Go to the Velvet Lounge

07/03/2012

We were skeptical when we heard about the Velvet Lounge’s reopening towards the end of last year, and we were admittedly a bit harsh in our first look at plans to reopen the club. But we stopped into the reborn club this weekend for its Sunday night jazz and had a good time.
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South Loop posts no bills

Letter to the editor

06/27/2012

In the upcoming days before NATO, things changed. Garbage dumpsters behind buildings disappeared. Cell coverage happily for a short time improved on the block of East 18th Street from South Calumet Avenue to Cafe Society. So it wasn’t surprising seeing a flatbed truck smilingly take away the two post boxes at East 18th and South Prairie Avenue, and East 18th and South Indiana. But then NATO came and went, and still the two post boxes didn’t return.
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Take control of South Loop high schools

06/27/2012

My daughter may be the only high school graduate from the heart of the South Loop whose high school diploma is from Wendell Phillips Academy, our South Loop “neighborhood” high school, which is in Bronzeville at 244 E. Pershing Road. She didn’t actually go to Phillips. None of the kids in the neighborhood do. She was a special education student who went to high school in Lincoln Park. But Chicago Public Schools’ tradition is to list the neighborhood school — the school the student presumably would have gone to had they not been in a special education program — on their diplomas.
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Chicago's corruption doesn't end at city limits

06/27/2012

Those of us who live in city neighborhoods know that Chicago is politically corrupt. There are figures in our neighborhood’s history like former Ald. Fred Roti of the old 1st Ward who fixed a murder case and did the mob’s bidding at city hall before going to prison. In Ravenswood on the North Side, there is the famous residence of former governor, now inmate, Rod Blagojevich whose spectacular court case has just concluded. Nearly every Chicago neighborhood has its famous rogues — some with colorful nicknames like Bathhouse John Coughlin and Hinky Dink Kenna.
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Downtown deserves better schools

06/20/2012

We’re happy to see a school finally going into New Eastside, a community that has sprouted up quickly just northeast of downtown. For years, plans have called for a new school there to support the rapidly expanding number of young families calling the area that used to be a decrepit Illinois Central rail yard home.
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Another fest

06/13/2012

It’s good to see Soldier Field getting some use in the summer. After all, the Bears haven’t exactly been active in the past few months. The Spring Awakening music festival coming to the arena this weekend marks just another way for taxpayers to get some revenue out of the stadium. Remember, it’s publicly owned, and the cash helps out our city.
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Bring it on, Bulls

06/13/2012

We were delighted to hear the Bulls come out this week and announce they’re moving their practice facility to the city. There’s really only one obvious choice for it to go, and that’s the Near West Side next to the United Center. Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf already controls tons of land around the UC, and he’s already working with Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz to build a new retail and entertainment complex next to the arena.
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Scale down Wolf Point towers

Letter to the editor

06/06/2012

I write in firm opposition to the recent proposal for huge buildings at Wolf Point. I would prefer a park there rather than a parking lot, though some development may be inevitable. The ridiculous gigantism of the recently unveiled project affronts all residents of the area. Such imposition of shadow and cutting of sight lines is bad.
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Red Line pain for the best

06/06/2012

The CTA is going to tear up the Red Line from the Cermak/Chinatown stop all the way south to 95th Street next year, a decision that hit South Side commuters in the gut earlier this week.
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To market, to market

05/30/2012

The South Loop’s new farmers market at the Wheeler Mansion is a big deal. By all accounts, it sounds like it will be a fun event with great vendors. But the market’s management is taking a big risk with this, especially by hosting it in what’s essentially a back yard.
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