In Chicago's downtown pedway network, shops line the corridors but few passersby bite

Underground businesses strive to thrive

01/11/2012

At 7:30 a.m., the Randolph Street Pedway is brimming with activity. Morning commuters walk briskly in both directions through the underground corridor that connects Millennium Station and the Daley Plaza, linking them with every building in between.
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Photos: Chicago Polar Bear Plunge

01/04/2012

Web Extra! Slideshow
Hundreds braved cold temperatures on a windy first day of the new year to take part in a Polar Bear Plunge into the frigid waters of Lake Michigan at North Avenue Beach on Sunday.
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Mayor's new plan will bolster Malcolm X College's medical program

Malcolm X, remade

01/04/2012

The City Colleges of Chicago are headed for a makeover, and the Near West Side's Malcolm X College is ground zero. In a speech last month, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced a shift in the way the city colleges work with students: focusing each on a specific career path, with each institution focused on a specific field.
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Van Pelt-Watkins gains support for 5th District seat as residency issues dog Collins

Pols abandon state senator

01/04/2012

Fifth District state Senator Annazette Collins' loss may be Patricia Van Pelt-Watkins' gain. Residency issues plaguing Collins have caused top Democratic leaders, including Secretary of State Jesse White, to jump ship and throw support behind Van Pelt-Watkins who is challenging Collins in the March 2012 Democratic Primary election.
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Artist makes bowls from hail-shattered shards of Garfield Park Conservatory

Putting the pieces back together

01/04/2012

Months after a hail storm shattered the glass roof of the Garfield Park Conservatory to pieces, an artist is building it back up — only this time, in bowl form. The conservatory hooked up with Bryan Northup in September, as it was searching for ways to reuse piles and piles of glass following the June storm.
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River Forest man to take on Davis in 7th District

Jacques Conway's varied background includes former stint on high school board

01/04/2012

A River Forest resident and former Oak Park police officer is leaping into the March Democratic 7th congressional district primary, hoping to unseat longtime South Loop and Near West Side Congressman Danny Davis.
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2011: A year in Chicago photos

12/30/2011

See our favorite Chicago shots from Photo Editor J. Geil during 2011.
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Cab driver threatened, robbed

12/28/2011

An unknown offender threatened a cab driver with his life in a stick-up at the Jewel grocery story parking lot on Dec. 21 at 9:50 p.m. The cab driver told police that the offender approached him at 800 S. Wabash Ave. and asked for a ride. Once in the cab, the offender requested that the driver take him to buy liquor. Upon arriving at the Jewel parking lot, the offender said, “Give me your money or I’ll shoot you,” and also told the driver, “I swear I’ll kill you.”
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The odder side of crime

Thieves, crooks and a rowdy opera patron stood out in 2011

12/28/2011

Each week Chicago Journal goes to the 1st District police station, at 18th and State Streets, and — looking through daily listings of crime incidents — reports on the most significant crimes that happen in the 1st District boundaries for our crime blotter. These boundaries are approximately north to the Chicago River, west to the Dan Ryan Expressway, south to McCormick Place and east to the lake.
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Pilsen power plant endorses new rule from feds; Deal with city remains elusive

Clean up time

12/28/2011

A new regulation from the federal government targeting pollution from power plants could affect how a coal-fired plant in Pilsen operates. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency unveiled their landmark Hazardous Air Pollutant rule Dec. 21 — a federal regulation to control mercury emissions and other toxic substances that cause respiratory illness and brain damage.
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