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There's about to be some empty spaces on North Michigan Avenue, the likes of which haven't been seen on the Magnificent Mile for 15 years.
Lord & Taylor will soon shutter the doors at its Water Tower Place location, and it will be 2008 before American Girl Place moves from its current spot on Chicago to take over a portion of the space. With CompUSA closing up shop on Chicago as well, retail vacancy for the area will jump, leaving an interesting opportunity for the Mag Mile's character to change in one way or another.
The situation comes at a time when the entire area will already be seeing an expansion of retail space, from the Esquire to the Elysian Hotel and Trump Tower. Add on top of that about 150,000 additional square footage on or directly off the mile due to these moves, and there's a distinct possibility that the feel of the shopping district could change.
We generally avoid North Michigan Avenue because people don't know that you walk on the sidewalk the same way you drive in a car (and we're not in England), are discourteous when swinging their arms and will sometimes stop in the middle of the sidewalk to stare at a tall building. That's why we're inclined to not give a damn whether big box stores move into the expansive space because they are the only ones that can fill the space while still being able to afford the exorbitant rent.
On the other hand, we are suckers for that "World Class City" nonsense Daley is always chirping about (we know, we know), and we are convinced that visitors tend to think of that area as "downtown." Retail fluctuates, stores move and leave and new ones come in — it's not like it's the end of the world. We guess we do have to grudgingly accept, though, that we want stores we can't afford to move in, so that we can continue to view the shopping district with the same slack-jawed awe as the tourists look at the tall buildings with.
Image via virtualtourist.com.
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Try working full time a couple blocks from Michigan and Ohio. Gets real annoying sometimes in the summertime.
They should LOWER the sales tax. Why pay a 9% premium on things when you can buy online and pay no tax? This is especially true for non-essential, more expensive goods, which is the heart of the shopping industry there.
I think it's rare when Chicagoans proper actually shop on Michigan Ave. Sort of like how no one actually goes to Navy Pier unless they have to.
I just go to the Mag Mile when out of town visitors want to check it out, but for hardcore shoppers, I turn them on to Lincoln Park or Wicker Park.
oh god. yet another bitch fest about personal things that happen to the reporters on this site. why are you people so, well, annoyed about everything? (and to earlier reporters, because you skinned your knee means nothing to me as far as an analysis of looptopia is concerned.)
anyway, the glut in retail property is pretty much whatever. the pedestrians per day in that part of the city is the highest in the country and people spend there. spend lots. if companies are failing its not the fault of the mag mile that they are. the pro-forma profits there are the best of the best.
that comp usa store has always sucked and the vacancies will be shored up eventually. if anything it creates more opportunity for other retailers.
imo, landlords need to do a better job of not hiding stores on the mag mile. i mean, fuck, if NYC can post store advertisements all over 5th ave the the mag mile certainly should be able to as well.
this is all transitional and not a chronic problem.
relax.
Minor nitpicks, but Lord & Taylor has actually been closed for a while (at least a month, maybe two) and CompUSA isn't actually on Michigan Ave.
Agreed for the the most part, especially the proper side of a sidewalk to walk on.
Disagree slightly with the "downtown" comment. I grew up in the suburbs (Riverside) and we referred to downtown as more than just the loop. Further, I would definitely say that I worked "downtown" when my office was at Chicago and Michigan. Me thinks perhaps you got it wrong on that one and it's the natives who would call that downtown, while transplants would attempt to make some distinction.
@nutsackylady:
Everyone back home in Kankakee just refers to anything in city limits as "downtown".
When my uncle from Limestone, IL asked me where I lived and I said "Wicker Park", he just said "Is that near Joliet?"
this is all transitional and not a chronic problem.
relax.
Where does the author suggest otherwise? It seems that the whole piece is just pointing out a transition rather than a problem. Will somebody please post a picture of Daley riding a unicorn on top of a rainbow over Millenium Park so Matty can be happy.
