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February 22, 2006
Are You Ready to Vote Tuesday, March 21, 2006?
With less than thirty days until the General Primary Election (Tuesday, March 21, 2006), now is a great time to confirm your voter registration, renew your voter registration, locate your polling place, or vote early.
Residents of DuPage County may visit the DuPage County Election Commission Web site to confirm your voter registration, renew your voter registration, locate your polling place, or vote early.
Residents of Cook County may visit the Cook County Election Department Web site to confirm your voter registration, renew your voter registration, locate your polling place, or vote early.
Posted by hinsdalereference at 3:54 PM
February 17, 2006
Identity Theft—Keeping Your Good Name
Someone is using your Social Security number. Your new checks never arrived by mail. You responded to an e-mail with asking for sensitive information, such as your bank account number and your mother’s maiden name. You have just become a victim of identity theft.
The Federal Trade Commission provides a comprehensive checklist of steps to avoid identity theft and straighten out your identity if it has already been stolen. Topics include credit card, mail and passport fraud, fraudulent bank withdrawals, misuse of Social Security numbers, e-mail “phishing” and much more.
You can safeguard your personal information with easy steps, such as installing a firewall on your computer, shredding preapproved credit card offers before discarding them, keep credit card receipts, and don’t use your birthday, pet’s name or last four numbers of your Social Security number as a password. For further advice on minimizing the sting of identity theft read this recent Newsweek article.
Posted by hinsdalereference at 4:19 PM
February 13, 2006
Dog Days of Winter
Forget the Olympics—this week’s hottest sporting event is the 130th annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York’s Madison Square Garden. Approximately 2,500 canines representing 164 breeds and varieties will vie for the prestigious Best in Show prize. The Westminster Kennel Club Web site offers streaming video of breed judging, an archive of past winners, and tips on finding the right dog for your family.
Can’t make it to the Big Apple? The International Kennel Club of Chicago (IKC) holds its 2006 dog show at McCormick Place on Feb. 24 to 27 and is open to the public. Schedule information, ticket prices and more can be found at the IKC’s Web site.
If you’re wondering whether your pooch has what it takes to win at Westminster or if you’re interested in the world of competitive dog shows, the library has books that can help:
The Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Showing Your Dog by Cheryl S. Smith (636. 70811 SMI)
New Secrets of Successful Dog Show Handling by Peter Green (636.7 GRE)
Dog Eat Dog: A Very Human Book about Dogs and Dog Shows by Jane Stern (636.7081 STE)
Posted by hinsdalereference at 4:25 PM
February 7, 2006
Voter Registration for 2006 Primary Election
The final day for citizens of Illinois to register to vote in the March 21, 2006, general primary election is Tuesday, February 21, 2006.
You may register at the Hinsdale Public Library during our normal operating hours until Tuesday, February 21, 2006.
Please remember to bring two (2) forms of identification. Please visit the DuPage County Election Commission Web site or the Cook County Election Department Web site for further details on eligibility, residency, and other requirements of registration.
You may also verify your voter status online via the DuPage County Election Commission site or the Cook County election Department
A new Illinois law, “Grace Period Voting,” allows citizens who fail to register by March 21, 2006, to register to vote or transfer their registration, and vote at the same time. Voters must appear in person at the DuPage County Election Commission office (421 North County Farm Road, Wheaton, Illinois) or the Cook County Clerk’s main office(69 W. Washington St., Room 500,Chicago, Illinois) between February 22, 2006, and March 7, 2006.
Posted by hinsdalereference at 5:06 PM
February 2, 2006
Federated Rethinks Field’s Fate
In their January 30, 2006 issue Crain’s Chicago Business broke the story (see below) that Federated Department Stores, the new parent of Field’s, is taking to heart Chicago’s Christmas wish. Strong Christmas sales at the State Street store have stirred the interest in salvaging Marshall Field’s name, perhaps as a boutique within the State Street location.
The boutique chic aspect of Marshall Field’s is already taking hold shape. The collectors market is already speculating on the value of an empty Frangos box (Christmas 2005 vintage).ay yet live in an abbreviated form.
Field's name not dead yet
>From the Crain's Chicago Business Newsroom© 2006 Crain Communications Inc.
January 30 06:00:00, 2006
By Sandra Jones-----
Strong holiday sales at the State Street store have given Federated Department Stores Inc. bosses second thoughts about their controversial decision to deep-six the Marshall Field’s name.
