Do you know which buildings in River North have a spooky past? What corners should you stay away from on Halloween? This Walking Tour will take you to all the familiar haunts beginning at 5:30pm. You’ll hear many stories of the history of River North with a focus on those more “supernatural” experiences. From its start at one of River North’s more famous haunted buildings, Castle, to its end at Hooters, a place many Chicagoans never knew was haunted but is, this tour will be thrilling and chilling to all participants. Wear comfortable shoes (in case you need to run from a ghost!) and bring a flashlight. Preview your Halloween costume by wearing it on the tour and you may be awarded a spooktacular prize! Following the tour, enjoy complimentary refreshments provided by a River North Business Association member establishment. Space is limited….don’t be left out! For tickets and more information, please contact River North Business Association.

In an effort to upgrade power and electrical service on the Brown and Purple lines, work will be performed that may affect your neighborhood. While progress sometimes comes with inconveniences, the CTA will do their best to keep them to a minimum.

Dates: Monday, October 7, 2013 to Friday, November 15, 2013

Location: Illinois Street between Franklin and LaSalle streets

Work Activity: Power and Electrical Service Upgrades

Work Hours: Work hours may vary within the period of 8am to 8pm, each weekday. Weekend work may occur.

Impact to Residents:
Some “No Parking” restrictions and full bike lane closures will be in effect on Illinois between Franklin and LaSalle.
Bi-directional traffic between Franklin and Wells, and one-way traffic between Wells and LaSalle will be maintained.
Southbound traffic will be affected by full lane closures on Illinois at Wells.
“No Parking” restrictions will be in effect eastbound and westbound on Illinois between Franklin and the alley just east of Wells.
A scaffold will be erected over the south sidewalk on Illinois between Franklin and the alley east of Wells. The south sidewalk will remain open.
There will be some noise while work is being performed.

If you have any questions or concerns about work activity, please contact Jeff Wilson, CTA Government and Community Relations Officer at 312-217-0346 or jwilson@transitchicago.com.

Halloween is more than just one day in Chicago…
Chicagoween 2013 – October 25th-27th – Daley Plaza

More fun is in store with the City of Chicago’s Halloween events held at Daley Plaza, corner of Washington and Dearborn.Come see the Midnight Circus, Radio Disney, Magic Matt’s show and lots more. For more information on this annual city event.

RNRA will host our 2nd annual Halloween Event on Saturday, October 19th 4pm to 5pm at Ward Park. Put on your costumes and come over for trick or treating in the park and pumpkin decorating. This FREE fun event is for all ages. We welcome our friends with Jeff Stogsdill’s State Farm, River North Gym and American Kidz Academy to our celebration. The talented Eva Ho Photography will be on hand starting at 3:30pm to take pictures. We also appreciate all volunteers! For more information, contact us at info@rnrachicago.org. See you in the park.

The Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) will implement a full closure to vehicular and pedestrian traffic of the Grand Avenue Bridge over the North Branch of the Chicago River.
The bridge closure begins September 23rd at 7:00pm and will be in place for 2 weeks.

This closure is necessary for CDOT to perform the emergency repairs, which cannot be completed while the bridge is open to traffic. The work entails replacing steel components on the four corners of the bridge and is expected to take two weeks to complete. The Grand Avenue Bridge will be closed from 7:00pm on Monday, September 23 to 6:00am on Monday, October 7, 2013.

For information on detour routes, please refer to the map below or click here to download a PDF copy. You may also contact CDOT representative Oswaldo Chavez at 312-742-0647 and Oswaldo.Chaves@cityofchicago.org with questions.

This tasting tour of places to eat and drink in River North will showcase some of the best restaurants and bars in the area. Start with a registration reception at John Barleycorn 5pm then begin your stroll. Participating venues will provide their specialty food items, along with a specialty drink, with the evening topped off with the After Party at Castle all included in your ticket price.
The VIP experience includes a VIP registration party at The Redhead Piano Bar, route choice, an additional door prize entry and special seating area at Castle’s After Party. Only a limited number of VIP tickets are available so get yours today! For more information.