Oh good, I'm not the only one who is irked by people that stand on the sidewalks (usually in gaggles of four or more people and a SUV-style baby carriage blocking the entire path). Alas, I break into a round of Tourette's Light™ and start barking out, "Not 'sidestand! Sidewalk! Sidewalk! Sidewalk!" to the oblivious tourists.
@F®ank:
Preach, Brother F®ank, Preach!
And carry your message to Lincoln Park and Wicker Park, too while you're at it.
This is the stupidest site on the web. These writers try and point out the obvious for the most part. Yes the Mag Mile is a tourist attraction and yes if you are a Chicagoan chances are you avoid for the most part especially in high tourist season. Like in Miami you avoid all the tourist traps as well mostly.
But what I don’t get is why does the Chicagoist always slam Daley. The most popular Mayor in the U.S.A. I think it’s pure jealously on the miserable want to be real reporters the Chicagoist has.
joe: It seems to me that the only people who like Daley are from the suburbs. Maybe he should be mayor of Naperville instead, now that he has made Chicago safe for them to come and vist.
And the most popular Mayor in the US? What about Giulliani, American's Mayor in the days after 9/11? Should Daley now run for president? Wait for the indictment to come down. We'll see how popular he is then.
Kevin:
Most of the City people I know like Daley. As far as the indictment you talk about. You have no clue what you are talking about number 1 and number 2 people will still recogonize him for what he has done for this city. I am sorry you are so Disenfranchised that you have to attack Daley. What happened couldn't you get a city job or something? Or couldn't you daddy or mommy get a job from what you call the machine. You have some real issues as do most of the people that are on staff or writers on this site.
Kevin, was it the residents of Naperville who just voted 70%+ in favor of reelecting Daley?
As for retail vacancies, N. Michigan Ave. isn't the only area that is surprisingly affected. Have you ever noticed the number of vacant storefronts along Clark from Webster to Diversey? People living in that area clearly have money, so it's not like consumers wouldn't be there to support businesses along that stretch. Are the landlords just that greedy?
At #11: If this is the "stupidest site on the web" then I suppose we can look forward to reading no more of your comments.
@joe:
I don't know joe, me and you must not have the same circle of friends, because I usually end up defending Daley to them whenever city politics are brought up. A lot of people are upset over any number of things:
CTA
Police Brutality
Olympics
CPS
CTA
CHS
Hired Truck Scandal
TIF's
Gentrification
CTA
Institutional Racism/homophobia
Zero real recycling program
Rising Property Taxes
Meigs Field
CTA
Big Box ordinance Veto
And did I mention the clusterfuck that is the CTA?
Keep in mind, I voted for him and still support him, but that's waning fast. You're simply not paying attention to what's going on, and probably just commute in, see all the nice flower planters and condos and think everything is just hunky dory in our sleepy little burg.
But the fact is, Harold Washington and Jane Byrne did such poor jobs as mayors, that everyone is petrified of voting for anyone else. THAT'S why Daley keeps getting elected, not because he's doing such a bang-up job.
For the record all I ride is the CTA both bus and train or I take a Taxi. Yes the CTA and hopefully all the short term pain is for long term gain. Let's give the new guy a chance. I never liked Krusei and he won't have worked for me for 5 minutes. Yes the police brutality is an issue but that isn't Daley fault he can't control what everyone does 24/7. LA has problems with Police Brutality too. Gentrification is progress would rather live in the slums. If so their are a lot of areas on the Southside. Every city has TIF's by the way. And the Big Box ordinance won't work anyway. Let the market determine if WalMart of those stores come here. Frankly I don't want a WalMart or Target in my neighborhood but it would also be nice to have store close by that is open when I need something un like the local Ace Hardware and has a big selection.
I work hard own my own taxes and chose to live in the City and am not worried about the Gentrification etc or the rising property taxes. I am more worried about the Gov. stupid tax plan that will run major corp out of Chicago.
Only suburb people like Daley? He got what, 70% of the city vote?
A correct statement would be "only suburbanites who moved here from the suburbs dislike Daley."
