The CTA Board approved a $30 million project to renovate and modernize the Grand, Chicago and Division Blue Line stations. Work will begin within the next few months. This project is part of the Your New Blue initiative to invest in neighborhood transit services and improve the customer experience along the O’Hare Branch of the Blue Line.

The project will be the largest renovation of the three subway stations since they opened in 1951. All three stations will get a wide range of upgrades, including new surfaces, new railings, new lighting, new security cameras and other improvements.

Source:  Alderman Brian Hopkins 2nd Ward Newsletter 8/27/18

Starting on Wednesday morning, August 29th, the west-most traffic lane will be closed on Clark Street, near the intersection of Clark and Chicago. A large mobile crane will be set up with its rear bumper in the west traffic lane and front bumper in the job site.  Due to the location of the crane, the sidewalk will have to remain closed on the west side of Clark Street from 8:00 am Wednesday morning until 8:00 pm Friday evening. Signage will be present on the sidewalk indicating that pedestrians will need to reroute to the east side of Clark Street.

Fencing will be run along the job site extending out to the crane. Also, for these three days there will be no parking on the west side of Clark Street, between Chestnut and Chicago, due to staging of trucks. After Labor Day, the west traffic lane will remain closed until January 2019, but pedestrians will have access to walk along the sidewalk.

If you have any additional questions please email Alderman Hopkins at Ward02@cityofchicago.org, or call the 2nd Ward Service Office at (312) 643-2299.

Source:  Brian Hopkins 2nd Ward Alderman Neighborhood Notice 8/26/18

Main and service installation for the gas line upgrade along Hubbard, from Kingsbury to LaSalle is progressing.

Please see the work schedule below:

Weekend of August 18 through August 19

Week of August 20 through 24

The inaugural program Art on theMART will launch Saturday, September 29, 2018!

This series of digital artworks will be projected across 2.5 acres of theMART’s exterior river-façade, creating the longest-running and largest digital art projection in the world.

Alderman Reilly is happy to welcome the Art on the Mart program to the 42nd Ward.  This one-of-a-kind public art installation will help further activate the Chicago Riverwalk, and will bring dynamic and engaging visual art to downtown residents and visitors using state-of-the-art technology.

On September 29, theMART and the City of Chicago will welcome the public to experience Art on theMART for the first time. Wacker Drive between Wells and Orleans will be closed off to traffic beginning at 6:30 p.m. to enable public viewing of the projections. The program will begin after dusk, around 7:15 p.m., and run for 35 minutes, culminating in a one-minute pyrotechnic display.

Following the launch event, projections will be displayed up to two hours a night, five days a week (Wednesday – Sunday), for ten months of the year (March – December). Projections will be visible to the public from Wacker Drive and along the Chicago Riverwalk.

The City of Chicago and theMART will work in partnership to manage and curate the projected artwork over the course of a 30-year agreement. The projections will be completely dedicated to digital art with no branding, sponsorship credits or messaging.

Artists for the inaugural program are being selected by theMart, in consultation with a Curatorial Advisory Board shaped by theMart and the City’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. Two of the selections are made in partnership with the Terra Foundation of American Art as part of Art Design Chicago, a year-long celebration of Chicago’s art and design legacy.

Obscura Digital, notable for its large-scale architectural projection mapping on iconic buildings around the world, has partnered with Vornado Realty Trust and architecture firm Valerio Dewalt Train Associates, Inc. to design and implement the projection system. With 34 projectors, totaling almost one million lumens, this will be the largest permanent projection system in the world, and feature a new software-driven platform that allows theMART to curate an ongoing exhibition of imagery, keeping the illuminations fresh, timely and engaging.

To read the full press release, click here

Alderman Reilly Reports;  8/17/18

Lake Shore Drive Repaving Project Begins Monday, August 27: Two Lanes Closed in Both Directions between Monroe and LaSalle

The Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) plans to start an accelerated project on August 27, weather permitting, to resurface North Lake Shore Drive from Monroe Street to Grand Avenue and to make repairs to the bridge that carries Lake Shore Drive over LaSalle Drive.

The accelerated schedule will require lane closures that will reduce Lake Shore Drive to two lanes in each direction from Monroe Street to LaSalle Drive (near North Avenue) for the duration of the project in order to complete the work by October 6, ahead of the Chicago Marathon.  CDOT is advising motorists to take alternate routes to avoid delays, especially during peak travel times.

During the first phase, the two inner lanes of both north and southbound LSD will be closed so that crews can repair and resurface the roadway and ramps at Randolph Street, Illinois Street and Lower Wacker Drive. Once that work is complete, the outer lanes will be closed so the roadway and left side entrance and exit ramps can be repaired and repaved.

Advance work for the LSD resurfacing project is already underway. Traffic will be stopped intermittently during off peak hours for 10 to 20 minute intervals on Lower LSD to perform work on the underside of the elevated portions of LSD. Work on the northbound entrance ramps to LSD at Randolph and Illinois will be staged to assure that one ramp is open at all times.  Resurfacing work on the upper level will also require intermittent closures on the lower level.

Advance work at LSD and LaSalle Drive is scheduled to start on August 21, and will require the closure of all but one lane in each direction on LaSalle Drive under LSD for the duration of the project.

CDOT is carrying out the work on an accelerated schedule with around the clock lane closures and crews working double shifts in order to complete the repairs as quickly and safely as possible, with a minimum amount of inconvenience for drivers.

Once the mainline resurfacing is complete, motorists can expect periodic partial lane closures on LSD in both directions for pavement striping and punch list work on both projects. This work will take place during off peak times, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and overnight from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., weather permitting.

Alderman Reilly Reports:  8/17/18

Alderman Reilly is looking for qualified applicants to serve as Election Judges in the 42nd Ward for the upcoming November 6th General Election.

Election Judges are assigned to local polling places in the 42nd Ward and are responsible for ensuring polling places open and close on time, and that voting operations run smoothly.