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Illinois rolls out first phase of plan to modernize professional licensingANN ARBOR, Michigan (AP) — Michigan defensive lineman Kenneth Grant is skipping his final college season to enter the NFL draft. Grant, a key part of the Wolverines' 2023 national championship team, announced his decision Thursday on X, formerly known as Twitter. Fellow Michigan interior lineman Mason Graham had already declared for the draft. Both are projected as likely first-round picks. The 6-foot-3, 339-pound Grant was a third-team Associated Press All-American. He had 32 tackles, 6 1/2 tackles for loss and a pair of fumble recoveries. Grant helped Michigan upset Ohio State in the Big Ten regular-season finale, making four tackles. Cornerback Will Johnson and tight end Colston Loveland have also declared for the draft leading up to Michigan's game against No. 11 Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
Warren Buffett , the iconic investor and chairman of Berkshire Hathaway BRK , is renowned for his timeless advice on wealth-building . What Happened : With a net worth of approximately $142 billion, Buffett's strategies resonate deeply with those seeking financial success. Among his key pieces of advice: start investing early, focus on small companies, and don't panic when stocks fluctuate. During the 1999 annual shareholders' meeting, Buffett shared the approach he would take if he were a recent graduate starting out with $10,000 to invest. Buffett emphasizes the power of compound interest, likening it to rolling a small snowball down a long hill. "The trick is to have a very long hill, which means either starting very young or living, to be very old," he said during the shareholders' meeting. Early investing, he argues, allows your money to grow exponentially over time. For those with limited funds, Buffett recommends focusing on smaller companies, where there's less competition from institutional investors. He noted that investing in good businesses, or "buying pieces of them" through stocks at attractive prices, is the key to multiplying wealth. Buffett said that if he were starting with $10,000 today, he'd begin by researching companies alphabetically, starting with names that begin with "A." Also Read: Warren Buffett’s Career Advice: ‘Don’t Think About Money, Take The Job That You Would Take If You Didn’t Need The Job’ Buffett also stresses the importance of long-term thinking. "Some people should not own stocks at all because they just get too upset with price fluctuations. If you're gonna do dumb things because your stock goes down, you shouldn't own a stock at all," he told CNBC in 2018. Stock prices will inevitably dip at times, but Buffett urges investors to remain patient and focus on the long-term value of their holdings. "Buy something you like, at a price you like, and then hold it for 20 years," he advised. He further warns against obsessing over daily stock price fluctuations. Comparing stock ownership to real estate, he said, "If you bought a farm or an apartment house, you wouldn't get a quote on it every day or every week." Instead, Buffett recommends treating stocks as long-term investments, ignoring short-term market noise. Buffett's principles—start early, think long-term, and invest in solid businesses—remain guiding lights for those looking to build lasting wealth. Read Next Warren Buffett's Success Mantra: ‘The Amount You Are Loved Is The Ultimate Measure Of Success In Life' This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.RFU chief Bill Sweeney’s ‘out of touch’ £1.1m pay packet sparks fury
Trump seeks to have Georgia election case dismissed, citing presidential immunityIssa Odeh, 18, and Antony Saleh, 17, from Palestine win NFTE’s World Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge
NEW YORK (AP) — Brian Thompson led one of the biggest health insurers in the U.S. but was unknown to millions of people his decisions affected. Then Wednesday's targeted fatal shooting of the UnitedHealthcare CEO on a midtown Manhattan sidewalk thrust the executive and his business into the national spotlight. Thompson, who was 50, had worked at the giant UnitedHealth Group Inc for 20 years and run the insurance arm since 2021 after running its Medicare and retirement business. As CEO, Thompson led a firm that provides health coverage to more than 49 million Americans — more than the population of Spain. United is the largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans, the privately run versions of the U.S. government’s Medicare program for people age 65 and older. The company also sells individual insurance and administers health-insurance coverage for thousands of employers and state-and federally funded Medicaid programs. People are also reading... In a flash, OU loses a receiver to the portal and another from its 2025 recruiting class Berry Tramel: Extreme makeover needed for OSU football after thrashing by Colorado Ben Arbuckle is the new OU offensive coordinator. Have Sooners found the next Lincoln Riley? How did Oklahoma flip Cowboys QB commit less than 48 hours before signing day? New abandoned shopping cart retrieval program draws criticism from outgoing city councilor Meet Oklahoma's complete 2025 class. 