I lived in the city my entire life & I hate Daley!
Everyone around him is 100% corrupt, incompetent or both!
And joe, the short term pain isn't the CTA problem, it's the entire way the L is fucked up beyond belief!
Just before the three tracking it was taking at least 45 minutes to get to da Loop from Rogers Park, 20 years ago it was 25 minutes.
The buses are a mess, not just in that they're filthy, but many of the drivers are jerks, they run in bunches, so you wait over a half hour for a bus that's supposed to run every 10 minutes & 4 show up.
And the most popular Mayor in the US? What about Giulliani, American's Mayor in the days after 9/11?
I think we can safely say his star isn't shining so brightly anymore. Since those days, we've learned he's engaged in adulteries, has a penchant for getting photographed in women's dresses, and is now fielding blame for his failure to acknowledge and react to the complaints of the many 911 first-responders who are now facing serious health woes due to the toxic dust cloud in which they toiled "in the days after 9/11". Bloomberg is the man over there now...
If you don't like the CTA buy a car. Could it be it takes longer to get the loop now because more people have moved to Lakeview, Uptown, Edgewater and Roger Park. Ridership on the L is at an all time hight for the Northside. That is one of the reason's it takes longer and becasue when they open close the doors too fast or close the doors on someone running up the L platform they call and bitch. It's a no win situation to plaese everyone. If they time the buses the riders get pissed they aren't moving. Number 1 you should realize if it takes 45 mintues leave 45 mintues early or get a car. You are at the mercy of the train/bus driver and I am so sorry you have such a loser job you can't be a few minutes late now and then. Like I said if it doesn't work for you get a car or take a taxi or hire a driver. Or move next to your work so you can walk to it. I don't think some of you people understand the difference between politics and true corrpution. You think everything you can't control or every time someone dissagrees with you or doesn't like you ideas it is corrupt. It's all about business anywhere and making money. If you all had your way we won't have the Boeing Headquarters here or United Airlines. Then you would all have the shit hole you so desperately want. Then you woudl still be bitching. Daley wouldn't keep winning if the majority didn't like him and want him in.
you've gotta be effin' kidding me about walking on the same side of sidewalks as we drive. No one in their right mind would cross to the other side of Michigan (or any street for that matter) for the sole purpose of going the same direction as cars. Your annoyance should be rooted in the slow massess of touristas that clog the way...that's it.
Just to clarify: Polite sidewalk walking is to walk within the space of the sidewalk as if the sidewalk were a tiny street, i.e. walking to the right side of the sidewalk in the direction you are going. This is not because right is better or anything like that, it's because if people walked on the left side of the sidewalk or straight down the middle they'd be running into everyone. I'm not saying it's good that we're all sheep, or that it isn't fun to upset the herd, I just subscribe to this because otherwise it's anarchy. Like Michigan Ave on a summer Saturday.
Now you may continue throwing rotten vegetables at me.
Dear Andrew,
We/they meant those folks who walk on any stretch of sidewalk--be it on the left or right side of the street--who don't know to walk on the right (side of any stretch of sidewalk you happen to be on, regardless of the side of the street).
So no, no one is "effin" kiddin you. You've simply misinterpreted the gripe.
I totally agree with "Taxes, Not Others Stuff". They hiked the sales tax, they hiked the commercial property tax and business know this and they are leaving to the burbs. It just too hard to make ends meet downtown. It will be easy for stores to move but really hard for the little guy to find a new job in Chicago. hip hip hooray for all the liberals that want higher taxes for better welfare programs. This is just a start of what they are going to get. And the unions are helping them find rock bottom. Even better is the new affordability law being propose that going to force developers to set aside or pay out 10% of the units in new developments. Guess what developers will do, sit on properties and wait because a 10% penalty on development is a hard thing to pass on to the market priced units. Development and commercial development should really come to a nice halt in the city of Chicago.
I agree with ThunderCougar. I don't think there are many people out there who truly love Daley, they simply re-elect him for lack of a strong alternative. I'm hoping Chicago can produce a Bloomberg type for 2011.
