Top Posts of 2013

Hard to believe another year has come and gone in the South Loop, but it has. What were some of the things on our minds during 2013? Following are the top-ten posts which reflect a small portion of what was of interest to our friends and neighbors. Here we go, starting with number 10 at the top.

Strikers at the Congress Hotel

10. Strike at Congress Hotel ends after ten years—It was hard for some of us to believe that this strike was over. It was practically a tourist attraction. As long as we’ve been in the South Loop there was a strike in front of the landmark hotel, but it ended in May of 2013.

9. The Burger Point Delivers—Food and restaurants are always popular topics for us in the South Loop. So when a neighborhood favorite announced that they would now deliver, it was big news. Hmm, I think I want “The Gobbler” delivered to my door right now!

8. Creepy or Art: “Borders” Sculpture Installation in Grant Park—This was a fun post. This art installation just south of the Art Institute had a lot of people talking. It reminded us of the 1950s science fiction classic  The Day The Earth Stood Still, but art is in the eyes of the beholder.

Creepy or art?

7. British School to delay opening—The British are coming! The British School that is. Somewhat of a controversy when announced, the British School will be building an opening a new campus at the Roosevelt Collection.

6. No neighborhood school for the South Loop—When the new campus for Jones College Prep was announced, many had hoped the older campus would become an open-enrollment neighborhood school. It was not meant to be.

5. Wabash Arts Corridor Crawl—Modern and contemporary art lovers found this event interesting and fun thanks to the participation of several local colleges and universities and neighborhood organizations in the South Loop.

4. Kai Sushi Opens Friday in the South Loop—Once again, a new restaurant opening got the attention of South Loop residents. Kai Sushi opened in July in the former Donna’s Café space.

3. A Walk Through Time on the “Sunny Street of the Sifted Few”—This annual fund raiser for the Glessner House Museum is a popular event and attacks crowds from all over Chicago and Illinois. It’s a once-a-year chance to peek inside some of the remaining mansions from the glory days of Prairie Avenue.

The Kimball House

2. “Mildred Pierce”: 4th Film in “High Heels and Fedoras” series at Daystar Center May 14, 2013—This popular film noir classic garnered a lot of attention. The Chicago Film Club features classic Hollywood movies viewed on the big screen with discussion afterwards.

1. South Loop Suicide Attempt Thwarted—It was hard to miss this event if you were commuting to work along S. Michigan Ave. on Friday, June 7, 2013. A man threatening to jump from 1250 S. Michigan Ave. caused road closures and traffic reroutes. South Loop Connection took some heat for covering this story, but it was news, with plenty of media on the scene. 

There were many stories from 2013 that didn’t make the top-ten here, but that doesn’t mean they were less important. What do you think were the top stories in the South Loop for 2013?

No neighborhood school for the South Loop

The old Jones building will become part of the new
selective-enrollment Jones campus.

As reported in the Chicago Sun-Times and DNAinfo.comChicago, the old Jones College Prep school building will not be used as a open-enrollment neighborhood high school. Residents of the South Loop, along with Alderman Bob Fioretti had advocated to reuse the old Jones building as a high school for the growing South Loop and West Loop populations.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Public Schools announced yesterday at a joint press conference that the old Jones building will be included as part of the $115,000,000 new Jones College Prep school campus. So instead of a open-enrollment neighborhood high school, Jones will increase its selectivity by approximately 800 students, nearly doubling its current enrollment. According to CPS and the mayor’s office, 300 spots will be set aside for local residents who will have to “test in.”

 “Census data shows what many residents have said, that more than 40 percent of the families with children are leaving this area when the children reach school age...”  

The residents of the South Loop had set up a Web site, reusejones.org specifically to advocate for a neighborhood open-enrollment high school. The site presented a case for reusing Jones as such. Census information suggests that the neighborhood could support such a school. Fioretti was quoted in the DNA article as saying that “Census data shows what many residents have said, that more than 40 percent of the families with children are leaving this area when the children reach school age…Converting the current Jones building into a neighborhood school will help to keep more families in the city, which will benefit the economy of the entire city.”

What do you think? Did Mayor Emanuel “ignore” the wishes of South Loop parents, as the Chicago Sun-Times suggested? If you want your voice to be heard, contact the mayor’s office or tweet him at @ChicagosMayor and/or leave him a message on his Facebook page.