FREE Millennium Park Concert at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion

Members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with Edwin Outwater conductor and Savion Glover tap dancer

Mozart Overture to The Magic Flute
Ellington Selections from The River * Featuring Savion Glover
Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition (orch. Ravel)

Conductor Edwin Outwater leads Members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with special guest tap dancer Savion Glover performing to Duke Ellington’s Suite from The River. The program also features Mozart’s Overture to The Magic Flute, which honors the memory of Sir Georg Solti, who passed away 10 years ago this month, and a CSO tour de force, Mussorgsky’s spectacular Pictures at an Exhibition.

This concert is generously sponsored by The Port, Washlow and Errant Families and is a part of Millennium Park’s “Blockbuster Week.”

More information at http://www.cso.org/main.taf?p=3,11,6,1&EventID=9166

In this month’s edition of the Economist’s Chicago City Briefing:

The City of Chicago’s $5.5 billion dollar budget proposal is almost a quarter of a billion dollars in the red due to lower than expected real estate tax receipts. It is suspected that Mayor Daley may have to renege on a campaign promise not to raise property taxes. Otherwise, the city might close the gap with a combination of spending cuts, other tax increases such as cigarettes and layoffs of city employees.

The town of Bensenville has won a recent round in its fight to block the O’Hare expansion plans and the city has withdrawn the army of bulldozers and contruction equipment that was poised to demolish about 350 homes and empty businesses.

Elvira Arellano has been deported. She spent a year in sanctuary in Adalberto United Methodist Church on the Chicago West Side. Back in 2002, Ms. Arellano had been convicted of working under a false social-security number at O’Hare in 2002. She was supposed to appear before immigration authorities last year but instead hid out in the church for a year. She was arrested while speaking at a rally in Los Angeles.

The Chicago Reader has been sold to a Florida outfit – Creative Loafing. They intend to lay off Chicago Reader staff and cut the paper down to a single section from three. The sale includes the building on East Illinois Street near Snicker’s Deli.

The Chicago CTA is planning to raise fares and cut service. More information in the Chicago Sun-Times. http://www.suntimes.com/news/transportation/501808,cta080807.article

Each month’s edition of the Chicago City Briefing can be found here — http://www.economist.com:80/cities/briefing.cfm?city_id=CHI

The Construction Writers Association (CWA) will meet at the Hotel Allegro, Chicago, IL, from October 10 to 12, 2007.  The association’s midyear meeting will feature a tour of the Lakeshore East development, an education session focusing on digital media, a session featuring construction-related topics, and an awards dinner.

CWA’s Thursday morning education session will include:  Judy Schriener, formerly editor of McGraw-Hill’s construction website, on writing for the web; Toni Antonetti of Public Relations Chicago on new tools available to writers; and blogging, podcasting, and other new techniques with John Usherwood, eChannel Commercial Manager, MPSD – Global Brand Management, Caterpillar Inc. A wrap-up session will cover the pros and cons of digital and print media.

The $4 billion Lakeshore East development site was the largest available urban acreage in Chicago.  Previously a 9-hole golf course made out of a wasteland, it covers 28 acres east of Michigan Avenue along the Chicago River. Magellan Development Group LLC is creating this luxury village including housing, retail, recreation, and a school.  Three residential buildings have been completed, and three more were nearing completion earlier this summer. The spectacular 82-story Aqua Building is currently under construction.  CWA attendees will visit with the developer and tour the site on Thursday afternoon.

Thursday evening will feature the CWA Marketing Communication Awards and Website and Electronic Communications Awards Dinner.

On Friday morning, the midyear meeting session will highlight the 82-story Aqua Building, designed to combine condos, rental apartments, a hotel and retail spaces.  Ron Klemencic, president of engineering consulting firm Magnusson Klemencic Associates, Inc., Seattle and Chicago; David Alexander of the James McHugh Construction Co., Chicago, IL; and James Loewenberg, AIA, co-CEO of Magellan will be on hand to discuss the Lakeshore East development. Design architect Jeanne Gang has also been invited.

Building Information Modeling, commonly called BIM, will also be introduced.  Mark Woodburn, AIA LEED AP, of DMJM Design will be a panelist.  A software supplier, building owner, and a contractor have been invited to participate on this panel.  We are  also planning a session with representatives of the Illinois Tollway, who will discuss open tolling and variable pricing proposals, concepts that are becoming popular throughout the US.