With the exception of two of these writers on this site, it's safe to say that every one of these people are transplants who were born shortly before Daley became Mayor in 1989. Having lived in this city nearly all of my life, I can safely say that this city is better than it has been at any point of my life, my parents' life, or my grandparents' life. It sickens me that people come on here and gripe about Daley for a lot of things he has no control over, like police brutality. Wasn't it the NYPD that lit up some dude by shooting round after round of amunition into him, basically sodomized him with broom handle, et al, on Rudy's watch? Oh, but when St. Patrick's Day rolls around and those fuckheads come to town, you probably jock them (HEROES!!!), along with the firemen of both cities. The fact of the matter is, Daley had nothing to do with Abbate or what happened at Jefferson Tap, except to clean it up after it happened. There are shitty people in all organizations.
And the complaints about gentrification kill me. It's a cycle of life. Only two of you writers grew up within the confines, yet you want to complain about what goes on when people are displaced. YOU ARE THE FUCKWADS DISPLACING PEOPLE! Don't you understand? Really! You are part of the fucking cycle!
Get off of your high-horses people. Dick Daley may not be perfect, but he eats, drinks and shits Chicago - he has done more for this city than any other person in its history.
I would love to see how many of you self-important fuckers would boycott, say, Northerly-island/Meigs if they had Pitchfork there.
Here's an idea: get out of Chicago, we don't want you here. Move to Alsip, Wood Dale, Cicero or Maywood if you hate it so much. Or, better yet: move back to whatever podunk town in Michigan, Ohio or Iowa, I mean, you're gentrifying the fuck out of this place!
Even better is the new affordability law being propose that going to force developers to set aside or pay out 10% of the units in new developments.
God forbid any longtime Chicago resident or native who isn't making six figures actually be able to afford a home in a reasonably safe neighborhood that they've been renting in for years...
Developers have been making money hand-over-fist for the last two decades in Chicago, often at the expense of the neighborhood residents and local architecture--I think they can afford to give something back to the community. If you're feeling sorry for them, then you must really be out of touch--capitalism run amok isn't the answer to everything, despite whay you may think. How can it be? It allows no room for actual living and breathing persons to be figured into the equation...
Only those born in Chicago can have an opinion on Daley, and it had better be a positive one. If you don't like it, get the hell out! What a wonderful, welcoming message to send to people considering relocation to Chicago. For a city trying to get the Olympics, the "Love Daley or get out" crowd make Chicagoans look like a bunch of provincial hicks.
Joe, are you a part of the problem or the solution? You moving here only drives minorities out and makes for more white people who need to be policed from the coloreds. I mean, seriously! Hey Joe, here's an idea: a whole city exists outside of your little homgenized world. So tell me Joe, how do you make this city better for the other half? Do you even vote, or do you do that back in Iowa, Michigan or Ohio in absentia?
You won't even be here by the time the Olympics roll around. Transplant.
By the way Joe, hicks and hayseeds are the ones who move here with starry eyes and mislead idealogies, in the hopes of making it in...THE WINDY APPLE! Capitol City, here I come! Now go get your shinebox there Cletus.
chuckie, why do you believe I live in a homogenized world and I am afraid of minorites? I must have really touched a nerve for you to throw out wild, baseless accusations. Come back when you are ready for rational debate, if you are capable of such.
Can I borrow the crystal ball that tells you what I will be doing in 2016? It would give me some good stock tips.
what ever Mikey, Chicago is not Detroit because developers invest real money in Chicago because yuppies invest their money in property. Capitalism has been the answer to everything in Chicago. If you don't like what Capitalism has done in Chicago, go to Detroit where the social welfare and unions made into a wasteland. If you unnecessary burdened those how have invested so much in Chicago, money will leave. High taxes and high property taxes and bad city services is recipe for some big problems. But we are not too late in fixing things.
@woodlawnchuck:
DAMN ALL THOSE TRANSPLANTS! DAMN THEM ALL!!!!!!!!1!
