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Mayor Emanuel Announces Improvements, Expansion to ‘L’ Line
January 18, 2012 by matt · Leave a Comment
A rendering of the proposed Cermak stop on the Green Line. Image courtesy of CDOT.
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Chicago Libraries to be Closed All Day on Mondays
January 6, 2012 by jsedey · Leave a Comment
In a stunning change of events, Chicago Public libraries will close all day Mondays, instead of Monday and Friday mornings as originally agreed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
“That’s not what was proposed or voted on, it’s completely contrary,” Alderman Scott Waguespack (32nd). “We need to sit down and get back to the original agreement, which was to keep the libraries open every day.”
Emanuel’s plan to reduce library hours and impose job cuts that would severely impact library services at all hours fast emerged as the most controversial proposal of the 2012 budget.
Aldermen from across the city argued the mayor’s decision to reduce funds for the libraries by $10 million – even as new libraries are constructed on top of the 59 existing branches that were commissioned under ex-mayor Richard M. Daley.
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City Council Amends Disabled Parking Ordinance
December 19, 2011 by jsedey · Leave a Comment
The City Council passed an ordinance introduced by Mayor Rahm Emanuel in November aimed at eliminating abuse of disability placards by motorists.
“I am pleased with the city council that took the right steps that were necessary as it relates to what I believe is honoring the integrity and the protection for people with a disability so they can get the parking placards that they need,” said Emanuel.
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The Chicago Energy Code Turns Ten
December 15, 2011 by matt · Leave a Comment
By Linda Seggelke
Ten years ago, the city of Chicago introduced its Energy Conservation Code, based largely on the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). The 2001 Chicago Energy Code was written to increase savings by lessening energy drain both commercially and residentially.
In that time, it has been revised twice: in 2006 and 2009. These revisions have seen some modest gains in efficiency. The 2009 edition, for example, contains a 15% increase in overall energy savings beyond the 2006 book.
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Chicago’s Own High Line: The Bloomingdale Trail
December 15, 2011 by matt · Leave a Comment
By Jon Sedey
Photo: David B. Gleason
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O’Hare Goes Green. Big Time.
December 15, 2011 by matt · Leave a Comment
By Matt Baker
Courtesy Chicago Department of Aviation
The project was designed to reduce delays and increase capacity at the airfield. Spend some money now, the thinking goes (the current OMP budget is estimated at $8 billion), and make more later once O’Hare’s prominence as a transportation hub is carried on into the 21st century.
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The Nine Largest Green Roofs in Chicago
December 15, 2011 by matt · Leave a Comment
 #1 Millennium Park |
Spanning roughly 24 acres, the 1,067,220 square foot Millennium Park is considered one of the largest green roof projects in the world. Completed in 2004, the $475 million project includes landscape art, full grown trees, interactive water fountains and a skating rink in the winter. What many people forget is that the roof actually covers two parking garages, a transit center and the 1,525 seat Harris Theater. |
 #2 Soldier Field |
Situated in Chicago’s museum campus lies Soldier Field, home to the Chicago Bears. The stadium serves as a memorial to soldiers who have passed away in previous wars. The field itself sits at grade over a parking garage and is approximately 239,580 square feet. |
 #3 FedEx O'Hare |
The roof atop the FedEx O’Hare sorting facility is a component of the O’Hare Modernization Program. At 175,000 square feet, it is the largest green roof on a free standing building in the Chicago area. Intrinsic Landscaping, Inc developed the structure that requires special requirements for foreign object debris in an active airspace. |
 #4 McCormick Place West |
The McCormick Place West expansion created a facility that would allow a unique experience for every visitor beneath an impressive 150,000 square foot vegetative roof. The approximately 20,000 vegetated trays help reduce the heat island effect as well as heating and cooling costs. |
 #5 Menards (Humboldt Park) |
Completed in May 2009, this Humboldt Park Menards store is one of several extensive roof structures in the city. The 104,556 square foot green roof was the last part of the building to be completed. Construction delays created a small time frame for the roof to be installed, which had to be finished prior to its grand opening. The roof was completed in just ten days, equal to more than 10,000 square feet per day. |
 #6 Quinlan Life Sciences |
The Quinlan Life Sciences Center houses the department of biology at Loyola University. Within this building, research instrumentation includes a complete microscopy facility, digital imaging equipment and coincidentally, greenhouses, an insectary and artificial streams. The science center is topped by a 100,000 square foot green roof. |
 #7 Fletcher Jones Mercedes Benz |
The Fletcher Jones Mercedes Benz dealership is an 80,000 square foot facility with state of the art, environmentally friendly technology. The building is also LEED silver certified and has low-flow water features and regional building materials. The 80,000 square foot green roof was completed in 2009 using custom-made vegetated mats. |
 #8 Aqua |
The 80,000 square foot garden at the base of Aqua provides residents with a natural, eco-friendly landscape that is both functional and attractive. The garden uses a drip irrigation system to water the low evergreen and deciduous plantings. In addition, a continuous drainage layer allows excess water to flow under soil, gravel and concrete walls to drains and pipes. It also fights the heat-island effect during the hot summer months by lowering ambient temperatures. |
 #9 ABN Amro Plaza |
The 74,700 square foot green roof at ABN Amro Plaza was built initially for use by employees of the international financial firm. Half planted area and half pavers, the plantings include a mix of trees, perennial plants and annual flowers. The trees were planted fairly large and have grown quickly, so the green roof looks mature and gives a true garden feel. |
Chicago Taxi’s Could Soon Face Tougher Regulations
December 14, 2011 by jsedey · Leave a Comment
Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced plans for a set of reforms to the taxi industry that will improve vehicles and regulate taxi drivers. “Reforms to modernize the taxi industry are long overdue,” Emanuel said.
Emanuel said that the changes are necessary to update the city’s taxi industry with vehicle regulations and oversight on cab drivers. The announced the reforms with Alderman Anthony Beale (9th), chairman of the City Council Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and city Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection Commissioner Rosemary Krimbel.
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Chicago Amends Vacant-Property Ordinance
November 3, 2011 by jsedey · Leave a Comment
At Wednesday’s City Council Meeting, the council voted to amend an ordinance passed in July that aims to hold the lending industry accountable for numerous vacant properties. This ordinance strips out a provision that would have defined lenders as the properties’ owners and made them accountable for code violations and other problems.
Referred to as the Safe Passage Ordinance, community group Action Now members joined the advocates of the bill, Alderman Deborah Graham and Alderman Bob Fioretti, along with the Chicago Teachers’ Union and local residents to push for this provision. However, it drew criticism from bankers and mortgage brokers who threatened to sue before the city officials agreed to work with them to modify the ordinance.
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Lincoln Park’s Webster Square Finally Gets Settled
October 19, 2011 by jsedey · Leave a Comment
By: Jon Sedey
With intervention from Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the longest-running battle over a Chicago neighborhood development has been resolved.
Sandz Development Company is getting the right to develop at the old Lincoln Park Hospital at Webster and Lincoln. Sandz compromised its plans for the three-acre site, changing the way the grocery store receives its deliveries and scaled back the project making it more residential and less commercial.
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