The maternity business has experienced a recession, too, it appears. Births fell 4% from 2007 to 2009, the biggest drop for any two-year period since the mid-1970s, according to federal government data released Thursday.

The rate, 66.7 births per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44, isn’t the lowest in recent memory. The 1997 rate was an all-time low of 63.6. But the authors of the report say preliminary data show the birth rate continued falling through the first half of 2010.

The report found:
Birth rates fell for all women except those 40 and older.

Hard to believe… but not really. The baby market is down because the birth rate has dropped.
Here are the stats: Women 20 to 24 hit the lowest ever recorded for that age group:
96.3 per 1,000. That’s a 9% drop from 2007 to 2009.

Births among Latino women was the largest among ethnic groups, with a 9% decline.
Less and less families are having more than two children. Almost 75% of births in 2009 were first or second births.

The info released by the National Center for Health Statistics.

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So you can’t rap, and you haven’t been to jail… ahh, no problem. You can still be styling. R. Kelly’s mansion is now up for sale. Truth be told he hasn’t lived there since 2002 — and its been on the market since last June…but Agent Shawn Daly claims that the buyers are ready to move and move in. The 8,000- square-foot property located in LakeView is a converted 1885 church and said to be one of the most talked-about properties in the city of Chicago.

You’ll have to wait to find out who the new owners are… but the word is that the buyer is a super high-profile person from out of the country… a young and hip CEO.

Back in 2002, Kelly sold the place for $2.5 million, and then it flipped a couple more times (including a foreclosure), before the seller, Ilene Greenblatt, bought it in 2008 for $1 million. With the current sale pending, we don’t know what for sure what the final sale price will be, but it was recently listed for $3.5 million. The home was recently rented for $20,000 per month, but the renters are now out.

And, just in case you’re wondering… after purchasing it in 2008, Greenblatt hired the designer, Tim Mathias to get rid of and strip Kelly’s Looney Tunes-themed bar and gut the joint. Duly noted: the wood-paneled “Colorado Room” where Kelly filmed the sex tape is still there as is the 1,600-gallon aquarium. The marble fireplace has been redone, French doors have been installed in the living room, and a sauna has replaced the hot tub in the Colorado Room. Windows in the living room look down on an indoor lap pool and hot tub. Oh.. and we can’t forget the one-way window in the master bath, which has a rain shower with a $7,000 shower head.

Technorati Tags: R. Kelly, Lakeview, Chicago Real Estate

A sign of the times. Fewer peeps are reading — and if they are they’re reading on their Kindles, or using ibook — or of course
ordering from Amazon or forget that… just hit a Half Priced Books store to get the same hardcover for 50% off.

Borders Books is on its way to going bye bye. According to Crain’s Chicago, the Wilmette Borders will be closing by the end of May — a no duh follow up from the Chapter 11 announcement in February. The Wilmette location — just one of 26 Chicago locations (200 closings nationwide) to get 86′d as Borders tries to re-org under bankruptcy protection. If these plans net out as expected the company will have 15 stores left in Chicago and roughly 400 overall.

With Borders on the outs… that brings Edens Plaza down to an 82% occupancy rate. Borders is the U.S.’s #2 bookseller is making all attempts to reorganize to emerge out of BK and become a smaller and profitable company.

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If you missed the article in last weekend’s New York Times, “Don’t Call Me, I Won’t Call You” here’s the down and dirty. The phone — used for making calls is out. The movement of “pulling back” on making the call is here because calls are now considered disruptive, intrusive, rude, and a form of communication that now comes after obtaining email permission. These days a phone call is used to clarify when email or texts aren’t clear. I seriously laughed out loud when the article cited that phone calls from anyone other than immediate family is a sign of bad news. Maybe in New York that’s true but here in the friendly mid-west the idea of calling to say hi hasn’t lost its appeal (to me). These days many North Shore Moms are apt to yearn for the sound of her teenagers’ voice rather than the now standard “can u pick me up” — or hear the sounds of her husband’s sweet nothings. According to the article, the telephone’s original reason for being was for business purposes… and only thereafter did it become a practical in home device. Today, smart phones tell you what the weather is, enable you to connect to Facebook and determine how much money is in your checking account. With all those functions who cares about reaching out and touching someone? Call me T-Rex.

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I just heard… Anthropologie is making its move to the Gold Coast to open its new bridal collection. The store will be called BHLDN..text speak for Beholden which comes from the Dutch word “to keep”. The store recently went under construction at the new Elysian Hotel & Private Residences located at 8-12 E. Walton. Thankfully, you have plenty of time to plan ahead for your fittings because the 6,000 square foot, two-level store is not scheduled to open until early 2012. This will be the second BHLDN store with the first earmarked to open in Houston. Much like JCrew, BHDLN is going for the younger, somewhat recession-proof bridal market. The store will also carry lingerie, shoes and of course fantastic accessories.

Technorati Tags: gold coast, Elysian Hotel & Private Residences, bridal collection