Working Lunch newsletter
The latest business news headlines, delivered to your inbox midday weekdays.
 ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌

Working Lunch

Thursday, July 17, 2025

It's lunchtime, Chicago.

Travelers giddy about being able to keep their shoes on while walking through TSA checkpoints at the airport again may have something else to look forward to: changes to how much liquid they can carry.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Wednesday during a conference hosted by “The Hill” that she is questioning “everything TSA does” and spoke of possible changes to the amount of liquids travelers can tote in their carry-on baggage.

On the housing front, opponents of an ordinance that would legalize “granny flats” and coach houses blocked a vote Wednesday, stalling the legislation backed by Mayor Brandon Johnson.

Read that story and more in today's Working Lunch.

Top business stories | Real estate | Transportation

First the shoes went back on. Now, at US airport security, more liquid in carry-ons may be at hand

“That may be the next big announcement is what size your liquids need to be,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said.

Read more →

Chicago ‘granny flat,’ coach house legalization stalled in City Council by opponents

Supporters had frantically pushed to tweak the ordinance Wednesday afternoon and believed they had struck a deal to win over critics, but it was not enough.

Read more →

Chicago Sky players voice solidarity as WNBA and union brace for a potential work stoppage in November

The WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement is set to expire Oct. 31. If the league and players don’t reach a new deal by then, a work stoppage could begin.

Read more →

ComEd’s $10M relief fund running out after 60,000 customers apply in first week

ComEd had opened the window last week for the grant, which was created to defray rising electric supply charges during air conditioning season.

Read more →

1.4M of the nation’s poorest renters risk losing their homes with President Donald Trump’s proposed HUD time limit

Proposed changes include a two-year limit on the federal government’s signature rental assistance programs.

Read more →

Trump says he’s ‘highly unlikely’ to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell after floating that idea in private

The turnaround came less than 24 hours after he suggested he was leaning in favor of dismissing the head of the nation’s central bank.

Read more →