Many stores are adjusting their hours for Christmas Eve, closing early, while most will be closed on Christmas Day. Banks and mail services will also follow holiday schedules. Select Starbucks and fast-food chains may be open on Christmas.

Target's website and app faced disruptions, causing issues for last-minute holiday shoppers. The retailer acknowledged "intermittent issues" amidst numerous customer complaints about order confirmations and charges.

Barnes & Noble is set to open at the Hyde Park Shopping Center; neighborhood indie booksellers warn the chain could shift customers and are rallying shop-local efforts.

Terraform’s plan administrator sued Chicago-based Jump Trading for $4 billion, alleging secret deals and market manipulation tied to the 2022 Terra‑LUNA collapse. The case will be litigated in federal court in Chicago.

The FDA warned retailers like Target and Walmart for selling recalled ByHeart infant formula linked to a botulism outbreak affecting 51 infants. Despite the recall, these products were found on shelves, leading to FDA action and retailer responses.

Gas prices in Peoria dip below $3 per gallon, reflecting a broader national trend of decreasing fuel costs, with GasBuddy reporting a fall in prices due to increased refinery output and OPEC oil production.

Marcus Lemonis will retire as CEO and chairman at year‑end. Matthew Wagner will take over as CEO on Jan. 1, 2026, while Lemonis stays on as an advisor and shareholder.

A longtime Chicago‑area McDonald’s operator is selling its restaurants and rebranding as BFRX Hospitality to build K9 Resorts pet hotels across the market.

U.S. Steel will restart a blast furnace at Granite City Works, bringing slab-making back and creating roughly 400 jobs as it readies for production in early 2026.

Printpack will close its Elgin plant, cutting 111 jobs as operations wind down over about six months. Layoffs are scheduled to start Jan. 5, 2026 and the company says it will offer transfers and support.

Venmo resolved a service disruption, now fully operational after an outage that prompted widespread complaints on social media. The cause of the issue remains undisclosed.

American Signature Inc., parent of Value City Furniture, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, leading to the closure of 33 stores, including seven in Michigan. The company cites economic challenges for the restructuring.

Costco sues the Trump administration to seek refunds for tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, challenging their legality.