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The town of Bensenville has won a recent round in its fight to block the O’Hare expansion plans and the city has withdrawn the army of bulldozers and contruction equipment that was poised to demolish about 350 homes and empty businesses.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

The Sun-Time reports on how Reilly’s win could change the landscape for development projects downtown –

“Jack Guthman, a zoning attorney for leading developers, said he has met Reilly and thinks “he’s a balanced and thoughtful person” who will entertain reasonable discussions.

“Natarus, Guthman added, didn’t deserve the charge of being too project-friendly. “He was always upfront and straight-forward, even on things we didn’t like to hear,” Guthman said.”

http://www.suntimes.com:80/business/278172,CST-FIN-nat01.article 

From the Chicago Tribune – “On Wednesday, construction will get under way on the $474 million, 87-story Aqua residential tower in the Lakeshore East mixed-use development.”

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0702280163feb28,0,7209815.story  

From the Chicago Sun-Times – “Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang Architects will discuss her new 80-story tower called Aqua, scheduled to be built in the Lakeshore East development. She will speak at 12:15 p.m. Thursday at the Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington in the next Friends of Downtown program. It’s free.”

http://www.suntimes.com/business/roeder/275571,CST-FIN-roeder28.article

Alderman Ward 42 — 68 of 69 precincts reporting (99%)
City of Chicago
42nd Ward Alderman – Chicago

From the Sun-Times – “Natarus, 73, lost to AT&T executive Brendan Reilly, who had 54 percent of the vote to Natarus’ 46 percent with 81 percent of the precincts tallied. “I just hope the change is for the better,” Natarus said. “I said this before, I hope the public doesn’t miss me. I did my job. For your information I missed five City Council meetings in 36 years.”

http://www.suntimes.com/news/elections/276015,CST-NWS-wrap28.article

“Those who didn’t vote for me, I can understand their feeling. I’ve been the alderman for a long, long time,” Natarus, 73, told a crowd of supporters Tuesday night at the swanky Bella Lounge on the Gold Coast. “And there are some people who feel there ought to be a change. . . .”

http://www.suntimes.com/news/elections/276012,CST-NWS-north28.article 

This article in Sun-Times sums up what’s going on.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-park08.html

The impetus for the move is that the Navy Pier location becomes very crowded during summer months.

The museum would be underground (“below grade”) and located next to the Grant Park’s Daley Bicentennial Plaza. It is believed that traffic would flow largely on intermediate Randolph. Residents believe this could lead to some congestion at the intersection of Randolph and Michigan but otherwise the top level streets Upper Randolph, Upper Columbus, and Upper Harbor would be largely unaffected. However, the outdoor playground in Grant Park next to the Daley Bicentennial Plaza would presumably get a lot more use.

Construction would last approximately 18 mos.