptions to federal health insurance programs, including Medicare for reimbursement, in violation of the federal False Claims Act. 'Walgreens knowingly filled numerous invalid controlled-substances prescriptions that were either not issued in the usual course of professional practice, not for a legitimate medical purpose, or both,' the government had alleged, according to the settlement agreement. 'Walgreens knew that such prescriptions raised significant concerns and were highly likely to be invalid. But Walgreens nevertheless filled numerous such prescriptions without resolving the significant concerns those prescriptions raised.' Walgreens has denied the allegations. The settlement agreement does not include any admission of wrongdoing or liability by Walgreens. 'The Company entered into the Settlement Agreement to resolve the last anticipated major opioid regulatory matter and to avoid the cost and uncertainty of continued litigation,' Walgreens said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday. U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a news release, 'Pharmacies have a legal responsibility to prescribe controlled substances in a safe and professional manner, not dispense dangerous drugs just for profit.' As part of the settlement, Walgreens will also have to pay interest on the money, and it will have to pay an additional $50 million if the company is sold or merges with another company before fiscal year 2032. Walgreens announced last month that it had agreed to be sold to a private equity firm in a deal expected to close in the fourth quarter of the year. That sale announcement followed years of financial struggles for the retail pharmacy giant, which has been grappling with changing consumer habits, challenges related to medication reimbursement and a ill fated foray into primary care. As part of the settlement agreement, Walgreens must also maintain policies and procedures requiring pharmacists to make sure controlled substances are valid before filling prescriptions for them, among other requirements. The allegations against Walgreens were originally brought by whistleblowers who were former Walgreens employees, with the first of the whistleblowers filing a lawsuit in 2018. The U.S. Department of Justice intervened in the consolidated cases in August. The federal False Claims Act allows whistleblowers to sue on behalf of the U.S. government and receive a share of any money recovered. The four whistleblowers will receive 17.25% of the settlement money, according to the Department of Justice. The settlement announcement comes less than two months after Walgreens said it had agreed to pay a separate, $595 million settlement to a virtual care company over a dispute involving COVID-19 testing.
Chicago Tribune
18-04-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Annual Chefs' Night fundraiser for Deerfield-based Center for Enriched Living set for May 5
A delicious assortment of food awaits everyone who attends the Center for Enriched Living's annual Chefs' Night, May 5 at the Lincolnshire Marriott Resort. There will be everything from chili pork verde nachos to raspberry trifle, spinach pie, Thai salad, sesame chicken, rigatoni, and a whole lot more at this food fest that benefits the Deerfield-based organization for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Twenty-nine vendors are donating food and beverages to this benefit which is attended by 500-700 people. Tickets are $125 at Sue Bersh of Deerfield has been a volunteer with the Center for Enriched Living (CEL) for six years and became president of the organization's board two years ago. She has served on the Chefs' Night committee for six years, and was a cochair for three years. Bersh praised Chefs' Night, saying, 'It's a sense of community at the event. Everyone feels like a friend when you're gathering around to support an organization you all care about. But you're having a great time in a casual setting.' In addition to sampling food, attendees see a video that shows the impact of the organization, Bersh noted. 'We always have a parent speak about what CEL means to them, and that's my favorite part,' Bersh said. There is also a car raffle, with tickets costing $100 or three for $275. The winner will have a choice of winning a 2025 Ford Mustang or $30,000 in cash. There will also be a silent auction with around a dozen items. Herb Washington, who has been CEO of the CEL for two years, has worked with people who have intellectual and developmental disabilities for his entire 28-year career. He joined CEL because, 'I really felt the mission, the culture, the supports that were provided really resonated with me on a personal level and aligned with my values,' he said. CEL serves over 400 people each year in its 20,000-square-foot building. 'Most of our clients have some degree of intellectual disability, anywhere from mild to profound,' Washington said. 'Also, autism, cerebral palsy, down syndrome.' Board President Bersh said that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are now often integrated into the schools, 'But at age 22, they age out and they have nowhere to go. That's where we really fill a need. You hear the parents speak about what that means to them, and it warms your heart, and you realize what an important role this organization plays for families.' CEL offers a wide range of services and activities. 'We have a day program that focuses on building social connections, orientation to the arts, and to community resources,' Washington said. That's the REACH Adult Day Program. 'We have another program called Catalyst, which focuses on teaching skills of independence and life skills,' Washington said. CEL also has an employment program which works to connect people with their dream jobs and supports them during their employment. It also assists them to learn new skills. 'We set them up for success and then we help find the job,' Bersh said. 'We also have a mental health program that meets the mental health needs of people with disabilities but also provides mental health resources and support to families,' Washington said. In addition, a summer camp is offered for teens and adolescents. Washington reported that the CEL, which began in 1968 and became an independent agency in 1984, is completely independently funded. It receives no funds from the State of Illinois. Individuals and families pay for the services, with fundraising making up 50-60 percent of the revenue. 'About 60 percent of our clients receive some degree of financial assistance to help cover costs,' Washington said. Chefs' Night, which is celebrating its 25th year, is the main fundraising event, Washington reported, raising about $500,000 annually. In addition to raising funds, Washington noted that Chefs' Night 'is also important in that it brings future supporters into the circle and is a good introduction into what CEL is all about.'