5-star OT commits to Oklahoma Bill Haisten: Cooper Parker and the Bixby Spartans are at home in a new, $12M facility Stitt fires Cabinet secretary at odds with governor's stance on poultry lawsuit A hairstylist’s assist, ‘divine intervention’ and $2.2 million for Inola High School Why was Mike Gundy critical of OC Kasey Dunn after loss? 'We didn't give ourselves a chance.' Former Southern Hills general manager submits bid to manage Tulsa's municipal golf courses How does Ben Arbuckle hiring affect rest of OU's offensive coaching staff? Machete-wielding man killed by Broken Arrow police Long-awaited El Patron Cocina Mexicana opens on 51st Street What is at the top of Mike Gundy's to-do list this offseason? The business run by Thompson brought in $281 billion in revenue last year, making it the largest subsidiary of the Minnetonka, Minnesota-based UnitedHealth Group. His $10.2 million annual pay package, including salary, bonus and stock options awards, made him one of the company's highest-paid executives. The University of Iowa graduate began his career as a certified public accountant at PwC and had little name recognition beyond the health care industry. Even to investors who own its stock, the parent company's face belonged to CEO Andrew Witty, a knighted British triathlete who has testified before Congress. When Thompson did occasionally draw attention, it was because of his role in shaping the way Americans get health care. At an investor meeting last year, he outlined his company's shift to “value-based care,” paying doctors and other caregivers to keep patients healthy rather than focusing on treating them once sick. “Health care should be easier for people,” Thompson said at the time. “We are cognizant of the challenges. But navigating a future through value-based care unlocks a situation where the ... family doesn’t have to make the decisions on their own.” Thompson also drew attention in 2021 when the insurer, like its competitors, was widely criticized for a plan to start denying payment for what it deemed non-critical visits to hospital emergency rooms. “Patients are not medical experts and should not be expected to self-diagnose during what they believe is a medical emergency,” the chief executive of the American Hospital Association wrote in an open letter addressed to Thompson. “Threatening patients with a financial penalty for making the wrong decision could have a chilling effect on seeking emergency care.” United Healthcare responded by delaying rollout of the change. Thompson, who lived in a Minneapolis suburb and was the married father of two sons in high school, was set to speak at an investor meeting in a midtown New York hotel. He was on his own and about to enter the building when he was shot in the back by a masked assailant who fled on foot before pedaling an e-bike into Central Park a few blocks away, the New York Police Department said. Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said investigators were looking at Thompson's social media accounts and interviewing employees and family members. “Didn’t seem like he had any issues at all,” Kenny said. "He did not have a security detail.” AP reporters Michael R. Sisak and Steve Karnowski contributed to this report. Murphy reported from Indianapolis.Daniel Jones Next Team Odds: Contenders jockeying for QB?Judge in Alex Jones' bankruptcy case orders new hearing on The Onion's bid for Infowars
Bank of Nova Scotia BNS-T chief executive officer Scott Thomson expects uncertainty prompted by political leadership changes in the United States and Mexico – key markets at the heart of his plan to revamp the bank – will pass quickly, giving way to strong economic growth potential in North America. One year into Mr. Thomson’s strategic plan to rejig Scotiabank’s businesses, the lender’s future in part hinges on its ability to reallocate money to its North American businesses, where it believes it has bigger opportunities for growth resulting from increased trade between the countries. While discussing the bank’s fourth-quarter earnings results on Tuesday, the CEO said that the economic and government changes in the lender’s most important markets should not affect the bank’s plan in the years ahead. In November, U.S. president-elect Donald Trump said he would impose 25-per-cent tariffs on all products from Canada and Mexico, which would stunt trade across North America. Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum – who took office in October – is a former climate scientist tasked with managing a widening government budget deficit in a year when the country’s economy is expected to slow slightly. Scotiabank is closely monitoring policy decisions from the new administrations in Mexico and the U.S., Mr. Thomson said. “While new governments often bring initial uncertainty with respect to trade policy and relations, we believe policy will ultimately support a co-operative environment that encourages capital investment and continued regional growth,” Mr. Thomson said during a conference call with analysts. “We continue to believe in the long-term economic growth potential of the North American Corridor and the strategic value that connectivity among Canada, the U.S. and Mexico will provide to our clients and to the long-term success of the bank.” On home turf, with economists predicting further interest rate cuts by the Bank of Canada, Mr. Thomson said more rate reductions in the first half of 2025 should stimulate the housing and mortgage markets, as well as consumer and business confidence. Scotiabank reported higher fourth-quarter profit Tuesday but missed analysts’ estimates because of higher-than-expected expenses and lower profit in its capital markets business. Adjusted to exclude certain items, including impairment charges related to Scotiabank’s investment in China-based Bank of Xi’an Co Ltd. and a higher-than-expected tax rate, the bank said it earned $1.57 per share. That fell below the $1.60 per share analysts expected, according to data from the London Stock Exchange Group. Scotiabank’s stock price slumped 3.4 per cent in Toronto. The lender’s shares have climbed 20 per cent this year, outperforming the 17-per-cent rise of the S&P/TSX Composite Banks Index. Scotiabank is the first major Canadian bank to report earnings for the fiscal fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada and National Bank of Canada will report results on Wednesday . Toronto-Dominion Bank, Bank of Montreal and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce will wrap up earnings week for the Big Six lenders on Thursday. Scotiabank’s profits rose from the same period a year earlier across most of the bank’s business, including a 34-per-cent increase in Canadian banking, where loan balances grew 2 per cent year over year and deposits rose by 7 per cent. A major component of Scotiabank’s new strategy relies on building its deposit base to tap into a cheaper source of funding. In the past year, Scotiabank has added 280,000 retail primary clients, who are customers that have a daily chequing account as well as another payment or investment product. As part of its plan, the bank set a goal to reach two million additional primary clients by 2028. Personal and commercial deposits made up 51 per cent of all bank deposits as of Oct. 31, up from 48 per cent in 2023. By 2028, Scotiabank plans for personal and commercial deposits to make up about 55 per cent of all bank deposits. “Our results reflect a year transition as we focused on our enterprise-wide priorities, aligned our capital allocation to each of our business lines and started our shift to a value over volume strategy,” Mr. Thomson said. “While this progress is meaningful, in order to meet our two-million incremental primary client target by 2028, we need to accelerate our progress in 2025 and beyond.” Scotiabank set aside $1.03-billion in provisions for credit losses – the funds banks set aside to cover loans that may default. That was lower than analysts anticipated, but higher than the amount it set aside in the same quarter last year. But as Canadians continue to grapple with high borrowing costs, Scotiabank set aside more funds for against loans that may not be repaid, based on models that use economic forecasting to predict future losses. The bank earmarked $1.04-billion for impaired loans as risk rises for debt in personal mortgages and home equity lines of credit. Scotiabank released $13-million in reserves for performing loans, which is debt that is still being repaid. The bank’s chief risk officer, Phil Thomas, said he expects provisions for credit losses to “remain slightly elevated” in the first half of 2025, before they ease in the latter half of the year as interest rates fall. Editor’s note: A previous version of this article misspelled the name of Bank of Xi’an Co Ltd, based on an incorrect spelling from the source. This version has been updated.