If only we could get rid of THESE PEOPLE (once and for all), we'd have Chicago for the REAL Chicagoans, right? Screw all these people NOT born in City Limits proper.
Alphonse Gabriel Capone: Brooklyn, NY
Michael Jordan: Brooklyn, NY
Oprah Winfrey: Kosciusko, MS
Jean Baptiste Pointe Du Sable: Haiti
Louis Jolliet: Quebec, Canada
Jacques Marquette: Laon, France
René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle: Rouen, France
John Kinzie: Quebec, Canada
Gurdon Hubbard: Windsor, VT
Jean Baptiste Beaubien: Montreal, Quebec
William Butler Ogden: Walton, NY
Marshall Field: Conway, MA
Potter Palmer: Albany County, NY
George Pullman: Brocton, NY
Cyrus McCormick: Rockbridge County, VA
Jane Addams: Cedarville, IL
Daniel Burnham: Henderson, NY
John Wellborn Root: Lumpkin, GA
Joseph Medill: St. John, New Brunswick
Carter Harrison, Sr.: Lexington, KY
Anton Joseph Cermak: Kladno, Bohemia
Catherine O'Leary: Cork County, Ireland
Carl Sandburg: Galesburg, IL
Philip Danforth Armour: Stockbridge, NY
John Davison Rockefeller, Sr.: Richford, NY
Gustavus Franklin Swift: Sagamore, MA
Richard Warren Sears: Stewartville, MN
Alvah Curtis Roebuck: Lafayette, IN
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe: Aachen, Germany
Frank Lloyd Wright: Richland Center, WI
Louis Sullivan: Boston, MA
Samuel Carson: Kerry, Ireland
Helmut Jahn: Nuremburg, Germany
Max Adler: Elgin, IL
John G. Shedd: Alstead, NH
Giovanni "Papa Johnny" Torrio: Irsina, Italy
William "Big Bill" Hale Thompson: Boston, MA
Vincenzo "Machine Gun Jack" Antonio Gibaldi: Licata, Sicily
George Clarence "Bugs" Moran: St. Paul, MN
Frank "The Enforcer" Nitti: Sicily, Italy
John Herbert Dillinger: Brightwood, IN
Larry Hoover: Jackson, MS
Bobby Rush: Albany, GA
Barack Obama: Honolulu, HI
Jesse Jackson: Greenville, SC
Jesse Jackson, Jr.: Greenville, SC
Bob Newhart: Evanston, IL
John Belushi: Wheaton, IL
Bill Murray: Wilmette, IL
Walter Payton: Columbia, MS
Jim McMahon: Jersey City, NJ
Dan Hampton: Oklahoma City, OK
Mike Singletary: Houston, TX
Mike Ditka: Carnegie, PA
Red Grange: Forksville, PA
Brian Urlacher: Pasco, WA
Lovie Smith: Gladewater, TX
Scottie Pippen: Hamburg, AR
Dennis Rodman: Trenton, NJ
Phil Jackson: Deer Lodge, MT
Norm Van Lier: East Liverpool, OH
Jerry Reinsdorf: Brooklyn, NY
Horace Grant: Augusta, GA
Tony Esposito: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Denis Savard: Pointe Gatineau, Quebec
Stan Mikita: Sokolče, Slovakia
Bobby Hull: Pointe Anne, Ontario
Jeremy Roenick: Boston, MA
Ed Belfour: Carman, Manitoba
Harry Caray: St. Louis, MO
Jack Brickhouse: Peoria, IL
Mordecai "Three Fingers" Brown: Nyesville, IN
Gabby Hartnett: Woonsocket, RI
Hack Wilson: Ellwood City, PA
Ernie Banks: Dallas, TX
Ferguson Jenkins: Chatham, Ontario
Billy Williams: Whistler, AL
Leon Durham: Cincinnati, OH
Rick Sutcliffe: Independence, MO
Greg Maddux: Las Vegas, NV
Ryne Sandberg: Spokane, WA
Sammy Sosa: San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic
Mark Prior: San Diego, CA
Bill Veeck: Hinsdale, IL
Shoeless Joe Jackson: Pickens County, SC
Eddie Collins: Millerton, NY
Luke Appling: High Point, NC
Minnie Miñoso: Havana, Cuba
Luis Aparicio: Maracaibo, Venezuela
Billy Pierce: Detroit, MI
Dick Allen: Wampum, PA
Carlton Fisk: Bellows Falls, VT
Oswaldo José Guillén: Ocumare del Tuy, Venezuela
Ken "The Hawk" Harrelson: Woodruff, SC
Frank Thomas: Columbus, GA
Jack McDowell: Van Nuys, CA
Robin Ventura: Santa Maria, CA
Paul Konerko: Providence, RI
