Riding out the job market

Long hours, low pay, but lots of love for bike messengers

02/08/2012

It’s not every day that practitioners of an entry-level, minimum wage, service industry profession become fodder for major motion picture action thrillers or speak of their daily routine in terms of pride, competition and creativity. Then again, Chicago’s bike messengers are not your everyday delivery service.
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A more familiar dorm

Chicago's college-bound Latino youth getting a new housing option

02/08/2012

Concerned that youth from Chicago’s predominantly Latino neighborhoods are struggling to earn college degrees, a Pilsen community group is building a student residence hall that experts say will help close gaps in college success.
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Pete's to break ground

But actual construction may not begin for months

02/08/2012

Pete’s Fresh Market is slated to finally break ground on Saturday at Madison Street and Western Avenue, after months — perhaps even years — of delays. But it’ll just be ceremonial as it won’t mark the beginning of the store’s actual construction, which may still be months away.
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Gastro expansion

Publican Quality Meats butcher shop now open, sandwiches to debut Monday

02/08/2012

By almost any measure, the Publican has been a success. One of Chicago’s first and most prominent gastropubs, the West Loop restaurant is packed on weekends and many weekdays alike by folks from around the city. But while that kind of business in this economy is a blessing, in some respects, Chris Kuziemko said it was holding the restaurant back.
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Postal service honors Ebony and Jet publisher with stamp

Black Heritage series salutes John H. Johnson with 'Forever Stamp'

02/01/2012

John H. Johnson was a man who beat the odds. He turned a $500 loan on his mother's living room furniture into a multi-million dollar publishing empire that birth Ebony and Jet Magazines. He outfoxed Chicago's strict code of segregation when he became the first black person to own a skyscraper on Michigan Avenue.
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Going public

National Public Housing Museum design nears completion

02/01/2012

The reports of the National Public Housing Museum’s death have been greatly exaggerated. And, if everything goes according to plan, the museum would be fully open to the public by 2013.
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Chicago Bears owners: keep Crane High School open

Two weeks before giving school $20,000, McCaskeys ask schools chief to respect George Halas' alma mater

02/01/2012

The family that owns the Chicago Bears is joining the fight to save the Near West Side's Crane High School, lobbying Chicago’s schools chief to keep Bears founder George Halas' alma mater open. Read More...

Chicago Park District reveals final plans for North Grant Park redo

Skate park, ice skating ribbon, climbing wall highlight features at new park

01/27/2012

The far north end of Grant Park is set to be completely torn up next fall, and this week the Chicago Park District unveiled the final plans for the massive rebuild. The new park will replace the rigidly structured, concrete-heavy Richard J. Daley Bicentennial Plaza with a more pastoral park featuring winding paths connecting wide lawns and hills with active areas.
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Meet the new guy

A look back at new South Loop Ald. Will Burns' record, and how he got here

01/25/2012

Ald. Will Burns isn’t a complete stranger to South Loop. Between 2008 and 2010, he represented the 26th District in the Illinois General Assembly, a district that stretched from Gold Coast to South Shore neighborhoods, moving through South Loop along the thin sliver of land east of Michigan Avenue. But state representatives don’t have nearly the same impact on Chicagoans’ day-to-day lives as aldermen. And since the recent ward remap put Burns’ 4th Ward into the parts of South Loop, Burns has became more relevant than ever before.
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Crane teachers, activists unveil turnaround plan

With clock ticking on phase-out vote, no indication CPS is listening

01/25/2012

A coalition of Crane teachers, students, parents and Near West Side community activists unveiled a plan Friday night to turn around the 109-year-old high school at 2245 W. Jackson Blvd., focusing on adding programming and services to the school.
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