Planned park receives praise, disparagement
Northwest side lot to be devoted to anarchist

Lucy Parsons was a lot of things: a wife, a mother, a dressmaker. But Chicagoans like to remember her for her contributions to the city’s labor movement in the late 19th century, and the Chicago Park District wants to immortalize her by christening a park in her name.

Out of the Park District’s 500-plus parks, only 27 are named after women, and Park District officials said they wanted to increase that number, said Julian Green, spokesman for the Chicago Park District.
Read more...

Congress Parkway panned for not meeting city's needs
Chicago residents discuss road's function in development of South Loop

Hala Megahy tries to cross one of the most dangerous intersections in Chicago at least a half-dozen times every day.
It’s not always easy.

“I can never cross Congress,” said Megahy, a sophomore marketing communications major living in Columbia’s 18 E. Congress Parkway Building for the past two years. With turning cars, stopped buses and blocked taxicabs, the congested intersection of Congress and South Wabash Avenue sees hundreds of pedestrians like Megahy and thousands of vehicles every day.
Read more...

Village goes residential
New retail, housing indicative of developing community around UIC

With Chinatown, Litlle Italy and Greektown within a few blocks, and historic facades on most of the buildings, the University Village has been a prospective residential area for many in Chicago. Now it’s becoming more of an established community with retail taking up more than 35 percent of the units.

The span of land starting on Roosevelt Road and Halsted Street was once known for its blues music and Maxwell Street Market. For the past three years, developers have worked with the University of Illinois at Chicago to build a living environment. Officials from UIC wants to get rid of the commuter college stigma and attract students to residences on campus. While there are dormitories and designated affordable housing, many of the units, which are condominiums and town homes, range in price from $143,000 to more than $700,000.
Read more...

Something old ...
Vintage rock 'n' roll T-shirt collectors' scavenging pays off in a big way

As Democrats across the nation eagerly search for a party victory on the presidential level, Barack Obama, the Illinois Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate, could be key in creating a Democratic power shift in the U.S. Senate-regardless of who wins the presidential election.

Obama, a 42-year-old African-American state senator from Hyde Park, beat six competitors in the March 16 primary election with an overwhelming 54 percent of the vote, setting himself up as one of the most visible and hopeful figures in Democratic politics nationwide.
Read more...