Economy

Unemployment held steady in the Quad Cities last month - at 3.7 per cent - the same as in November a year ago. But the rate rose in nearly every other major metropolitan area in Illinois.

Rock Island School District  Superintendent, Dr. Mike Oberhaus, will go to work for the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce. Today, the chamber announced it's hired Oberhaus as its new Vice President of Finance and Administration. He already announced his retirement next summer.

Rock Island is attracting more business, and a handful of new deals should create 200 jobs.

At tonight's city council meeting, aldermen will consider five development agreements worth millions of dollars.

People who worked at the old Case I-H plant in East Moline never had river views like this. This afternoon, city officials, developers, and others will cut a ribbon to celebrate the grand opening of a new Hyatt hotel. It's the anchor for "The Bend of the Mighty Mississippi," the development project that's transforming the riverfront where farm equipment was made for decades.

Modern Woodmen has decided to sell its bank. Thursday the fraternal financial services organization based in Rock Island announced an agreement with Axos Bank, based in San Diego.

Two years ago Friday, Governor Bruce Rauner made a lot of friends in northwest Illinois when he saved hundreds of jobs at the Cordova Nuclear Plant. At Riverdale High School in Port Byron, he signed the Future Energy Jobs Bill, designed to encourage Exelon to keep the plant open.

Downtown Bettendorf will soon be home to hundreds of new residents. Later this month, the first tenants will start moving in to the Bridges Loft Apartments, on State Street, between city hall and I-74.

Unemployment rose slightly in the Quad Cities last month - up one-tenth of one per cent to 3.9 per cent. The Illinois Department of Employment Security says there were similar small increases in most of the state in October, mainly due to more people entering the job market and not due to layoffs.