(Milbert O.Brown/Chicago Tribune) 2003: Sears Tower was transferred to its lender (Metlife Inc.) to prevent the skyscraper’s owner (Trizec) from defaulting on its massive mortgage.

The latest news about Sears is, in a word, grave. When Sears and Kmart merged in 2005, they counted 3,500 stores in the U.S. In 2023, it would be no surprise if the store count finally hit zero.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. (AP) — Sears plans to sell the sprawling suburban Chicago corporate headquarters that's been the struggling retailer's home for three decades. Transformco, Sears' parent ...