José Contreras: San Juan y Martinez, Cuba
Tadahito Iguchi: Tokyo, Japan
Mark Buehrle: St. Charles, MO
Steve Dahl: Riverside, CA
Jonathon Brandmeier: Fond Du Lac, WI
Erich "Mancow" Muller: Kansas City, MO
Jeff Tweedy: Belleville, IL
Steve Albini: Missoula, MT
Billy Corgan: Elk Grove Village, IL
Jeremy Piven: New York, NY
Joan Cusack: New York, NY
John Cusack: Evanston, IL
John Malkovich: Christopher, IL
Gary Sinise: Blue Island, IL
William Peterson: Evanston, IL
Gary Cole: Park Ridge, IL
Del Close: Manhattan, KS
Andrew Alexander: Toronto, Ontario
Adam Jones (of Tool): Park Ridge, IL
Jerry Springer: London, UK
So yeah, screw all those people... they don't know anything about Chicago, not like you.
And those 30 of our 53 mayors that weren't born in Chicago too? They have ZERO impact on our history, culture, or anything.
So yeah, Chicago (named by downstate Sauk and Fox Indians), Illinois (French mispronounciation of Illiniwek) in the Land of Lincoln (who was born in Hardin County, KY) is the best city ever!
Yes ThunderCougarFalconBird, I am with you. Make whatever you want out of my statement, to suit your own. That is fine. But you're mincing words. My response is to the people who come here, act like they know what Chicago was like before Daley was in office. I can remember a time when people didn't go downtown and gangs ruled all parts of the city that many of you now call home. That has changed. Does it mean crime went away? No. But has it gotten better, so that Chicago is now an attractive place for many of you to live? Hell yes. The facts point to it. Nice list, by the way.
Joe, here's to you:
CTA-the problem of the CTA must be acknowledged, should be fixed, and is being worked on to rectify the obvious problems. However, consider this: we have the second largest public transit system in the country. New York never got as bad as ours did, partially because New York has never been a car culture. In recent years, people have become public transit riders because it's much easier than driving. Even with its problems, it still is easier than driving. That is why you take it, right? Because it's easier and more efficient, economically and otherwise, to take it. But don't think that a system nearing 100 years old can be fixed overnight, particularly at a time when ridership is increasing. And don't think Daley is not trying to fix this, or that he didn't push Kruesi out the door. He did, and that is acknowledgement enough. Let's not forget that money is not coming in from other sources, like the Federal Government. Let's not forget that if we should get the Olympics, this problem will be rectified sooner rather than later.
Police Brutality-a few bad apples spoil the bunch. Super-hero Rudy Giulianni had a lot of brutality on his watch. As did several mayors in Los Angeles. When you have forces that large, you have bad apples. Abbate is scum and he will be paying the price.
Olympics-what about the Olympics? There's your mass-transit system gift-wrapped, with a bow!
CPS-do you remember what the schools were like in the 80s? Do you remember the days before metal detectors and police sitting at the schools? Things have gotten much better. Scores are up, not where they should be, but they are up. Money is being vested in the schools. That isn't the only thing that needs to happen though. At some point, GOOD PARENTING has to happen. Take a walk outside of your neighborhood sometime and see what you can see in terms of parenting. Not much.
