Rising from the ashes

In Flame’s wake, Chicago Bloc[k] aims to give an alternate voice to UIC students

04/04/2012

Last month, a note went out to University of Illinois at Chicago students on the English department’s mailing list asking students to join the newly forming “newspaper club.” The students were invited to participate in the online news blog known as the Chicago Bloc[k] [sic], a blog that would reflect student voices and opinions.
Read more...

The other summit

Nobel laureates coming to UIC this month with little fanfare

04/04/2012

As Chicago gets all worked into a tizzy about the dozens of heads of state descending upon our city for the NATO summit in May, an event this month featuring world leaders has flown under the radar.
Read More...

Motor Row revs up

Developer has big plans for hotels, entertainment near McCormick Place, but biggest project must escape bankruptcy

04/04/2012

There’s a gap between McCormick Place and the rest of Chicago, and Pam Gleichman knows it. Out-of-towners are whisked in and out of the convention center by shuttle bus or taxi, few even thinking to take a look at the surrounding areas, the South Loop and Motor Row.
Read More...

Pint-sized history

History buffs and beer aficionados meet halfway

03/28/2012

Chicago is known as the city that works. But for just as long as its residents have toiled, they’ve been going to drink after the fact. On Tuesday night in the West Loop, history buffs and booze lovers met halfway at Haymarket Pub and Brewery, 737 W. Randolph St., to learn just how the city grew up around beer and that state of the relationship today.
Read More...

Teen mom high school is reborn

Near West Side's Simpson Academy offers new clinic and day care center

03/28/2012

A Near West Side school for pregnant teens is almost finished with a major makeover whose goal is transforming a dumping ground for pregnant teens into a comprehensive program to help them succeed. Simpson Academy for Young Women, 1321 S. Paulina St., used to be a one-year school where women could come while they were pregnant, then return to their original schools after giving birth.
Read more...

Scrapping under the radar

One of the world's top boxers quietly trains at a South Loop gym

03/28/2012

LA Boxing is known as a place where bored housewives, business professionals and new urbanites can go to shed a few pounds in a fun, engaging way. It is not known as a place where world-class boxers prepare for nationally televised fights. Well, the latter is starting to change. Perennial underdog and world-ranked contender “King” Carlos Molina began training at the South Loop LA Boxing on State and 9th Street a few years back.
Read More...

A tip of the hat

Chicago's premier hatmaker, Optimo, enjoys a new home in the Loop

03/28/2012

These days, hatmaker Graham Thompson splits his time three ways. When he’s not at his flagship South Side shop, Thompson — the founder of Chicago-based Optimo Hats — may be out on business in Ecuador, where he regularly travels to buy the finest straw for use in his line of handcrafted hats.
Read More...

Christian Mitchell edges out win in 26th District race

At 25, candidate will be youngest member of Illinois general assembly

03/21/2012

Christian Mitchell stood at arm’s length from his former boss, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, as a circle of friends and campaign supporters closed in around the pair, eager for a victory speech. Mitchell’s election night party, held at a hot dog joint in the city’s Grand Boulevard neighborhood, was going on its fourth hour.
Read More...

Long view at South Loop still a bit hazy

CPS has few specifics on gifted class cuts at the neighborhood school

03/14/2012

Parents at South Loop Elementary want details on the looming phase-out of the school’s regional gifted program, but so far the school district is short on hard answers.
Read more...

Ghosts of the 'L' stations past

Morgan Street, Cermak Road once had elevated train stops

03/14/2012

As the Green Line leaves the Loop, it rides above West Loop without stopping until it reaches Ashland Avenue. The same thing happens on the other end of the line. Once it leaves Roosevelt station, it passes above Prairie Avenue Historic District and Motor Row, not stopping until it reaches 35th Street.
Read More...