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Working Lunch

Friday, August 8, 2025

It's lunchtime, Chicago.

After more than three decades of floating on the Des Plaines River, Hollywood Casino Joliet — one of the state's first riverboat casinos — is ready to welcome gamblers on dry land. Pending final Gaming Board approval, the new $185 million Hollywood Casino Joliet is planning to open its doors Monday. The massive 189,000-square-foot casino complex features 1,000 slots, 43 table games, a new retail sportsbook, a 10,000-square-foot event center and celebrity chef restaurants, ushering in a new era of gaming in the southwest suburbs.

And in health news, Weiss Memorial Hospital appeared to close Friday morning, just a day before it was scheduled to lose Medicare funding. The emergency room and other facilities closed as of 7 a.m., registered nurse Daniel Maser said. The hospital was quiet Friday morning, and one person was seen walking out of the facility with a cardboard box.

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

Top business stories | Real estate | Transportation

Hollywood Joliet unveils new $185 million casino ahead of Monday opening

The facility features new gaming tables, a dedicated baccarat room, new and vintage slot machines and a variety of dining options.

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Weiss hospital, set to lose Medicare funding this weekend, appears closed. Supporters to rally today.

Doctors, nurses, and community supporters plan to hold a 1 p.m. rally outside Weiss' shuttered emergency room to call for keeping it open two more months until an operational plan can be implemented.

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As last baby boomers reach retirement, they tackle a quest for fulfillment

Jon Gottlieb rode 115,000 miles on bicycles over 50 years. He’s ready to give it up – but can he?

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County prosecutors’ union bid should get tossed out, judge finds

A decades-old Illinois Supreme Court decision bars Cook County prosecutors from unionizing, an administrative law judge for the state’s labor board found Wednesday.

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Microsoft is refreshing hybrid work. Code for tighter return to office?

A new policy, that could go into effect in January, would tighten up in-person requirements for Redmond-based employees requiring them to work from the office three days a week.

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