CTA-See above.
CHS-what is CHS? Do you mean Chicago Housing Authority? Well, the people are getting new homes, aren't they? They aren't being displaced either. We'll see how that works out.
Hired Truck Scandal-Ever been to Bridgeport? Well, that sums it up.
TIF's-What is it about TIFs that is killing you Joe? Are you really Ben Javorsky?
Gentrification-are you part of the process or the solution Joe? People moving into the city from other places is what's caused neighborhoods to gentrify. Poor ethnic people are displaced because of gentrification. It's part of the cycle, just like Poles in a lot of areas were displaced by Hispanics and the Irish and Italians were displaced by blacks. So when you move into a neighborhood, whichever one it might be, you are part of the cycle. Nothing stays the same for ever. And by the way, I'm still bitter about what happened to Wicker in recent years. But you know what? I probably displaced someone who was a minority. But you know what? My family has been displaced on seven different occassions. Deal with it.
CTA-kind of repetitive on your part, deal with it.
Institutional Racism/homophobia-If this were true, Daley and his administration wouldn't allow rainbows built into North Halsted Street. Andersonville and Boys Town would not be promoted like they are. The Pride Parade wouldn't exist, and the city, Daley's administration, wouldn't spend the hundreds of thousands of dollars they do to police, traffic and clean up that area after the day. You're talking out of your ass.
Zero real recycling program-The city is trying to get this going again. They did years ago, before you were here. The reason they stopped? People didn't make any effort and it cost more to sort through the garbage that was mixed up than it did to just not have a program in place. Other cities half our size had this same problem.
Rising Property Taxes-rising why? To deal with all of the problems you're addressing above, like the CTA, schools, et al. Can't have your cake and eat it too. If the city started to look like a cesspool again, you would complain about that, I suspect. There's give and take in everything. As a homeowner, I don't like it either. But hey...
Meigs Field-Northerly Island. Are you a pilot? If not, I don't get the beef. Meigs made no money, it served very few people - elites is what I think most would call them. Might actually help deter rising property taxes.
CTA-See above. But now that you mention taxes and the like...Well...
Big Box ordinance Veto-I don't like Target or Wal-Mart either, but if they will come into the city instead of going to nearby suburbs, and the city gets the taxes, why should we encourage it? I am all for unions, but the problem is not just the big box stores, but the fact that we have a problem with a great many workers doing things cheaper.
I suggest you take a look at Tom Friedman's the World is Flat. Our problems in the city aren't endemic to our city alone. It's a nationwide problem.
By the way, I am a liberal, ride my bike everywhere, gravitate to "indie" rock and films. I believe in thought, especially that which is progressive. People who regurgitate things they hear or don't actually think about how to solve the problems or ponder why they exist never come up with solutions.
#21 was from a different Joe. I posted 29 and 32. I didn't complain about gentrification, that was someone else. For better or worse it's an unavoidable reality in many large cities.
I liked Daley in the first half of his reign. He took some calcified bureaucracies by the throat and re-energized them. He boldly took over Chicago Public Schools, a move he did not have to make. However cities all over the country have enjoyed revitalization since the early 90s due to a sustained economic boom and a renewed interest in urban living. Crime across the country has declined. Daley has helped spur this process, but the notion that Chicago's growth is unique among cities is untrue.
The second half of his reign is a different story. He has become a reactive mayor who does not address problems until they reach crisis mode. He allows corruption to fester until the media or Feds embarrass him into change. Even then his reforms simply address the scandal of the month, not the underlying culture of corruption. He is more interested in covering his ass than in reform because it's right and good for the city.
The CTA is another example. He kept Kreusi on long past his time, after it was obvious to everyone that State legislators hated him and wouldn't increase funding with him in charge. Daley's proposed OPS reform was something he should have done long before the police abuse reached a crescendo.