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Stocks closed higher on Wall Street, giving the market its fifth gain in a row and notching another record high for the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The S&P 500 rose 0.3% Friday. The Dow added 1%, and the Nasdaq composite tacked on 0.2%. Retailers had some of the biggest gains. Gap soared after reporting quarterly results that easily beat analysts’ estimates. EchoStar fell after DirecTV called off its purchase of that company’s Dish Network unit. European markets closed mostly higher and Asian markets ended mixed. Treasury yields held relatively steady in the bond market. Crude oil prices gained ground. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below. Stocks rose on Wall Street in afternoon trading Friday, keeping the market on track for its fifth straight gain. The S&P 500 was up 0.2% and was solidly on track for a weekly gain that will erase most of last week's loss. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 333 points, or 0.8%, and the Nasdaq composite was essentially flat with a gain of less than 0.1% as of 3:07 p.m. Eastern. Markets have been volatile over the last few weeks, losing ground in the runup to elections in November, then surging following Donald Trump's victory, before falling again. The S&P 500 has been steadily rising throughout this week to within close range of its record. “Overall, market behavior has normalized following an intense few weeks,” said Mark Hackett, chief of investment research at Nationwide, in a statement. Several retailers jumped after giving Wall Street encouraging financial updates. Gap soared 10.8% after handily beating analysts' third-quarter earnings and revenue expectations, while raising its own revenue forecast for the year. Discount retailer Ross Stores rose 1.5% after raising its earnings forecast for the year. EchoStar fell 2.4% after DirecTV called off its purchase of that company's Dish Network unit. Smaller company stocks had some of the biggest gains. The Russell 2000 index rose 1.8%. A majority of stocks in the S&P 500 were gaining ground, but those gains were kept in check by slumps for several big technology companies. Nvidia fell 3.3%. Its pricey valuation makes it among the heaviest influences on whether the broader market gains or loses ground. The company has grown into a nearly $3.6 trillion behemoth because of demand for its chips used in artificial-intelligence technology. Intuit, which makes TurboTax and other accounting software, fell 5.6%. It gave investors a quarterly earnings forecast that fell short of analysts’ expectations. Facebook owner Meta Platforms fell 0.8% following a decision by the Supreme Court to allow a multibillion-dollar class action investors’ lawsuit to proceed against the company. It stems from the privacy scandal involving the Cambridge Analytica political consulting firm. European markets closed mostly higher and Asian markets ended mixed. Crude oil prices rose. Treasury yields held relatively steady in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.41% from 4.42% late Thursday. In the crypto market, Bitcoin hovered around $99,000, according to CoinDesk. It has more than doubled this year and first surpassed the $99,000 level on Thursday. Retailers remained a big focus for investors this week amid close scrutiny on consumer spending habits headed into the holiday shopping season. Walmart, the nation's largest retailer, reported a quarter of strong sales and gave investors an encouraging financial forecast. Target, though, reported weaker earnings than analysts' expected and its forecast disappointed Wall Street. Consumer spending has fueled economic growth, despite a persistent squeeze from inflation and high borrowing costs. Inflation has been easing and the Federal Reserve has started trimming its benchmark interest rates. That is likely to help relieve pressure on consumers, but any major shift in spending could prompt the Fed to reassess its path ahead on interest rates. Also, any big reversals on the rate of inflation could curtail spending. Consumer sentiment remains strong, according to the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index. It revised its latest figure for November to 71.8 from an initial reading of 73 earlier this month, though economists expected a slight increase. It's still up from 70.5 in October. The survey also showed that consumers' inflation expectations for the year ahead fell slightly to 2.6%, which is the lowest reading since December of 2020. Wall Street will get another update on how consumers feel when the business group The Conference Board releases its monthly consumer confidence survey on Tuesday. A key inflation update will come on Wednesday when the U.S. releases its October personal consumption expenditures index. The PCE is the Fed's preferred measure of inflation and this will be the last PCE reading prior to the central bank's meeting in December.AP Trending SummaryBrief at 6:13 p.m. ESTMayor Mike Johnston's pointed comments last week about Denverites resisting a federal mass-deportation effort have generated blowback in Colorado and across the country. He has walked back from some but stuck by his vow of resistance. Subscribe to continue reading this article. Already subscribed? To login in, click here.
