Photos: Occupy Chicago on the LaSalle Street bridge
11/23/2011
Web Extra! Slideshow
Protesters from various labor and community groups rally on LaSalle Street on Thursday, Nov. 17. The group, which was part of the national "occupy" movement, took over the LaSalle Street bridge over the Chicago River during rush hour.
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Printer's Row director returning to run Goodman's holiday bonanza for first time in 19 years
A fresh 'Carol'
11/23/2011
Twas the afternoon before A Christmas Carol, and at the Goodman Theatre, director Steve Scott was getting down to brass tacks. Ebenezer Scrooge completed his transformation from cold-hearted sad sack to jolly embodiment of Christmas spirit, and Tiny Tim cried out his signature "God bless us, everyone!"
Read More...Rush University Medical Center's new building is ready
Distinctive building opens in early January, public tours begin Dec. 10
11/23/2011
Designed by the architecture firm Perkins+Will, the 14-story new hospital building at 1620 W. Harrison St. has loomed over the Near West Side and the Eisenhower Expressway, evolving for several years now, and it's expected to finally open on Jan. 9.
Read More...New booze tax goes down rough for Chicago
Duties on alcohol from Cook County jump 50 percent next year
11/23/2011
Bar and restaurant owners in Chicago say the effects of a recently approved alcohol tax increase could reach beyond the city's hospitality industry. Last Friday, the Cook County Board of Commissioners passed its $2.94 billion budget for next year.
Read More...Clock ticking on Chicago ward remap
Aldermen promise more hearings, but deadlines loom in days
11/23/2011
Chicagoans hoping to see the new map that’ll define the city's political boundaries for the next ten years will probably have to wait a little while longer. The Chicago City Council is supposed to produce a map by Dec. 1 that will redraw boundaries of the city's 50 wards.
Read more...Community regroups after Urban Prep attacks
Parents work with ABLA neighbors, alderman to ensure safe passage to school
11/23/2011
The start of the 2011 school year for Urban Prep West students should have been a joyous one, with the relocation of the school to a bigger, more private space on the Near West Side.
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South Loop mulls education options
Fioretti says kids could move into old Jones College Prep building
11/16/2011
Lots of people have ideas about how to handle overcrowding at South Loop Elementary School. Move students to the under-enrolled National Teacher's Academy. Put students at the current Jones College Prep building. But the decision that South Loop Elementary Principal Tara Shelton announced in a letter to parents on Nov. 4 was to eliminate the school's entire regional gifted center program.
Read more...Brizard prepping longer school day model for expansion in Chicago
Chicago schools chief wants more gym, end to homeroom
11/16/2011
Chicago Public Schools Chief Jean-Claude Brizard and Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis seem to have found some common ground in CPS's extended school day push. Brizard and Lewis were at odds over Mayor Rahm Emanuel's accelerated push to tack on an extra 90 minutes to the school day for elementary school students.
Read More...With cancer diagnosis, Near West staple William Lavicka focusing on rehabbing himself
Preservation pioneer
11/16/2011
Over the past 37 years, William Lavicka has made some big changes to the Near West Side - by keeping it the same. Starting with his own home on Jackson Boulevard just east of Ashland Avenue, he took big chunks of a block-long stretch of run-down old mansions and gave them the love they needed to thrive.
Read More...Hotel, retail complex proposed near McCormick Place
Delayed deadlines and unclear financing raise questions about massive project
11/16/2011
A strategic piece of land just north of McCormick Place West is being eyed for redevelopment again, with developers pitching a massive new development to take advantage of convention attendees.
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