I'm not against the Olympics in principle, but it appears to be an attempt to distract people from scandals. He used to laugh off the Olympics. Then Hired Truck and the hiring scandals made the news almost daily, and Daley needed a distraction. I think he's using the Olympics to manipulate the media into blind boosterism. His reign is now about protecting his legacy instead of what's truly best for Chicago.
Capitalism has been the answer to everything in Chicago.
Spoken like a true Bushie. Capitalism is why we're embroiled in the mess that is Iraq, but I digress...
I happen to be a recipient of one of those "set-aside" affordable condos you rail against. I have a college degree, do not live outside of my means, and have never spent a single day unemployed since graduating 15 years ago. That being said, I could still not afford to buy a place anywhere near my neighborhood on the Northside until I heard about the CPAN program...
Believe me...the developer of my 32-unit building is still making plenty of money and I'm still paying more in monthly mortgage payments than I was previously paying in rent (my unit--one of two CPAN units--which is only an 851 sq. ft 1-BR in an underdeveloped neighborhood, was listed at $265,000)...
Your pragmatic approach to life is dated and near-sighted. Unlike you, the majority of people do not lead their lives soley in the pursuit of money. Big business gets enough breaks already (how many major corporations pay almost ZERO federal tax dollars, or furthermore, are subsidized with tax dollars--i.e. Boeing?), without you feeling the need to cheerlead for them...
@Mikey:
"Bushie" or not, Capitalism IS Chicago. The close proximity to a continental divide united western raw materials with eastern manufacturing and shipping. It was trade, canals, railways, cow and hog slaughtering, and agribusiness that created, built, and sustained Chicago since Jolliet and Marquette stumbled on the land in 1673. I mean, the place was a fetid, mosquito-infested swamp that even the Native-Americans didn't want to live full time in. The only reason to live here is cash money.
@Woodlawnchuck:
Thanks for the list compliment, I think the most Chicago thing you could possibly do is to not actually BE from Chicago. It's a city built on people coming here and taking chances.
But I grew up an hour south of here in Kankakee, IL. My dad commuted into the city via the Metra and complained everyday about the shape Chicago was in when I was a kid. He told me, my brother, and my sister to NEVER go to Chicago because of how crappy the city was under Washington.
So I'm a transplant that DOES remember watching the Chicago news, reading Chicago newspapers, and going to Chicago (only during the day) that remembers what Chicago was like before Daley.
That list I built was mine, and it's complaints I hear all the time from people about Daley (not mine per se). I think most of the items on the list are fair game, and I'm tired of City Hall being more interested in helping the developers out rather than preserve the character and history of the neighborhoods... but that's just me.
And like I said before, I voted for Daley, but that's only because Chicago needs someone with the gravitas and ambition that all his challengers (so far...) have noticeably lacked. But I would switch on him in a heartbeat if a real progressive ever showed his or her face.
It's a shame that the Lord & Taylor closed. Of all the big department stores, that was my favorite one.
thundercougarfalconbird - nice post. Nativists annoy the hell out of me.
The loss of Lord & Taylor is a Bad thing for Water tower and for Chicago. There is still Lord & Taylor in the burbs but this was a draw for out of town tourists visiting our great city-- like it or not. This was a power play about money and rent per square foot -- purely dollars HOWEVER Lord & Taylor is UNIQUE and would give MANY tourists an experience they will NOT be able to match in their hometowns unlike the other retailer now pesent in Water Tower place which is a sad and pathetic excuse for a retail experience and in this loss Water tower has been reduced to an epicenter for a tween
I apologize as my computer decided to interupt me-- Water Tower has been reduced to an epicenter for a "Tween" experience and while this may drive visits and dollars I must question potential fallout. Many visitors to American Girl spend hard earned dollars on American Girl and do not have money left over for OTHER retail experiences and how much creation of need of other merchandise to compliment what you have just purchased at Lord & Taylor will be lost?? Time will tell and perhaps this will be a boon for the pathetic macy's as people who may not feel able to afford what they percieve as "posh" or "expensive" stores will turn, instead, to that pathetic mess for a "known experience", bad as it may be?