UnitedHealthcare CEO kept a low public profile. Then he was shot to death in New YorkLos Angeles Chargers running back Gus Edwards was ruled out for Saturday's road game against the New England Patriots with an ankle injury. Fellow Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins is close to returning from a four-game absence because of a knee injury, as he was listed questionable to play. Offensive lineman Trey Pipkins III (hip) and linebacker Denzel Perryman (groin) also have been ruled out for Saturday. Edwards, 29, has gained 365 yards rushing this season with four touchdowns, including two in Los Angeles' 34-27 victory over the Denver Broncos on Dec. 19. Dobbins, 26, gained 766 yards with eight TDs in 11 games (nine starts) during his first season with the Chargers. Dobbins joined the Chargers in the offseason while coming off an Achilles tear with the Ravens last season. The Chargers also have running backs Kimani Vidal and Hassan Haskins on the depth chart. Vidal, a rookie, has 131 yards in eight games this season, while Haskins has just 26 yards on 14 carries with a touchdown. The Chargers (9-6) can clinch a playoff berth with a win or tie against the Patriots. --Field Level Media
Thanksgiving break is over, and that means the high school basketball season is ramping up across the state of Wisconsin and especially Kenosha County. There have only been a few games on the girls side, but there are plenty of reasons to check out some Kenosha County battles this season, whether it's rivalries between Wilmot and Westosha Central or Tremper and Bradford. Here are five high school girls basketball players to watch this season in Kenosha County. Lilly Lackenbach is the straw that stirs the Eagles' drink She's the do-everything baller from Christian Life, and the 2024 first team all-county performer is back for her junior season. Lackenbach, who was the only player in the county last year to average 20-plus points, make 100 free throws, score a 40-point game and register a triple-double, flirted with player of the year honors as a junior. As a sophomore, Lackenbach led the county with 23.7 points per game. This season, she opened with 37 points in her first game, including a halftime buzzer-beater, and followed it up with 32 points in her next contest. "Lilly was not just an offensive threat, but impacted the game on both sides of the ball," Christian Life head coach Nathaniel Cessna said about Lackenbach last year. "Teams have to game-plan specifically for her, and yet she still was able to have success at a high statistical level." After a lopsided loss Tuesday, the Eagles dropped to 2-2, but Lackenbach is averaging 29.7 points per game. Emily Giese is a double-double machine The power in the paint for the Tremper Trojans is a walking double-double, and her senior season figures to be even more impressive than her standout junior year. Giese averaged a double-double last year, including 12.4 rebounds per game to lead the county. She also surpassed the 1,000-point milestone for her career. Giese is expected to reach 1,000 career rebounds this season. “Emily is a three-year starter and captain of our team,” Collins said after last season. “She is constantly double- and triple-teamed on a nightly basis. She’s a force inside and has been developing her mid-range game and shot. She can rebound the ball and lead the fast break. She’s a good and unselfish passer who loves to get her teammates involved. I’m looking forward to a big senior year from her.” The Trojans are 1-2 to start the season in nonconference action, and Giese is right on cue with 20 points in each of her first two games. Kamryn Lecce leads talented Lancers The 5-foot-10 multi-faceted leader for the St. Joseph girls was a first team all-conference and second team all-county selection last year. She helped lead the Lancers to their best record in seven years at 15-10. Lecce scored 11.7 points per game, shooting 54% from the field, good for third in conference. Also, Lecce grabbed 9.2 rebounds per game, snatched 2.4 steals and blocked 1.2 shots. St. Joseph head coach Jason Coker is excited about the team's prospects, with plenty of experience and Lecce and fellow junior and Division 1 college basketball recruit Frankie McLain leading the way. "This is the most complete team we have had since losing at sectionals two years ago," Coker said. "We have speed, toughness, the ability to score from anywhere, and we can get out and run, so it's up to them to execute." Coker's praise of Lecce is extremely high, and he can't wait to see how last year's team MVP develops this season. "The most consistent player I have coached in 25 seasons," Coker said. "She can literally contribute from everywhere, assists, steals, rebounds and can defend anyone. She has continued to improve her perimeter shot which makes her very hard to defend considering her IQ is through the roof, she will take what you give her and make you pay for it." Last week, the Lancers crushed St. Augustine Prep, 92-28, in the season opener, and Lecce scored 23 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished five assists. Iyanna Green runs the Red Devil show The senior point guard for the Bradford girls basketball team is ready to improve on a breakout junior season where she did it all. Iyanna Green is considered a top key returning letter-winner by head coach Nicole Ferrille, coming off a junior season where she led the county in steals (3.7 per game) and added 14.