Robert Channick

Robert Channick is a business reporter for the Tribune. A former broadcast consultant and radio station manager, he began freelancing for the Chicago Tribune in 2002, joining the Tribune staff as a business reporter in 2011. He has a bachelor's degree in English from Kenyon College and a master's in journalism from Northwestern University.

Architectural elements on the building at Metropolitan Capital Bank, 9 E. Ontario St., as seen in 2015. (Phil Velasquez/Chicago Tribune)

Chicago’s Metropolitan Capital Bank becomes first US bank failure of 2026

February 2, 2026 at 7:56 p.m.

Metropolitan Capital Bank & Trust was closed by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, citing “unsafe and unsound conditions and an impaired capital position."

Editor-in-Chief Sarah Conway in the Chicago Reader office in the Douglas neighborhood, Jan. 26, 2026. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

Chicago Reader, the city’s struggling alt-weekly, is going monthly under new owners

January 30, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Noisy Creek, a startup publisher on a mission to restore alternative weeklies, took over operations at the Reader last fall, with plans to install a profit/nonprofit formula.

Edeline Ortiz sorts through peppermints at Primrose Candy on Jan. 13, 2010, in Chicago. (Yvette Marie Dostatni/for the Chicago Tribune)

Primrose Candy, a century-old Chicago confectionery, files for bankruptcy protection

January 29, 2026 at 10:56 a.m.

A century-old, family-owned Chicago candy manufacturer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Tuesday, seeking to keep its Northwest Side factory churning out assorted fruit-flavored starlights, lemonade drops and buttery toffee.

Grubhub's Super Bowl ad pans along a dining table filled with trays of food as an announcer delivers the mangled idiom, “This February, one food delivery app will finally put their mouth where their money is.” (Grubhub)

Grubhub will air its first Super Bowl ad, directed by Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos

January 27, 2026 at 12:59 p.m.

Grubhub released a 15-second teaser of its ad, which also represents the Super Bowl debut for absurdist Greek film director Yorgos Lanthimos.

Dino Zavoli reads the Daily Herald at Encore Village on April 8, 2025, in Schaumburg. (Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune)

Daily Herald, longtime suburban Chicago newspaper, notifies state of potential sale

January 20, 2026 at 7:31 p.m.

The publisher of the Daily Herald filed notice with the state earlier this month that it is considering a sale of the northwest suburban newspaper.

The power lines that run northeast of 75th Street in Hodgkins are part of the ComEd power distribution system that connects the nuclear plants in Will County to the city. (Dominic Di Palermo/Chicago Tribune)

ComEd submits new $15.3B, four-year grid plan to the state to meet increased electric demand

January 20, 2026 at 2:50 p.m.

Girding for everything from the proliferation of data centers and EVs to catastrophic weather events, ComEd has unveiled its next four-year grid plan, the utility’s blueprint for the future of...

An Italian beef and sausage combo by Mr. Beef is prepared Sept. 4, 2025, as the Chicago Bears showcase food offerings at Soldier Field. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Chicago Bears’ playoff run means big postseason business for Soldier Field food service

January 16, 2026 at 2:58 p.m.

Chicago-based Levy is firing up its team of more than 1,200 mostly seasonal food service workers again this week to sate 60,000 boisterous Bears fans Sunday at Soldier Field.

Construction continues on the Bally's Chicago casino at the former Freedom Center printing facility site along the Chicago River, Jan. 7, 2026. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Bally’s Chicago pushes back opening to 2027, seeks 12-month extension on temporary casino

January 15, 2026 at 4:52 p.m.

State Rep. Kam Buckner introduced a bill Thursday to add up to another 12 months to the temporary license. That would give Bally’s Chicago until September 2027 to open its...

Leila Rahimi talks about the Bears and other Chicago teams on WSCR-AM 670 The Score, Jan. 4, 2023. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

Chicago AM sports station The Score to add FM simulcast in February

January 14, 2026 at 4:33 p.m.

The Score, the longtime Chicago sports radio leader which launched as a daytime-only AM station more than three decades ago, is adding an FM simulcast.

McDonald's McRib sandwich. (Paul J. Richards/Getty-AFP)

McDonald’s faces class-action fraud lawsuit over claimed lack of ‘actual rib meat’ in McRib

January 13, 2026 at 12:51 p.m.

The lawsuit, filed last month in Chicago federal court, alleges false and deceptive marketing of the McRib.

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