“We are looking for ways to continue the Marshall Field’s name and keep the name alive,” says a spokesman for Federated.
In September, Federated seemed to write the epitaph for the 154-year-old Field’s brand, announcing: “All Marshall Field’s stores will convert to the Macy’s nameplate in fall 2006.”
Those plans haven’t changed, but the company hasn’t decided to abandon the name altogether, the spokesman says. He declines to elaborate.
Special treatment
Marshall Field's new parent, Federated Department Stores, already has infrastructure in place to do special advertising and marketing events at its two other flagship stores, in New York and San Francisco.
Macy's Herald Square
Location: New York
Established: 1902
Estimated retail square feet: 1.2 million Average shoppers a day: 35,000; 75,000 during the holidays Estimated annual sales: $600 million Renowned for: Thanksgiving Day parade, "Miracle on 34th Street"
Macy's Union Square
Location: San Francisco
Established: 1866
Estimated retail square feet: 700,000
Average shoppers a day: Not available; up to 40,000 during the holidays Estimated annual sales: $350 million Renowned for: Easter flower show, holiday windows
(soon to be)
Macy's State Street
Location: Chicago
Established: 1868
Estimated retail square feet: 800,000
Average shoppers a day: 25,000 (including holidays) Estimated annual sales: $250 million Renowned for: Walnut Room, holiday windows, Tiffany ceiling, Field's clocks
Possibilities range from Field’s-branded goods to an in-store Field’s shop or keeping the Field’s name attached to the State Street flagship, retail experts say. Any continuing use of the Field’s name seems most likely at State Street. Sales there rose more than 3% during the holidays, outpacing the more than 2% gain at Field’s 61-store chain as a whole, people familiar with the figures say, as sentimental shoppers flocked to take in the State Street store’s last holiday as Marshall Field’s.
The turnout evidently impressed Federated CEO Terry J. Lundgren, who toured the State Street store in December as shoppers snapped up Field’s green clock Christmas ornaments and stood in line for up to five hours to lunch under the Christmas tree in the Walnut Room.
Retail experts say it makes the most sense to keep Field’s name present at the State Street store, where tourism is a big part of business. Federated, which is based in Cincinnati and New York, could sell Field’s merchandise or establish a Field’s boutique within the store on par with the scads of other leased shops that previous owner Target Corp. put in place when it refurbished the flagship in 2003.
Federated’s two other flagship stores—Macy’s Herald Square in New York and Macy’s Union Square in San Francisco—operate virtually as separate businesses with their own marketing, special events, visual merchandising and vendor arrangements. Carving out a Field’s enclave at the State Street store (the third-largest department store in the nation after Macy’s Herald Square) wouldn’t be difficult, nor would it conflict with Federated’s efforts to create a national chain under the Macy’s banner, says Ken Nisch, chairman of JGA Inc., a Michigan-based retail branding and design firm that worked on Field’s State Street makeover under Target. “They already have a template to do it,” says Mr. Nisch. “It’s a way to use a valuable asset.”
OTHERS CONCERNED
Federated already has decided to allow shoppers to continue to use their Field’s charge cards after the stores change to Macy’s, a step it is taking in other markets where it bought regional chains in its $17-billion acquisition of St. Louis-based May Department Stores Co. The Field’s card will be valid until it expires or is lost or stolen, at which time it will be replaced with a Macy’s card, the Federated spokesman says.
Still, several owners of leased shops within Field’s State Street store say they’re worried about the potential of losing sales when the transfer takes place in September, right before the crucial holiday shopping season. Many Chicagoans vowed to boycott the stores under the Macy’s moniker. “It would be exciting if they found a way to keep Field’s name attached to (the State Street store),” says Lindsay Cain, founder of Femmegems, a New York jewelry retailer with an outpost at the store.
Don Barliant, owner of Chicago-based Barbara’s Bookstore, runs shops inside Field’s stores on State Street and in downtown Minneapolis. He was putting together a package of history books on Chicago to send to Federated’s top executives last fall when he heard about the company’s decision to drop the Field’s name. “The rebel part of me wants to singlehandedly save Field’s,” says Mr. Barliant. “You can’t pick a book about Chicago without Marshall Field’s being prominently mentioned. It’s not just a retailer, it’s an institution. Why would you throw that away?”
Posted by hinsdalereference at 9:07 PM