Franchise Opportunities in Chicago, IL

St. Louis-based logistics company United Van Lines released its 46th annual National Movers Study on Monday, which showed that Illinois was the second most moved-from U.S. state in 2022. Illinois came behind only New Jersey.

The study is based on ratings of inbound and outbound state moves with United Van Lines.

According to the study, Illinois had a total outbound rate of 63.8% compared to an inbound rate of 36.2%. Springfield, the Champaign-Urbana-Rantoul area, Joliet and Chicago were in the top 25 metropolitan cities for outbound statistical areas.

Springfield saw outbound moves at 73%, Champaign-Urbana-Rantoul saw a rate of 69%, Joliet was at 68% and Chicago at 67% for people moving out compared to moving in.

U.S. Census data showed that Illinois' population dropped 1.8% since mid-2020. According to the study, retirement has been "a main driver" for those leaving Illinois; 30% of those who moved were age 65 or older.

"When I look at the other states, like where are people in Illinois going, No. 1 on the list is Florida. So I do think there's a lot of retiring folks moving to Florida, and I think you can draw a tax correlation there for sure because Florida has some tax advantages for retirees," said Eily Cummings, vice president of corporate communications at United Van Lines.

The study showed that most of the moves, including half of all moves in Midwestern states, were due to lifestyle changes caused by the pandemic, according to Bloomberg. "Post-COVID, that whole work-from-anywhere mentality, that's where you see a lot more people moving, because they want to be closer to family or (because of) lifestyle," said Cummings.

"When I look at people moving into Illinois—and 2018, so pre-COVID—60% of people are moving in for jobs. When I look at the 2022 numbers, that number is 33%," said Cummings.

When Caterpillar moved its headquarters from Peoria in 2018, the area saw a decrease in population, something that Cummings said is typical for when a corporate headquarters moves. The company recently moved its HQ from Illinois altogether, along with Boeing and Citadel.

A representative with Gov. J.B. Pritzker's office, in response to the population drop, recently told Crain's that it's important to consider greater context with such reports.

"Illinois remains one of the most populous states in the nation and long-term trends remain encouraging. In 2022, Illinois’ international migration nearly tripled from 2021, and the state also experienced growth due to natural changes."

In a since-updated report, the U.S. Census had significantly undercounted Illinois population and stated it lost 18,000 people, when the state actually gained 250,000 people.

The United Van Lines survey also found that Americans are now moving from bigger and more expensive cities to smaller, more affordable ones, with an atypical increase of migration to the Northeast, Bloomberg reported. Vermont, Oregon and Rhode Island topped the list as the most popular go-to states in 2022.

Bloomberg contributed.

STORRS, Conn -- The Big East game between No. 5 UConn and DePaul on Sunday at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut, has been postponed because the Huskies don't have enough healthy players available to suit up, the conference said Friday.

The conference requires schools to suit up seven scholarship players for any game, and injuries have left the Huskies with just six active players, the school said.

UConn also was expected to be without head coach Geno Auriemma, who announced Thursday that he is taking some time off to recover from an illness.

Junior Aaliyah Edwards and freshman Ayanna Patterson were injured in UConn's win at Xavier on Thursday. They join sophomore Caroline Ducharme, sophomore Azzi Fudd, junior Paige Bueckers and freshman Ice Brady on the inactive list.

Edwards suffered what was described alternately as a right foot or ankle injury in the first half of the Huskies' 73-37 victory, diving over some courtside seats for a loose ball. It was not immediately clear when or how Patterson was hurt.

The school said it would not release any further details Friday night.

"At UConn, the health and wellbeing of our student-athletes will always be our top priority," David Benedict, the school's athletic director, said in a statement. "Our women's basketball program has unfortunately been affected by an unprecedented number of injuries this season. While it's unfortunate that we need to postpone Sunday's game, it's the right call to protect the safety of our student-athletes. We will work with the Big East and DePaul on options to reschedule the game."

Bueckers and Brady are out for the season with knee injuries.

Fudd, the Huskies' leading scorer, is expected to return shortly from a knee injury that has kept her on the bench since she was injured in a collision with Edwards during a Dec. 4 loss to Notre Dame. She has participated in warmups during the last three games as part of her rehab.

Ducharme has missed two games while in concussion protocol after suffering an injury in practice.

The Huskies currently available to play include guards Nika Muhl, Lou Lopez Senechal and Ines Bettencourt, and forwards Aubrey Griffin, Dorka Juhasz and Amari DeBerry.

Auriemma has missed four games this season due to illness, and it is not clear when he might return.

"It's been an extremely difficult month for me, and I've been feeling under the weather and run down," Auriemma said in a statement Thursday. "I thought I was ready to return, but I need a little more time. I'm going to take a step back to focus on my health and will return when I feel ready."

Despite the injuries, the Huskies have won six straight.

The school says those with tickets to Sunday's game will be able to use them when the game is rescheduled.

UConn is next scheduled to play at St. John's on Wednesday, while DePaul is scheduled to host Villanova that evening.

he Bears made their first big decision for 2023 this week when they announced a contract extension for Equanimeous St. Brown. It will be a one-year deal for St. Brown, and according to Ian Rapoport he’ll earn $1.25 million.

“I just talked to my agent probably like two weeks ago and we talked about things and we thought it would be the best decision for me to stay here,” St. Brown said. “I think we’re building on something here and I feel like the coaching staff and the organization likes me. I like it here, I’m happy here, so I want to stay here.”

St. Brown was one of the first new players Ryan Poles brought onboard when free agency opened last March. Part of the allure was his familiarity with Luke Getsy’s offense from their time together in Green Bay. The organization also wanted to see what St. Brown could do with more opportunities on offense, instead of playing behind players like Davante Adams, Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb. That opportunity for St. Brown led to 20 catches for 320 yards and one touchdown, plus six rushes for 54 yards in 15 games played so far. On the surface it’s not the type of production that turns heads and has GMs rushing to re-sign a guy. But it was a career high for St. Brown in terms of yards per scrimmage, and his 16 yards per reception currently ranks sixth best in the league.

How a player performs on Sunday is the bottom line in any evaluation, but the Bears really want St. Brown back because of the man he is every day.

“We always talk about, does he love football and exhibit that every single day in every play?” said Matt Eberflus. “EQ does that. He shows up to work every day and he works. When you work on the practice field like him, those are the kinds of guys we wanna keep around.”

Coaches praise his football IQ and his reliability on the field, too.

“He’s where he’s supposed to be when he’s supposed to be there,” said wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert. “You look at the tape, a lot of the times he’s running routes he’s open. They may not get him the ball, but he’s still open and he’s doing it how we want it done.”

His knowledge of the offense allows Tolbert to lean on St. Brown as a second coach of sorts when needed.

“He knows all the positions,” Tolbert said. “He’s beneficial for the team because he helps other guys. I may be talking to somebody about something over here, EQ’s over there talking to somebody about something.

“We’re very fortunate to have him back and I’m glad he’s gonna be with the Bears.”

Eberflus also looks at the Bears’ gaudy rushing numbers and points to St. Brown’s contributions in that phase of the game. All year the team has harped on the importance of wide receivers blocking downfield, and Eberflus praised his ability to execute on crackbacks, inside blocks and second effort blocks farther down the field.

Fans may roll their eyes when they see St. Brown will return for another season, but the Bears aren’t paying him to be a top contributor. His one-year, $1.25 million deal leaves room for the team to bring in bigger names. If St. Brown can build upon his career highs this year, continue to help bring along new WRs in the offense and continue to make contributions in the run game as a WR4 or WR5, it’s a contract that could work out well for the Bears. If St. Brown is called upon to be a WR2 like he was at times this year, that’s a different story.

No matter where he ends up on the depth chart next year, St. Brown believes the Bears’ league-worst passing game will be better next year.

“This is our first time together as a team, a lot of new players, a lot of new coaches,” St. Brown said. “I think we have something to build off. Our run game has been good, our pass game has struggled a little bit, but I think as the season has gone on it’s gotten better. We’ve got a lot of work to do, but I think we’ll be ready for next year.”

The Bears will close the season by hosting the Vikings Sunday at Soldier Field. Here are four storylines to follow in the game:

The second-year pro will miss the season finale with a strained hip he sustained last Sunday against the Lions. Fields will be replaced by Nathan Peterman, who will make his first start since 2018 when he played for the Bills versus the Bears.

"It's an awesome opportunity," Peterman said. "It's been a few years. Still have gotten to play a lot of football in preseason or whatnot, but obviously a regular-season game is an amazing opportunity and I'm looking forward to it. It's been a lot of hard work putting into this season and a lot of ups and downs obviously, but to go out on a great note, have some fun and just go out and play football is going to be a good thing."

Fields started 15 games this season, rushing for 1,143 yards and eight touchdowns on 160 carries and passing for 2,242 yards with 17 TDs, 11 interceptions and an 85.2 passer rating. His 1,143 yards rushing are the second most in NFL history by a quarterback behind only the Ravens' Lamar Jackson's 1,206 yards in 2019.

Fields also set a single game record for rushing yards by an NFL quarterback with 178 Nov. 6 against the Dolphins. In addition, he became the first quarterback with three TD runs of at least 50 yards, the first quarterback in the Super Bowl era with a rushing TD in six straight games and the first quarterback to rush for at least 70 yards in five consecutive contests since at least 1950.

(2) Which young players will take advantage of expanded playing time?

A rash of injuries will give several inexperienced players an opportunity to impress in a regular season game. At cornerback, for instance, Breon Borders, Harrison Hand and Michael Ojemudia all could see action on defense.

Hand has appeared in three games this season and made the most of his chance to play 40 defensive snaps last Sunday in Detroit, registering three tackles and one pass breakup. The Bears claimed Hand off waivers from the Giants Sept. 13. He was selected by the Vikings in the fifth round of the 2020 draft out of Temple. In his first two seasons with Minnesota, he appeared in 23 games with one start and registered 22 tackles, three pass breakups and one interception.

Asked if an unheralded player can make an impression in the season finale, coach Matt Eberflus said: "Yes, I think that's true. But it's also for the other guys. We want to see guys finish. We want to see them do things the right way and play the right style."