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and three assists per contest. She also shot 40 percent from three-point land. Green's efforts put her on the all-Southeast Conference first team and all-county second team. Get local news delivered to your inbox!CHICAGO — The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation launched a new online licensing system this fall, the first phase in a plan to modernize the management and licensing process for service providers across the state. The system improvements are part of efforts to make doing business easier and more efficient for Illinois service providers, the department said. The Comprehensive Online Regulatory Environment, or CORE, opened on Oct. 30, nearly a year after the Illinois General Assembly passed House Bill 2394, a measure authorizing the IDFPR to upgrade its antiquated system that had led to long waiting periods for licensing and renewals. The new system will “eliminate the need for paper applications, give applicants more control over their application materials, and help prevent deficient applications from being submitted,” according to a statement from IDFPR. Treto The agency calls CORE the first part of a multiphase approach by IDFPR to, over the next two years, ensure applications for more than 300 license types and records for more than 1.2 million professionals are properly transitioned. The first professions to be licensed under the new system are clinical psychologists, music therapists and nail technicians. “Everyone wanting to earn a living in Illinois in the 21st century should have tools of the times available so they can be licensed and get to work as soon as possible,” IDFPR Secretary Mario Treto Jr., said in the statement. Music therapists On May 27, 2022, Gov. JB Pritzker signed Senate Bill 2243, which created a music therapy license for Illinois practitioners within the IDFPR. Music therapy is a form of treatment that incorporates “clinical & evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship” according to the American Music Therapy Association website. “We have been waiting for 2 1/2 years since our bill was passed for this new system to come,” said Mia Iliopoulos Krings, president of the Illinois Association for Music Therapy, in an interview. Instead of immediately allowing music therapists to apply for a license two years ago, Krings said that the department “didn't want to put us in the old system for us to just have to go into the new system.” Since the system’s launch, Krings praised how easy and efficient it was to complete the application process. “They have been working incredibly fast and efficiently in getting everything back to us. For example, I applied on Friday night on Nov. 1. I heard back by 8:30 a.m. Monday morning,” Krings said. She said her fellow music therapists posted their issued licenses on Facebook and shared similar experiences of a rapid response. Krings’ experience now is vastly different from what many Illinois professionals experienced in the past. Panache Perkins, director and an instructor of Your School of Beauty in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood, said that before the digitization, the IDFPR was “still in 1997,” with “old school” public servants stacking “pieces of paper applications into a 75-year-old filing system.” “They (IDFPR) lose paperwork all the time, because they don’t have the right system,” she said. With new integrated software and technology services provided by Tyler Technologies, however, the department’s CORE system will “notify prospective licensees directly within the system when applications are received, reviewed, and licenses are issued by the department—eliminating the need for paper mail and email responses,” according to IDFPR’s statement. Financial barriers for business The IDFPR’s mission is “to protect the residents of Illinois” through licensing and regulating industries and professions that offer services to the public. But some say these licenses can serve as a financial barrier to doing business. The initial music therapy license is $400 and renewal costs $300. In preparation for hardships, the Illinois Association for Music Therapists held a benefit concert to raise funds to help pay for the licenses for members in need. Two years ago, state lawmakers created the Comprehensive Licensing Information to Minimize Barriers Task Force, or CLIMB, to “investigate how occupational licensing of low-to-moderate-income occupations relates to economic inequities in Illinois and to recommend reforms,” according to a statement from the task force. Last month, CLIMB released a study of their two-year findings, and recommended easing licensing burdens for specific professions. The study recommended that hair braiders, for example, should be exempt from having a license. CLIMB’s research found that “requiring a license to braid hair does not enhance public safety but does disproportionately impact individuals from minority communities,” according to the statement. Perkins said she disagrees with that