The CWA Board of Directors will meet on Wednesday afternoon at the Hotel Allegro.  Observers are welcome at this session.  A welcoming reception has been scheduled for Wednesday evening at the offices of Concrete Products magazine, published by Penton, in the IBM Building.  Reservations are needed for the reception due to building security, but there is no charge for Wednesday events.

Rooms at the Hotel Allegro will be $219 per night.  The reservation cut-off date is Friday, September 14, 2007.  To book, call 800-643-1500 and mention the “Construction Writers Association.”

Registration fees for members will be $125 for the Friday midyear meeting, which includes the Thursday evening Awards Dinner, and $125 for the Thursday morning education session – or $240 for both.  Nonmembers will pay $150 for each session or $290 for both.  Nonmembers are encouraged to join CWA for $100 individual annual dues and attend the meeting at member registration rates. There is no charge to attend the CWA Board of Directors Meeting, the welcome pizza party, or the Lakeshore East development tour.

Construction Writers Association is a non-profit, non-partisan, international organization for journalists, publicists, photographers, and marketing communications professionals serving the information needs of the construction industry. By providing opportunities for networking, education, recognition, and fellowship, CWA helps foster a strong community — and improve the quality of construction writing. CWA’s website is http://www.constructionwriters.org/.

The “Chicago Outdoor Film Festival” has started in Butler Field at Grant Park. The City of Chicago web site and more information can be found at www.chicagooutdoorfilmfestival.us

Double Indemnity – July 24 @ 8:50pm
Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck

Written on the Wind – July 31 @ 8:42pm
Rock Hudson, Lauren Bacall, Dorothy Malone, Robert Stack

The Awful Truth – August 7 @ 8:34pm
Irene Dunne, Cary Grant

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid – August 14 @ 8:24pm
Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katherine Ross

Sweet Smell of Success – August 21 @ 8:13pm
Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis

The Sound of Music – August 28 @ 8:01pm
Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer

Quotes:
[Double Indemnity stars] “…one of the smokiest, sexiest, most dangerous film noir femme fatales, Barbara Stanwyck.”
Michael Wilmington

Sponsors & Partners: Charles Schwab, Metromix, Chicago Transit Authority, WNUA 95.5, Chicago Park District, Time Out Chicago 

The Children’s Museum has scheduled meetings at many of the buildings in the neighborhood to present plans for the Children’s Museum along the south side of East Randolph at the site of the present Daley Fieldhouse. The first meeting was held last night at North Harbor Tower (175 N. Harbor Dr.) and additional meetings are scheduled as follows. More meeting times at other buildings to be posted later.

360 Randolph, Wednesday, July 18 @ 6 pm

195 Harbor, Thursday, July 19 @ 6 pm

155 Harbor, Monday, July 23 @ 6:30 pm

400 Randolph, Wednesday, July 25 @ 6:30 pm

Local residents had expressed concerns about the Children’s Museum locating along Randolph last year so the museum considered moving to a location at Monro and Columbus, however this location was opposed by the Friends of the Park and the Grant Park Conservancy Council.

Now the Children’s Museum is looking back at their originally proposed location at the site of the Fieldhouse much to the ire of those who thought the plan was dead last year. Be sure to attend your buildings meeting to see the detailed proposal and presentation and have a chance to express your opinion to the new Alderman who will be in attendance at each meeting.

The group BlogHer is putting on BlogHer Conference ’07 next weekend at Navy Pier.  BlogHer ’07 sessions will begin on the morning of Friday, July 27 and go all day on Friday and Saturday, July 28. There will be cocktail receptions at the Navy Pier following both days.

When: July 27th – 29th, 2007
Where: Navy Pier, Chicago, IL
Theme: “A World of Difference”

http://blogher.org/node/17751

BlogHer’s mission is to create opportunities for women bloggers to pursue exposure, education, and community. “Where the women bloggers are” 

In the July issue of the Economist’s Chicago City Briefing:

The “Chicago Outfit” – which began with Al Capone and is reputed to run much of Chicago’s black market - is on trial and it is thought to be one of the largest mob trials in Chicago’s history.

The John H. Stroger junior hospital closed a 26 bed ward in May and faces growing fiscal problems.

Almost 1000 pounds of marijuana were found on the South Side in a garage. The estimated street value is nearly three million dollars. 

