Crain's Chicago Business

Page 1

EQUITY: Apprenticeships and job training can help narrow the wealth gap. PAGE 12

AIRLINES: Southwest’s debut at O’Hare may be just the start. PAGE 6

CHICAGOBUSINESS.COM | FEBRUARY 15, 2021 | $3.50

5 STEPS

TO FASTER

VACCINATIONS

IN ILLINOIS Experts weigh in on how state can catch up BY A.D. QUIG

ILLINOIS IS UNDER PRESSURE to accelerate COVID-19 vaccinations. Although the state is improving, it still lags the nation on key metrics. According to Bloomberg’s vaccine tracker, as of Feb. 12, only 9.8 percent of Illinoisans have received a first dose of vaccine, compared with 10.9 percent nationally; 2.7 percent of Illinoisans are fully vaccinated, compared with 3.6 percent nationally; and Illinois has administered just 65 percent of the vaccines it has received, below the national average of 70 percent. A quicker pace would protect more people from COVID-19 and stop the spread of the virus sooner by reaching herd immunity faster. “This is the time to be vaccinating and vaccinating quickly,” says Dr. Julie Morita, the former commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health who served on President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 transition task force. But speed shouldn’t come at the expense of equity, she says. See VACCINATIONS on Page 22

INSIDE: GETTY IMAGES

How one doctor is profiting from the pandemic. PAGE 3 These manufacturers are bringing the vaccine to the shop floor. PAGE 7

Jenner & Block: Venerable but vulnerable

How taxpayers helped Potbelly— and its bank BY STEVE DANIELS They say money is fungible. Nowhere is that more evident than at Potbelly. In the past six months, the publicly traded sandwich chain tapped the taxpayer-subsidized Paycheck Protection Program and later new and existing stock investors while paying millions back

to JPMorgan Chase, its longtime bank that clearly wants less exposure to this client. The Chicago-based chain on Feb. 10 disclosed a deal to raise $16 million in equity through a private placement. Simultaneously, Chase continued its effort to lessen its risk from the borrower by cutting Potbelly’s line of credit to $25 million. Less

BLOOMBERG

The sandwich maker’s latest equity raise renews questions about its PPP infusion

than a year ago, that credit line was $50 million. The equity raise was positive news for a company in need of some since the pandemic sharply reversed the beginning stages of a turnaround and threw Potbelly into crisis mode, beginning last spring. But it also raised See POTBELLY on Page 23

This Chicago legal heavyweight is losing muscle. Here’s why. BY STEVEN R. STRAHLER

When Craig Martin quit last year as chair of Jenner & Block and then bolted the law firm less than a month later to set up shop for a competitor, it wasn’t Jenner’s first in-house row. A power

struggle two decades ago triggered the lawyered-up departure of a big-shot attorney. But Martin’s (likewise lawyered-up) exit was unlike any other, measured against the piece it carved out of Jenner’s hide. So far, 22 attorneys have fled Jenner to join Martin at Willkie Farr & Gallagher. With them went 10 to 15 percent of Jenner’s billings, or at least $45 million, according to former insiders. See JENNER on Page 9

NEWSPAPER l VOL. 44, NO. 7 l COPYRIGHT 2021 CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC. l ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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JOE CAHILL

BOOTH INSIGHTS

Travelers seem willing to give the 737 Max another shot. PAGE 4

What’s the best way to launch your product? PAGE 8

2/12/21 4:09 PM


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