Results tagged “suntimesmediagroup”

We don't know about you, but whenever we head out to the dollar store for some off-brand jerky, a 20 oz. Mountain Dew, and some expired baby aspirin, we often think, "Gee, some tabloid format news would be perfect right now," only to find out they didn't have any. So imagine our delight when it was announced that the Sun-Times is now available at 150 Dollar Tree and Dollar General stores across the Chicago area. The Sun-Times will also be selling its daily paper at 57 Walmart stores -- the discounter had previously only sold the Sunday edition.

The sale of the Sun-Times Media Group, parent to the Chicago Sun-Times and dozens of smaller papers, to a group headed by James Tyree is now complete. The $26.5 million deal is made up by $5 million paid by the group plus the assumption of the STMG's $21.5 million in liabilities. The new partnership will be called Sun-Times Media Holdings LLC. The Sun-Times reports the other members of the group are businessman Kevin Flynn; real estate executives Andrew Agostini, Ed Heil and Ed Ross; insurance executive William Parrillo; his brother, attorney Robert Parrillo; Chicago Blackhawks owner and property and liquor magnate W. Rockwell "Rocky" Wirtz; and Mesirow executives Michael Mackey, Richard Price and Bruce Young. Said Tyree of the sale:

Crain's is reporting that Sun-Times Media Group and the Newspapers Guild have come to an agreement that can facilitate the sale of the Bright One and its holdings to Mesirow Financial CEO James Tyree. [Crain's]

• Police have arrested a teenager in connection with the stabbing death of his mother's boyfriend; the mother and boyfriend had been fighting and the teen allegedly stabbed the man to protect his mother.
• What not to do when protesting a traffic ticket: threaten authorities with a BB gun.
• Thomas J. Thibeault, executive director for the Chicago Newspaper Guild, has reported that there appears to be a second bidder interested in purchasing the Sun-Times Media Group.

• The Wheaton Police Department was evacuated today after a box of explosives was found in a parking lot outside the building.
• The unionized workers of another Sun-Times Media Group paper rejected the demands of businessman James Tyree's bid for the company even as STMG CEO Jeremy Halbreich began visiting newsrooms in an effort to drum up support.
• Former Blagojevich adviser Christopher Kelly, who committed suicide over the weekend, was laid to rest today.

A group of Chicago investors have submitted a $25 million bid to buy the Sun Times Media Group, the company that owns the Sun-Times and a host (58, actually) of smaller sister papers. The group is led by Mesirow Financial’s James C. Tyree and called STMG Holdings LLC. Said Tyree, “I’m a lifelong Chicagoan, and I believe the Sun-Times and all its properties can make a positive impact on the region well into the future.” Who else is involved in this group? That's not known, though speculation puts the group somewhere in the neighborhood of six to 10 people and is rumored to include Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz.

The Sun-Times Media Group has announced that it is shuttering its Pioneer Press printing plant in Northfield. The closing will result in a loss of 70 jobs and there's no word where the small papers printed at that plant will be printed in the future. The closing comes amidst a growing buzz concerning the STMG's finances and a meeting today with union leaders. Yesterday, The Reader's Michale Miner spoke with Jeremy Halbreich, chairman and interim CEO of the Sun-Times Media Group, who Halbreich told Miner that today's meeting was just another of a series of "periodic updates."

• Six more confirmed cases of Swine Flu have the grand total in the state of Illinois up to *drumroll* .... Nine.
• Meanwhile, Governor Quinn echoed the sentiment of common sense in saying that riding public transit did not pose any additional health risks.
• Chicago Public Schools and the teachers' union are squaring off over potential changes to the retirement plan.

After yesterday's filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the Sun-Times Media Group tried to put a positive spin on the proceedings. Jeremy L. Halbreich, the STMG Chairman of the Board and Interim CEO, said he hopes the proceedings are all done by the end of the year and the situation will not interrupt the publication of the group's many newspapers and their corresponding websites.

The Sun-Times Media Group, owners of the Chicago Sun-Times and 58 suburban papers (and their corresponding websites), filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today, "with the aim of reorganizing operations, settling a tax liability and making the company fit for a buyer." According to Crain's, the STMG is the fifth newspaper publisher in the last few months to file for protection from creditors, joining the ranks of the Tribune Company. (Read the STMG press release here)

• The family of Aquan Lewis is asking for a second autopsy to be performed, disputing what they call a "startling" and quick decision by the Cook County Medical Examiner's office that ruled Aquan's death a suicide.
• Police continue to investigate the rape of a woman that occurred early Monday morning in the Bucktown neighborhood - 2300 block of W. Moffat - just south of the Western (Milwaukee) Blue Line stop.
• Today in Executive Resignations: Dawn Catuara, acting executive director of the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, has abruptly resigned. Cyrus Freidheim, president and CEO of Sun-Times Media Group, has also announced his resignation.

Photo by The Lovely Olivia Leigh