Construction of a new runway at O’Hare will begin this summer and is expected to be ready in 2008. 

Click here to read the full newsletter – http://www.economist.com/cities/briefing.cfm?city_id=CHI

The large planters on the last block of East Randolph (across from Outer Drive East) have been removed. For the past couple of weeks, these had been blocking pedestrians and causing people to have to walk into the street to pass.

See previous post with photos — http://blog.new-eastside.com/planters-along-randolph/

Also, see Richard Ward’s letter to the Alderman and the statement from Brendan Reilly — http://blog.new-eastside.com/planters-along-randolph/#comments 

Of course it would be nice if the community finally got the Pedway and we could walk underground.

Mary Owen of the Chicago Tribune wrote an article about the recent Lollapalooza meeting at Roosevelt University hosted by GPAC. Chicago sign a five year deal last October to hold the 3-day concert in Grant Park following the success of last year’s concert.

However, a number of neighborhood residents had complained about the noise levels and are concerned that scant attention is being paid to local and state noise statutes. The concert will be held August 3rd through the 5th this year.

From the Chicago Tribune – “The stage changes weren’t enough for Richard Ward, president of the New Eastside Association of Residents, who said he’s frustrated because it appears to him that local and state agencies will not enforce noise ordinances. “It’s one thing to have three hours of music, but 39 hours?” Ward said.”

 Full article – http://www.chicagotribune.com:80/entertainment/chi-lollapaloozajun19,1,3870498.story

Magellan Development Group has published the Spring edition of the Currents Newsletter promoting Lakeshore East and the area.

Topics include: – Lakeshore East named “2007 Development of the Year” by the Greater North Michigan Avenue Association, 340 Sales Office moved to Lakeshore East, Aqua Breaks Ground, Sales Office to Move to Shoreham, Jeanne Gang’s Aqua Design, Regatta Orientation Program, Cafe Roma to open in Shoreham, and 340 on the Park and Chandler “Top Out”.

 View the newsletter here – http://www.lakeshoreeast.com/pdfs/MGL_CurrentsSP07Pweb.pdf 

In the past week a bunch of planters have appeared along Randolph St.

On the east end of the street on the south side across from Outer Drive East this presents a problem as the sidewalk was not very wide to begin with and now more than half the sidewalk has been claimed by the behemoth planters. 

Click on the thumbnail to view the full photo.

I just missed it in this photo but picture the “weave” pedestrians must now engage in when passing others along the sidewalk. Our family’s double stroller barely fits on the remaining strip of sidewalk. You can imagine with passing groups or during special events such as the Fourth of July fireworks how sidewalk traffic will have to spill out into the streets potentially causing obstacles for drivers.

Also, in this photo you can see a city worker or contractor picking up a beer can that has already been attracted by the planter. Not only do they block the sidewalks, but they also serve as garbage bins by passers-by.

Click on the thumbnail to view the full photo. 

In talking with several other residents about the poorly planned decision to place planters on this sidewalk, one person mentioned “where’s Natarus when you need him?” Well, we do have an Alderman who the majority of voters in the Ward voted for in the last election – Ald. Brendan Reilly who just recently took office.

You can call his office @ (312) 642-4242. Tell him to look at the photos at http://blog.new-eastside.com or come out and watch the “Randolph weave” himself. By the way, Mayor Daley’s office number is (312) 744-3300. I’m sure it would not hurt to call his office as well.

Bob O’Neill writes that there will be a Grant Park Conservancy meeting on Tuesday, May 29, 2007 – 6:30 p.m.

The meeting will be at Daley Bicennteniel Plaza (337 E. Randolph just east of Columbus Drive) regarding the Children’s Museum Plans for relocating to this area.

He invites that you “Please come out and give us your input on the newest plans for the museum.”

The Parkhomes development at Lakeshore East was mentioned in the Wednesday issue of the Sun-Times. The units are currently prices around 1.7 to 2.5 million dollars and each have roughly 3k to 4k sq. feet. The Sun-Times reports that construction has already started in the southeast corner corner but I don’t see much besides a fence and some grading work. It looks like there is a pile of railroad ties, I’m not sure if that is because the area used to be a railyard (?). If anyone knows please post a comment. You could probably get a good look at them from Lower Harbor Drive between NHT and the Lancaster.