We had thousands of residents attend our movies making this summer series one of our most popular. We want to thank our generous sponsors, Jeff Stogsdill’s State Farm, Erie-LaSalle Body Shop; Robust Coffee Lounge; Levin & Perconti Attorneys; and the Omni Group.
Look for our movie survey early next year for 2014 Movies in the Park series.

Please join us and LifeStorage River North for our next community meeting on Thursday, September 19th from 5:30-7:30pm. In the heart of River North, LifeStorage is conveniently located at 333 West Ohio St. on the corner of Ohio and Orleans Streets. Enjoy complimentary drinks and food provided by Bull & Bear while socializing with your neighbors and learning what’s going on in River North. We will be honoring our local charities: Gilda’s Club, Anti-Cruelty Society, Friends of the Park, Immerman’s Angels, Open Books. We hope to see all of our wonderful Taste of River North volunteers. This is a free event for all those who live and work in River North.

The Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) will close the Grand Avenue Bridge over the North Branch of the Chicago River this weekend in order to paint and make repairs to the structure.

The bridge will again be closed starting at 9:00 p.m., Friday, September 20th through 5:00 a.m., Monday, September 23rd for additional repairs.

Automobile, bicycle and pedestrian traffic will detoured around the bridge via Halsted Street, Chicago Avenue and LaSalle Street for both closures. Bus traffic will be rerouted via Halsted, Chicago and Kingsbury.
For more information.

Grassroots Effort Defeated Costly Sprinkler Mandate; Benchmarking Ordinance Latest Threat
At the July 24, 2013 City Council meeting, Alderman Reilly and 11 of his colleagues delayed the vote on the Emanuel Administration’s “Building Energy Use Benchmarking” ordinance that would require all commercial and residential buildings over 50,000 square feet to provide energy consumption data to the City of Chicago on an annual basis. The proposal requires each building’s data to be posted on a public website; and each building’s energy consumption would be rated and assigned a performance score.
Alderman Reilly does not support the proposed ordinance in its current form, as it could impose a costly mandate on condominium owners in the 42nd Ward and across the City of Chicago. A champion of several innovative energy efficiency and demand management programs already underway in downtown Chicago’s 42nd Ward, Alderman Reilly supports the concept of “energy benchmarking.” Benchmarking can be a powerful tool to help accelerate the market for energy efficiency, when scaled and implemented properly.
However, Alderman Reilly will continue to oppose the “Building Energy Use Benchmarking” ordinance until it is amended to:
(1) prevent the further marginalization of older buildings in the local real estate market; and (2) better shield condominium and co-op owners from the financial burden of costly mandates associated with the ordinance.
This ordinance will be voted on at the next City Council Meeting on Wednesday, September 11, 2013. Because the ordinance was deferred at the last City Council meeting it cannot be deferred again and there will be no debate allowed on this proposal – only a simple roll call vote of aldermen.
Alderman Reilly hopes that, with your help, we can work collaboratively with Mayor Emanuel to craft a more responsible and reasonable Energy Use Benchmarking ordinance that provides property owners with the valuable data they need to improve the energy efficiency of their buildings without burdening them with additional costly government mandates and exorbitant building retro-fit costs.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP?
Respectfully share your concerns with the Emanuel Administration and request an opportunity to make minor, reasonable changes to the proposal that would protect condominium and co-op owners from additional costly mandates.To contact the Mayor, e-mail:

letterforthemayor@cityofchicago.org and cc: mayor.emanuel@cityofchicago.org
You can also send letters to: Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Mayor’s Office – City Hall, Room 500, 121 North LaSalle Street, Chicago, IL 60602. If you wish to use social media to register your objections, you can post them via Twitter: @chicagosmayor or on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/ChicagoMayorsOffice.

For information about the next City Council Meeting on September 11, 2013 click here.