Chicagoist: Extra, Extra

Rachelle Bowden

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 10:17:24 -0600

oh man, i love that building. i took these photos of it back in 2006, i guess after the "improvements."

matilda

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 09:28:45 -0600

Ward: Right on all counts. What bullshit. Must be really nice to be a private developer in this city: Kiss Daley's ass, perhaps hire a couple of cousins, and you get free access to OUR money. Fucking scum.

DaleyGrind

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 09:24:36 -0600

Bullshit is right. Well said, WardUp.

Ingrid

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 07:59:13 -0600

I agree with you Ward, I constantly bemoan the lack of respect for history and tradition when I see what many cities do to their historical buildings. (It's especially painful when driving past sections of strip malls that just uglify the scenery.) But combine their complete contempt for tradition with the economy of today and the money involved, it's just absurd. Just completely absurd.

skaterina

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 23:01:59 -0600

Yeah, this makes sense - $500 million budget deficit, over 700 layoffs, we can't afford to hire new cops, but there is ALWAYS more tax money for private developers. The irony - we are privatizing city services and giving tax money to private developments.

Ward Up

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 20:43:21 -0600

One more thing. The outrageous part is that the developer should be getting a subsidy only if he SAVES the building. Instead, the boneheads at City Hall are giving a 7 Million Dollar subsidy to DEMOLISH the building. The stupidity is remarkable. Oh, and these are OUR tax dollars paying to have a nice historic building demolished.

Ward Up

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 20:30:11 -0600

Four years ago, I watched as the facade of the historic 1870's-era Showmen's League building was mutilated, i.e., "improved." They sprayed gray DryVit over the stone window borders and brick. By the way, it's at the northwest corner of Randolph and Franklin. Buffalo Bill was the first President of the Showmen's League Now they want to demolish the Showmen's League building to make barren mini-plaza, resurrecting a bad downtown planning strategy from the 1970's. I think they should blast off the DryVit, restore the facade and keep the building there.