From the Sun-Times - “Now coming to downtown Chicago — low-rise homes! That’s honest-to-goodness, close-to-the-ground, hear-the-birds-in-the-trees living. But of course, you will have to pay steeply for the privilege and the dominant bird might be the noisy Canada geese that are so much trouble to Grant Park. ”

More information can be found at — http://www.suntimes.com:80/business/roeder/396714,CST-FIN-roeder23.article.

In this month’s Chicago City Briefing from the Economist –

• Chicago has won out over Las Angeles for country’s bid to be host for the 2016 Olympics. The final decision will be made in 2009 among other international cities likely to include Rome and Tokyo.
• The CTA’s construction projects this summer will delay commuters who use the Red, Brown, and Purple lines. Construction will continue through 2009.
• Donald Walsh, assistant deputy chief paramedic, “retired” on April 30th after being accused of racial discrimination.
• Virgin airlines has launches direct, non-stop flights between Chicago and London’s Heathrow airport. (Check out Virgin Atlantic’s amenities). Virgin originally pulled out of the Chicago market after 9/11.

For more information, see the briefing at http://www.economist.com/cities/briefing.cfm?city_id=CHI

There will be a New Eastside Association of Residents (NEAR) on May 1st at 222 N. Columbus Dr.

 Present will be Brendan Reilly, Alderman-elect of the 42nd Ward as well as the Executive Director of the Loop Alliance Ty Tabing.

 Other presenters will talk about Grant Park and Daley Bicentennial Plaza summer programs as well as city-wide summer programs and events.

 More information — http://forums.new-eastside.com/index.php/topic,110.0.html

The Swisshotel expanding? You might wonder to where? According to an article in Digital50, into Lakeshore East. You might have wondered what will happen with the exact parcels between the Tides and Swisshotel (and the fire station), apparently Swisshotel is taking something, but the article does not say whether it is the space to the east or south.

From Digital50 – “Swissotel Chicago’s conference expansion will be in the Lakeshore East development, believed to be the largest parcel of downtown land under development in a major U.S. city. This $4 billion mixed-use development in the rapidly growing New East Side (sic)incorporates all the elements of a traditional city community” 

More info – http://digital50.com/news/items/PR/2007/04/20/AQF025/swissotel-chicago-announces-expansion-plan.html 

Earth Day Celebration with ComEd and Exelon

This Saturday from 9 to 11 am volunteers are welcome to help mulch trees and cleaning Grant Park. Meet at Daley Bicennteniel Plaza.

“We will be mulching trees (by working with the Chicago Park District, we have worked to get 1000′s of trees planted in Grant Park, close to two thousand in the last year). We will also be picking up left-over winter litter and debris.”

More information – http://forums.new-eastside.com/index.php/topic,109.0.html

From CoStar Group – “The $475 million tower is at 225 N. Columbus Drive in the Lakeshore East development, a $4 billion, 28-acre mixed-use campus. The tower will total about 1.9 million square feet, comprised of 263 luxury condominium units, 476 rental apartments, 210 hotel suites, and 42,000 square feet of office space and 37,000 square feet of retail space.”

It is interesting that the estimated date of first delivery is so removed from the final delivery date.

Read more at — http://www.costar.com/News/Article.aspx?id=B441D50EFAE078E722340BEAF1C887A2  

This month in the Economist’s Chicago City Briefing there are articles about the $12m political hiring settlement, Barack Obama’s endorsement of Dorothy Tillman of the 3rd Ward, Anthony Abbate a police officer from Chicago who is facing a charge of aggravated battery, and more on the Chicago Spire.

“Mr Calatrava has won both notoriety and critical acclaim for his designs, most of which have been built in Spain and Switzerland. His first American commission, also in the Midwest, was for the Milwaukee Art Museum’s Quadracci Pavilion, which opened in 2001.”

Read more at — http://www.economist.com/cities/briefing.cfm?city_id=CHI

I just heard about this yesterday, it started last Friday, March 30th and runs for two weeks – through Thursday April 12th.  

“Navy Pier welcomes the arrival of Spring with two weeks of non-stop family fun and entertainment, featuring indoor rides, inflatable slides, interactive games, special entertainment and more inside the spectacular Crystal Gardens.”

Free Admission – $8 Wristband Purchase Required for Rides listed below.

It looks like a lot of them would be suitable for our 2-yr-old so we are thinking of taking her this afternoon.

For more information see http://www.navypier.com/cal_events/spring_fam_fun.html