recommendation. “People’s addiction to social media has changed the (standard) that licensing set. Now everyone thinks they can do it,” she said. She also said braiders may not know proper hair care, how to properly clean their tools or prevent traction alopecia – a type of hair loss caused by tension from tight hair styles. There are 33 states that do not require a license for hair braiders; an increase of 21 from 2016. This includes Indiana, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, according to the CLIMB. Perkins said she has been working in the beauty industry since she was 16 years old, noting, “my grandmother inspired me to go into cosmetology.” Perkins’s grandmother, Mildred Dixon, opened Your School of Beauty 66 years ago to train men and women to begin their careers in the beauty industry. Perkins said the beauty industry is among the most essential occupations and that it should be regulated accordingly. “Cosmetologists work closely with products that dermatologists prescribe and recommend. We were also essential during the pandemic,” Perkins said. However, she also acknowledged the state’s antiquated licensing system impacts how cosmetologists are regarded and can run their businesses. She said she doesn’t think licensing is a barrier. “If you can do enough ‘heads’ to pay taxes on your work, then you can pay the money to get your license,” she said, adding that this evokes a larger issue about how people see their futures. “If you’re not trying to get your license,” she said, “you’re also not thinking about your (long-term) future.” Gov. J.B. Pritzker on July 31 signs legislation that will make it illegal for companies hold mandatory meetings in which workers would be subjected to the employer’s views on religious or political matters, including unionization. Nicole Jeanine Johnson is a graduate student in journalism with Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, and a Fellow in its Medill Illinois News Bureau working in partnership with Capitol News Illinois. Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. 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One night last month, near the end of the Chicago International Film Festival, a particularly long line of moviegoers snaked down Southport Avenue by the Music Box Theatre. The hot ticket? This fall’s hottest ticket, in fact, all over the international festival circuit? Well, it’s a 215-minute drama about a fictional Hungarian Jewish architect who emigrates to America in 1947 after surviving the Holocaust. The film’s title, “The Brutalist,” references several things, firstly a post-World War II design imperative made of stern concrete, steel, and a collision of poetry and functionality. Director and co-writer Brady Corbet, who wrote “The Brutalist” with his filmmaker wife, Mona Fastvold, explores brutalism in other forms as well, including love, envy, capitalist economics and how the promise of America eludes someone like the visionary architect László Tóth, played by Adrien Brody. Corbet, now 36 and a good bet for Oscar nominations this coming January, says his unfashionable sprawl of a picture, being distributed by A24, is also about the “strange relationship between artist and patron, and art and commerce.” It co-stars Felicity Jones as the visionary architect’s wife, Erzsébet, trapped in Eastern Europe after the war with their niece for an agonizingly long time. Guy Pearce portrays the imperious Philadelphia blueblood who hires Tóth, a near-invisible figure in his adopted country, to design a monumental public building known as the Institute in rural Pennsylvania. The project becomes an obsession, then a breaking point and then something else. Corbet’s project, which took the better part of a decade to come together after falling apart more than once, felt like that, too. Spanning five decades and filmed in Hungary and Italy, “The Brutalist” looks like a well-spent $50 million project. In actuality, it was made for a mere $10 million, with Corbet and cinematographer Lol Crawley shooting on film, largely in the VistaVision process. The filmmaker said at the Chicago festival screening: “Who woulda thunk that for screening after screening over the last couple of months, people stood in line around the block to get into a three-and-a-half-hour movie about a mid-century designer?” He lives in Brooklyn, New York, with Fastvold and their daughter. Our conversation has been edited for clarity and length. Q: Putting together an independent movie, keeping it on track, getting it made: not easy, as you told the Music Box audience last night. Money is inevitably going to be part of the story of “The Brutalist,” since you had only so much to make a far-flung historical epic. A: Yeah, that’s right. In relation to my earlier features, “The Childhood of a Leader” had a $3 million budget. The budget for “Vox Lux” was right around $10 million, same as “The Brutalist,” although the actual production budget for “Vox Lux” was about $4.5 million. Which is to say: All the money on top of that was going to all the wrong places. For a lot of reasons, when my wife and I finished the screenplay for “The Brutalist,” we ruled out scouting locations in Philadelphia or anywhere in the northeastern United States. We needed to (film) somewhere with a lot less red tape. My wife’s previous film, “The World to Come,” she made in Romania; we shot “Childhood of a Leader” in Hungary. For “The Brutalist” we initially landed on Poland, but this was early on in COVID and Poland shut its borders the week our crew was arriving for pre-production. When we finally got things up and running again with a different iteration of the cast (the original ensemble was to star Joel Edgerton, Marion Cotillard and Mark Rylance), after nine months, the movie fell apart again because Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. We couldn’t get any of the banks to cash-flow the tax credit (for location shooting in Poland). It’s completely stable now, but at that time the banks were nervous about whether the war would be contained to Ukraine or not. And then we finally got it up and running in Budapest, Hungary. Q: That’s a long time. A: Every filmmaker I know suffers from some form of post-traumatic stress (laughs). It sounds funny but it’s true. At every level. On the level of independent cinema, you’re just so damn poor. You’re not making any money, and yet from nose to tail, at minimum, a movie always takes a couple of years. With bigger projects, you might have a little more personal security but a lot less creative security with so many more cooks in the kitchen. Either route you choose, it can be an arduous and painful one. Whether you’re making a movie for a million dollars, or $10 million, or $100 million, it’s still “millions of dollars.” And if you’re concerned about the lives and livelihoods of the people working with you, it’s especially stressful. People are constantly calling you: “Is it happening? Are we starting? Should I take this other job or not?” And you have 250 people who need that answer from you. Every iteration of the project, I always thought we were really about to start in a week, two weeks. It’s just very challenging interpersonally. It’s an imposition for everyone in your life. And then there’s the imposition of screening a movie that’s three-and-a-half-hours long for film festivals, where it’s difficult to find that kind of real estate on the schedule. So essentially, making a movie means constantly apologizing. Q: At what point in your acting career did you take a strong interest in what was going on behind the camera? A: I was making short films when I was 11, 12 years old. The first thing I ever made more properly, I guess, was a short film I made when I was 18, “Protect You + Me,” shot by (cinematographer) Darius Khondji. It was supposed to be part of a triptych of films, and I went to Paris for the two films that followed it. And then all the financing fell through. But that first one screened at the London film festival, and won a prize at Sundance, and I was making music videos and other stuff by then. Q: You’ve written a lot of screenplays with your wife. How many? A: Probably 25. We work a lot for other people, too. I think we’ve done six together for our own projects. Sometimes I’ll start something at night and my wife will finish in the morning. Sometimes we work very closely together, talking and typing together. It’s always different. Right now I’m writing a lot on the road, and my wife is editing her film, which is a musical we wrote, “Ann Lee,” about the founder of the Shakers. I’m working on my next movie now, which spans a lot of time, like “The Brutalist,” with a lot of locations. And I need to make sure we can do it for not a lot of money, because it’s just not possible to have a lot of money and total autonomy. For me making a movie is like cooking. If everyone starts coming in and throwing a dash of this or that in the pot, it won’t work out. A continuity of vision is what I look for when I read a novel. Same with watching a film. A lot of stuff out there today, appropriately referred to as “content,” has more in common with a pair of Nikes than it does with narrative cinema. Q: Yeah, I can’t imagine a lot of Hollywood executives who’d sign off on “The Brutalist.” A: Well, even with our terrific producing team, I mean, everyone was up for a three-hour movie but we were sort of pushing it with three-and-a-half (laughs). I figured, worst-case scenario, it opens on a streamer. Not what I had in mind, but people watch stuff that’s eight, 12 hours long all the time. They get a cold, they watch four seasons of “Succession.” (A24 is releasing the film in theaters, gradually.) It was important for all of us to try to capture an entire century’s worth of thinking about design with “The Brutalist.” For me, making something means expressing a feeling I have about our history. I’ve described my films as poetic films about politics, that go to places politics alone cannot reach. It’s one thing to say something like “history repeats itself.” It’s another thing to make people see that, and feel it. I really want viewers to engage with the past, and the trauma of that history can be uncomfortable, or dusty, or dry. But if you can make it something vital, and tangible, the way great professors can do for their students, that’s my definition of success. “The Brutalist” opens in New York and Los Angeles on Dec. 20. The Chicago release is Jan. 10, 2025. Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic.