Yes, Canada. Boring, eager-to-please Canada is taking Chicago by storm — in a nice way, of course.

It isn’t just the arrival of Marc Trestman from the Montreal Alouettes as head coach of the Bears that heralds Canada’s ascension to the ranks of Chicago cool.

Consider poutine. This homely dish, a tradition in Quebec, has become a popular menu item at some of Chicago’s trendiest eateries. Take a mess of french fries, sprinkle on cheese curds then ladle brown gravy all over it. Embellishments range from foie gras to kimchi. Reactions range from “Yuck” to “Yum.”

Poutine commands attention, like so many imports from the land of moose and maples.

Often ignored and taken for granted, Canada is on a roll. From the U.S. point of view, the tail is wagging the dog in North America, and that’s not so bad. The economic activity helps both countries.

The key to Canada’s success has been avoiding some of the worst mistakes made by its neighbor to the south.

Americans failed to regulate their banks. Canada’s banks are stable.

Americans overinflated their real estate market. Canada’s housing market never went pop.

Americans can’t get their elected officials to straighten out health care and entitlement IOUs. Canada’s got it better covered, having kept its debt and spending at more sustainable levels than the U.S.

Petrochemicals have helped. Canada is experiencing a gold-rush-style energy boom. The oil sands of Alberta contain enough petroleum to rate serious comparisons with Saudi Arabia. Improved drilling technology has made it practical to tap that vast resource. Money is pouring in, despite lower oil prices.

On a per capita basis, Canada is among the world’s most prosperous countries. The Canadian dollar, nicknamed the loonie for the aquatic bird pictured on it, trades at an equal value to the U.S. dollar. Used to be, loonies traded at a substantial discount, but that was before Americans racked up a $16-trillion-plus national debt

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Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper (we know many Americans have never heard of him) has pursued an ambitious trade agenda. He has sought to improve relations with China, enhancing economic ties. He also is expected to ink a free-trade agreement with the European Union this year. That will put pressure on the U.S. to follow suit, as well it should, for the substantial benefits that flow from tearing down commercial barriers and harmonizing regulations.

A lingering frustration is the Obama administration’s opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline, an important cross-border infrastructure project needed to move oil from Canada to U.S. refineries and beyond.

One sticking point recently gave way when Nebraska lifted its objections to the pipeline’s traverse of the state.

Now it’s up to the U.S. State Department to stop pandering to environmental lobbyists and give the go-ahead. Can’t happen soon enough.

While Canada waits, at least its citizens can take solace in the National Hockey League’s return to the ice after a frustrating labor dispute.

Chicagoans who cheer for the resurgent Blackhawks should keep in mind that half the team hails from Canada, as does “Coach Q,” the Ontario-born Joel Quenneville.

Land of the north, Chicago is calling to you. Calling your sesame bagels, smoked meat and Tim Hortons double-doubles. Calling your low rates of gun crime, and universal health care. Calling your oil, especially your oil. We hope some of that Canadian good fortune rubs off on our city.

Federal agents allege that last April 22, Levaine “Boo Man” Tanksley invited C.S. to his home on the South Side and sold him three .45-caliber Glock semi-automatic pistols for $2,300.

At the State of Illinois building in downtown Chicago last week, its marketing team handed out the usual fliers making the usual promises about covering tuition costs in the future for the newborns of today.

Promises, promises.

When Illinois collects money today in exchange for a financial return in the future, beware. This is a state, after all, with a broken pension system, massive debt and a trail of unpaid bills.

So no one should be shocked about the latest problems at a state-run investment fund that enables parents to prepay college tuition years in advance. The logical remedy: Illinois should cut its losses by closing the prepaid tuition plan to new participants, if for no other reason than to protect today’s citizens from a potential rip-off in the making.

Leon “Chip” Greenblatt III became a cult hero among traders years ago when he stood up to the Chicago Stock Exchange in a battle over his unorthodox strategy of selling more shares than existed in a bankrupt steel company.

Not long after, Mayor Richard Daley branded him a “slum lord” after a downtown high-rise he owned threatened to rain down pieces of its terra-cotta facade on vehicles and pedestrians.

Last year, he received a six-figure bill for civil contempt stemming from his bankruptcy case involving a landfill venture that converted foul-smelling garbage into energy in the form of methane.

Now, the so-called bad boy of Chicago arbitrage may have gone too far.

Greenblatt has provoked the wrath of Richard Posner, the heavyweight judge from the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago, who had sided with him in his stock-speculation gambit in the late 1990s.

At the time, Posner ruled that Greenblatt and his partners had found a legitimate moneymaking angle, despite their likely status as “reckless gamblers, sharpies, wise guys, exploiters of loopholes, even violators of the letter and spirit of the rules.”

Greenblatt’s latest effort to seize an advantage, however, fell flat with the judge. In a May 19 opinion, Posner blasted it as “phony,” “bogus,” “frivolous” and “a palpable misuse of bankruptcy,” with “no purpose other than to beat taxes.”

Right on cue, the much-anticipated Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf are scheduled to make their production-run debuts at dealerships across the country this fall. It’s a milestone in the jostling for green-minded consumers between electric models and hybrid-electrics that rely more heavily on gas, such as the Toyota Prius.

And then there’s hydrogen.

No, really, there is.

It’s easy to forget that hydrogen-fuel-cell cars have been around for decades in one experimental form or another. General Motors Co. has a nice one — a roomy Equinox with a rear exhaust port for its only emission: water vapor.

Turn the key and it purrs to life. Push the accelerator, and it takes off, just like a “real” car. It can hit 105 mph on the GM test track without breaking a sweat. Then it attaches to a pump at a hydrogen fueling station on the site, and it’s ready to go in about the same time as filling a gas tank.

Yet hydrogen stands to be the big loser as the Volt, Leaf and similar electrics take the stage.

It’s impractical to believe that America will build more than one new fueling infrastructure all at once. Battery-recharging stations will come first.

Out of favor in the White House, hydrogen will have to wait, maybe forever.

“You have to pick a technology,” said David Whiston, auto equity analyst at Morningstar Inc. “Electric is what you will see in the next decade.”

At GM, Mark Vann is keeping the faith. An engineer who spearheads fuel-cell projects, Vann points out that most major automakers still maintain hydrogen programs. GM has logged 1.4 million miles on its fleet of 120 hydrogen-powered vehicles.

“We obviously have a lot invested,” he said.

The pros and cons of these technologies are debated all the time, but it comes down to pleasing the car shopper, who naturally wants all the convenience of traditional gas engines at a good price.

Hydrogen fuel cells cost a ridiculous amount of money, and the filling stations cost even more. But the price is coming down as engineers figure out how to use less platinum and fewer parts. Compared with the state-of-the-art electrics, hydrogen goes longer distances, scales up into bigger vehicles and recharges in no time, Vann said. Germany and Japan see big potential for fuel cells, he said. California and Hawaii like them too.

Without broader political support, however, it may not matter.

But this pizza’s different, as it has been in Domino’s stores across the U.S. since late December. The 9,000-unit chain took a big chance, not only reformulating its signature product for the American market but also disparaging its long-standing recipe in a straight-talk marketing campaign.

The old crust? “Cardboard,” the company admitted in its ads. The old sauce? “Ketchup.” The staff? Weary of customers trashing the food.

The risk paid off. Despite rumblings in the marketing world about another New Coke-style flop in the making, sales at domestic stores open more than a year soared 14.3 percent in the first full quarter after the new recipe debuted. Domino’s marketing push helped lift the pizza market as a whole, and the halo effect appears to be continuing into the summer.

As of last week, the test-kitchen cooks in Ann Arbor were working on new recipes for Domino’s stores in some of its 60-plus foreign markets.

Will other brands adopt the “We Stink” marketing theme? Probably not, but some companies facing widespread customer cynicism about their products or services should think about it, said Mac Brand, a consultant in Chicago for Bellwether Food Group Inc.

“The one that comes to my mind is the airlines,” he said. “You can’t do candor all the time, but once or twice, it works.”

BP, are you listening?

Domino’s owes at least some of its success to timing. Its campaign dovetailed with a national mood of discontent over Wall Street bailouts and layoff-prone employers. Americans were ready to hear a big company express a little humility.

“Times are tough. Most of us are disappointed with the actions of business and other institutions,” said marketing guru Willard “Bill” Bishop, of Barrington. Domino’s, he said, conveyed the message, “We’re one group that knows that.”

The company also tapped into a countrywide craving for intense flavors, in everything from chewing gum to tortilla chips. The mint is getting mintier these days; the spice spicier.

Domino’s added garlic to the crust and red pepper to the sauce. It ditched a previous cheese topping that came in little chunks for a stretchier shredded mozzarella with a touch of provolone.

The recipe came together over two years, said spokesman Chris Brandon: “We tried a little bit of everything.”

In the test kitchen, staffers were still at it last week.

At least $163 million in agricultural disaster aid had been paid as of mid-May, with more on the way.

Nothing new about that, right? When it comes to government spending, Americans have gotten used to big numbers.

Here’s the surprise: Although Illinois also flooded during 2008, the state’s farmers have collected $7 million so far from the same disaster-aid program that showered dollars on Iowa, which suffered soggier conditions but also benefitted from quirks in how the payments were calculated.

Before loyal Illinoisans cry foul, consider this: Hardly any Midwest farmers took a financial beating during 2008. And hardly anyone believes the actual losses reached $709 million, the total disbursed through the so-called SURE program as of May 18.

Farmers had a banner year, in fact, with their incomes soaring to record highs. Prices were strong, the crops huge and as for government subsidies: Wow!

Those checks have kept coming despite year after year of robust income on the farm, with most of the payments going to the biggest and wealthiest operators.

“It’s this layer cake we’ve created, this maze of programs one on top of the other that puts out big amounts of money year after year,” said Craig Cox of the Environmental Working Group, a farm-subsidy watchdog. “It’s really more of a guaranteed income than it is a safety net.”

Farmers know all too well the money doesn’t go straight into their pockets. They use it to run their businesses, and U.S. consumers benefit from cheaper commodities as a result. Keeping the farm sector stable and secure is a national priority, and by many measures American subsidies amount to less than those in other Western nations.

Kicking off a listening tour in Iowa this year ahead of the 2012 farm bill, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, D-Minn, suggested that new funding would be tough to come by, but he promised to explore using “the money we have to create a better farm safety net.”

As it stands, the system has evolved into a never-ending buffet.

As co-owner of J. Lawrence Homes LLC, Wozniak is among the few builders still putting up new construction in once-sizzling Joliet.

During the boom times that made Will County a real estate hot spot, the three-bedroom single-family houses for sale in his Silver Leaf community would have commanded an additional $50,000, he said.

Those times are gone. And even after three years of steep declines in one of the worst real estate recessions ever, some experts say prices have yet to hit bottom.

This week, a string of indicators will be released that could show some of the strongest activity since the housing crash began.

Don’t be fooled.

At least part of the action stems from homebuyers rushing to take advantage of federal tax credits that expired at the end of April, a program that got the market moving, but inevitably shifted sales forward.

Now that the government tax giveaway has ended, watch for the market to level off or dip through the summer. A housing recovery depends on the economy bouncing back, and by most forecasts the buying and selling of real estate will remain rocky for a long time to come.

“We’re likely to bounce around at the bottom for this year and next,” predicted Chris Huecksteadt of the Metrostudy housing research firm in Chicago. He said he expects “ups and downs” but no upward trend in prices.

That should come as no surprise, said Erik Hurst, an economist at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. Averaged over long periods that often encompass booms and busts, housing prices generally clock in about flat, he said.

“We should not be looking to see big returns on housing,” Hurst said. “Over time, house prices don’t rise.”

They especially don’t rise when nobody’s moving. One lingering consequence of the economic meltdown is what demographer Kenneth Johnson describes as “cautious migration.”

One sign shows a smiling couple on vacation with the slogan, “For the Perfect Little Getaway.”

Another shows a mother snuggling a baby: “For all the Little Things.”

And, of course, there’s a brightly dressed shopper clutching a bag of clothes: “When you Just Have to Have it.”

Yes, when you have to have it, Chicago-based PLS Financial Services Inc. will fork over cash on the spot — for a very high price.

That helps explain the smaller sign on the counter at PLS urging its loan customers to take action against lawmakers in Washington: “Stop the politicians from taking away your right to the personal financial service you enjoy in this store.”

As financial reform lurches toward a messy conclusion on Capitol Hill, the payday loan industry is feeling the heat.

A new consumer protection agency is taking shape as part of the financial overhaul legislation, potentially with sweeping powers that have put a scare into everyone, from the nation’s biggest bankers to the clerks who help fill out the loan applications at car dealerships.

At least some Beltway watchers expect Senate action on the proposed measure later this week, amid a flurry of proposed amendments. An earlier version passed the House.

Payday loans occupy a special corner in the punishment cell of consumer protection. The business has boomed for more than a decade, despite near-constant complaints about its alleged status as the biggest rip-off since Bernard Madoff met Charles Ponzi.

The payday loans at stores such as PLS typically last only a couple of weeks. A customer pays about $30 to borrow $200 for that short period.

It adds up quickly. Spread over a year, the customary fees can translate into interest rates of as much as 700 percent.

Many customers, in fact, don’t stop there. It’s not uncommon to renew these short-term loans repeatedly rather than pay off the principal when the checks come through.

And so begins a cycle of exploitation and dependency, to hear critics tell it.

To hear Bob Wolfberg tell it, however, so begins a triumph of capitalism, efficiently satisfying a consumer need.