The Biz Week That Was: Illinois maker aids moon mission, royal Indian cuisine in Schaumburg, and O’Hare flight cuts

Device that helps make space travel possible named ‘Coolest Thing Made in Illinois’

Astronauts just returned from their first voyage around the moon since 1972 and a device built by an Illinois company helped fuel the mission’s success. Created and manufactured in Downers Grove, the NASA Standard Initiator, or NSI, is a small electrically activated pyrotechnic device that initiates propulsion by sparking a chain reaction of heat and pressure in space flight. Chemring and the NSI won the 2026 Makers Madness contest, being named “The Coolest Thing Made in Illinois” for 2026.

Mendocino Farms restaurant chain opening in Vernon Hills

Mendocino Farms, a fast-casual restaurant chain known for farm-fresh crafted sandwiches and salads, is opening its first suburban Chicago location Tuesday in Vernon Hills. Doors open at 10:30 a.m. at 913 N. Milwaukee Ave., the former SLYCE Coal Fired Pizza Company in the Mellody Farm center. The Vernon Hills restaurant joins locations in Willis Tower and the River North area in Chicago.

32 new townhouses coming to Carol Stream

Carol Stream trustees have approved plans for a 32-unit townhouse complex on the north side of town. On April 6, the village board voted unanimously to support the annexation of land at 26W181 and 26W241 Lies Road, in unincorporated Bloomingdale Township, for a townhouse development to be built on 3.2 acres.

The Secret Kitchen brings royal Indian cuisine to Schaumburg

A celebrity chef from India has tabbed Schaumburg as the location for her first restaurant in America. Chef Aanal Kotak’s The Secret Kitchen opens Sunday, April 19, at 1411 W. Schaumburg Road. Kotak, who has 10 restaurants in India, Australia and Canada, said in a news release that The Secret Kitchen reimagines the traditions of India’s royal kitchens for the contemporary table.

FAA cuts more than 370 daily flights at O’Hare this summer, citing safety, efficiency

The Federal Aviation Administration issued a flight cap at O’Hare International Airport for the summer Thursday that cuts operations at less drastic levels than the agency previously considered. The original summer schedule called for 3,080 daily flights on peak days, but the FAA is setting a maximum of 2,708, or 372 fewer, citing concerns about safety and efficiency.

Schaumburg Chick-fil-A employee awarded $25,000 college scholarship from chain

Carlos Rojas wasn’t expecting one of the biggest surprises of his life when he showed up to work last month for his shift at the West Schaumburg Chick-fil-A. Surrounded by white streamers and red balloons — as well as supportive friends, family and co-workers — he stood with a smile on his face while being handed a $25,000 check, personally awarded to him by Chick-fil-A CEO Andrew Cathy.

Jury finds that Ticketmaster and Live Nation had an anticompetitive monopoly over big concert venues

A jury has found that concert giant Live Nation and its Ticketmaster subsidiary had a harmful monopoly over big concert venues, dealing the company a loss in a lawsuit over claims brought by dozens of U.S. states.