Garfield Park Conservatory restoring greenhouses, preparing for winter

Putting the pieces back together

12/14/2011

Tropical weather is coming back to Chicago - at least inside the greenhouses of the Garfield Park Conservatory. The display gardens are being prepped for winter by installing protective insulation while continuing repairs from the damaging hailstorm this past June.
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Fight for Crane begins

CPS wants to close school, but the community is pushing back

12/07/2011

Over the years, Earnest Gates has put a lot of work into Richard T. Crane Technical Preparatory High School. As head of the Near West Side Community Development Commission, Gates' goal is to make the neighborhood a more appealing place to live and for businesses to thrive. To do that, local schools need to thrive, he said.
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Proposed rental development continues trend towards denser West Loop

High and rising

12/07/2011

A proposed eight-story rental apartment at the currently vacant Madison and Racine intersection, unveiled at a Nov. 30 meeting convened by Ald. Walter Burnett (27th) and the West Loop Neighbors group, was met with resident complaints and fears.
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Chicago Public Schools chief rolls out reform plan

10 schools ID'd for turnaround

12/07/2011

With Chicago Public Schools placing half of its schools on probation for low academic performance, CEO Jean-Claude Brizard proposed an aggressive reform plan to turn around 10 failing institutions, close two others and phase out of five more in an effort to improve educational outcomes for nearly 7,200 students.
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Photos: Kristkindlmarket

12/07/2011

Web Extra! Slideshow
Shoppers look over the selection of handmade ornaments for sale Friday at Kristkindlmarket, which pops up this time of year at the Daley Center.
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Velvet Lounge to play again

Ald. Fioretti questioning who'll run Fred Anderson's famous jazz club

11/30/2011

The Velvet Lounge, one of Chicago's best known jazz clubs and a South Loop staple, is poised to reopen as soon as the beginning of next year, according to owners of a neighboring pizza place.
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With few parishioners, historic Near West Side church is closing

Epiphany's end

11/30/2011

After nearly 130 years as one of the Near West Side's richest landmarks, the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany is closing its doors. The massive structure at 201 S. Ashland Ave. had a congregation that dwindled down to almost nothing.
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Chicago's neighborhood libraries in a bind

Cuts will slice hours, force higher-ups to shelve books instead of helping people

11/30/2011

All but one table was occupied at the Roosevelt branch of the Chicago Public Library, 1101 S. Taylor St., on Monday as patrons leafed through books and newspapers and accessed free public Wi-Fi. Library use is up across the country due to hard economic times. Yet these hard times have led to major cuts at Chicago’s libraries, outlined in the municipal budget that passed City Council Nov. 16.
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New state rep coming to South Loop, Lakeshore East

South Side community organizer, Bronzeville resident Christian Mitchell running for 26th District House seat

11/30/2011

South Loop, downtown and Near North Side residents are getting yet another new state representative. On Monday morning, candidates from all over the state filed their paperwork to run for the Illinois House and other offices in next March’s primary, and current 26th District State Rep. Kimberly du Buclet (who replaced Will Burns in May) wasn't among them.
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Church review: A melancholy approach

Threadbare digs at blue-blood Church of the Epiphany

11/30/2011

Originally published in the Oct. 19, 2000 edition of Chicago Journal
You see the signs in every town. Shortly after pulling off the highway or passing the city limits, a white sign imprinted with a red, white, and blue shield pops up, bearing the slogan, "The Episcopal Church Welcomes You."
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