Another young player expected to see expanded action is Dieter Eiselen. Last Sunday in Detroit, the third-year pro played stepped in at right guard after Teven Jenkins and Michael Schofield III both exited with injuries in the first half. With Jenkins and Schofield now on injured reserve, Eiselen likely will make his first NFL start.

Eiselen originally joined the Bears in 2020 as an undrafted free agent from Yale. Growing up in South Africa, he was an acclaimed rugby player and Olympic weightlifter who was introduced to American football via television shows and movies such as "Friday Night Lights" and "The Waterboy."

(3) Will rookie Velus Jones Jr. continue to excel returning kicks?

After losing his punt-return job following two turnovers earlier in the season, the third-round pick from Tennessee has rebounded to make an impact on special teams. Over the last six games, Jones has averaged 33.2 yards on 12 kickoff returns, including returns of 63, 55 and 40 yards.

"He's definitely trending 'arrow up' in a really good direction," said special teams coordinator Richard Hightower. "I know and learned that he was a fighter and he continues to fight and he has tremendous character. And he's going to work, and his teammates know he's going to work as hard as he can to try to get it right."

Jones nearly went the distance on a 63-yard kickoff return late in the first half last Sunday in Detroit. But he was forced out of bounds at the Lions' 45.

"He stemmed it really well," Hightower said. "His blockers did an outstanding job of getting back, getting to their landmarks, playing penalty-free on that play, stepping to contact, keeping their hands inside, and it really times up nicely …

"The guys did an outstanding job there. We probably could have done a better job of getting to one more person and attacking the kicker more and it probably would have been six points. But that's what drives us. We're looking for an opportunity to go out there and try to make another big play."

(4) How long will the Vikings play their starters?

Minnesota has clinched the NFC North title and is assured of at least being the third seed in the playoffs. The Vikings could move up to No. 2 with a win over the Bears coupled with a 49ers loss at home to the struggling Cardinals, which seems unlikely. The 49ers-Cardinals game won't begin until 3:25 p.m. (CT) Sunday.

Listening to Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell, it sounds like the Vikings will open Sunday's contest at Soldier Field with their regular starters, but not all of them will play the entire game. That could include quarterback Kirk Cousins and star receiver Justin Jefferson.

"We've got a pretty clearcut plan with how we want to go about the whole game," O'Connell said. "But we're going to go in with the expectation of our guys going and try to get off to a good start and play good football."

O'Connell added that backups likely will get "some snaps here and there" and the Vikings won't play any players who are dealing with injuries.

"You've got to be smart about where they're at," he said. "What type of risks for possibly aggravating a current injury or potentially, more importantly, making it worse. We don't know quite when we'll play next week yet. It's possible we could play on Saturday and we'll have to fast forward the week a little bit on shorter-term notice."

hile the Cubs' deal with Eric Hosmer has not yet been made official, their reported agreement with the first baseman continued an active offseason for Jed Hoyer and Co.

It's also been a busy few weeks of 40-man roster maneuvering.

Most recently, the Cubs designated Alfonso Rivas, Erich Uelmen and P.J. Higgins for assignment to clear space on the 40-man for Anthony Kay and Drew Smyly and catcher Tucker Barnhart.

Rivas cleared waivers and was released, while Higgins cleared and was outrighted to Triple-A Iowa. The Cubs traded Uelmen to the Phillies on Wednesday for cash.

With a little over a month until spring training, here is how things currently stand on the Cubs' 40-man, with italics denoting an offseason signing/addition.

*Re-signed on two-year deal

New here this offseason are Taillon and Boxberger, two of the Cubs’ key signings; Kay, who was claimed off waivers from the Blue Jays last month; and prospects Brown and Jensen, who were added to the 40-man in November.

Seventeen of the 23 pitchers appeared for the Cubs in the big leagues last season, including Roberts, who made the Opening Day roster but later underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery.

Heuer — who underwent Tommy John last March and didn’t pitch in 2022 — and Roberts each are likely to miss the start of next season but were activated off the 60-day IL in November. So was Hendricks, who missed the final three months with a shoulder injury.

Barnhart, who signed a two-year deal, is expected to split time with Gomes behind the plate. Amaya joined Double-A Tennessee last summer after his Tommy John recovery and suffered a Lisfranc injury at the end of the season.

Swanson, the Cubs’ biggest offseason addition, signed a seven-year, $177 million deal after seven seasons with the Braves. Mastrobuoni was acquired from the Rays in November and has minor-league options remaining.

Bellinger signed a one-year deal with a mutual option for 2024 last month. Alcantara and Davis were added to the 40-man with Brown and Jensen in November.

Davis missed a chunk of last season after undergoing a back procedure and was limited to five Arizona Fall League games due to what the team called “general soreness.” Cubs VP of player development Jared Banner recently told the Des Moines' Register's Tommy Birch the organization’s No. 2 prospect has “no limitations at this time.”

Canario fractured his ankle and dislocated his shoulder playing in the Dominican Winter League and will miss the start of next season. Banner told Birch that Canario isn’t near starting baseball activities but is “recovering well.”