42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly has issued an update on the proposed hotel development for 740 North Rush Street Project:

On April 7th, the River North Residents Association and I co-hosted a community meeting to review the development proposal. The meeting was very well attended and I am grateful to those who took time out of their busy schedules to participate.

Following the community meeting, I received a tremendous amount of constituent feedback regarding the proposal and the resounding overall sentiment was serious concern regarding the overall density of the proposal and the major traffic impacts and loading challenges associated with it.

After spending the past two months reviewing the proposal and associated traffic analyses to determine whether changes could properly address these challenges – I have concluded that the proposed 620 hotel keys, split across separate hotel flags, is simply far too ambitious for this location already surrounded by failing intersections (from a traffic engineering perspective) and high-density buildings.

I did not reach this conclusion quickly. In fact, I met with the development team on several occasions to explore potential changes or other development options to help make the proposal a better fit for this location. Unfortunately, at the end of that process, it became clear that this proposal simply could not proceed.

As a result, the proposed 620 key hotel development for 740 North Rush Street will not be moving forward. I have encouraged the property owners to carefully consider the limitations posed by the infrastructure around their site and existing traffic conditions, as they contemplate future development concepts.

I am grateful to the River North Residents Association (RNRA) and Streeterville Organization of Active Residents (SOAR) for helping me gather public input regarding this proposal and I appreciate the hundreds of neighbors who donated their time to help support our transparent public process.

 I value my partnership with downtown stakeholders and residents. I am proud of our success transforming dozens of large-scale development proposals into more compatible, contextual projects. I look forward to working with you to build upon that track record as we review future projects proposed for the 42nd Ward.

Sincerely,

Brendan Reilly

Alderman, 42nd Ward

The Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) will close the Dearborn Street Bridge over the Chicago River to vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic on Tuesday, June 24.  To complete the Riverwalk Construction project, the contractor must raise the Dearborn Street Bridge for an extended period of time to construct a pedestrian underbridge to connect the path below.  The bridge will re-open at 8 p.m. on Monday, June 30.

  The Dearborn Street Bridge Closure begins at 7:00am on Tuesday, June 24th and lasts through 8:00pm on Monday, June 30.

 For the Dearborn Bridge closure, all vehicles including CTA buses, will be detoured west on Wacker Drive, north on Lasalle Street, east on Illinois Street to Dearborn.  Northbound bicycles on Dearborn will detour east on Lake Street, north on State Street, west on Kinzie Street, then back to Dearborn. Southbound bikes on will detour west on Kinzie Street, south on Clark Street, then return to Dearborn via Lake Street. Click here (LINK) to download the detour map.  The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) will also be rerouting buses as needed and will post signs at bus stops.   

The State Street Bridge closure will occur in mid-July.

Project Overview:

The Chicago Riverwalk project will create a continuous pedestrian path along the south bank of the Main Branch of the Chicago River from State Street to Lake Street. Construction of the underbridge connections will require lifting and closing the bridges for a period of several days each.

The bridges over the river establish a boundary between each Riverwalk block, which will allow each to have a unique identity and landscaping, linked by the continuous walkway along the river, beneath each bridge. The Riverwalk design plans include the build out of six blocks from State to Lake, with an extension of 25 feet from the current configuration into the river,

Due to expedited work during the past 2 weekend, IDOT was able to complete the planned construction for the last weekend in June.  Construction has been completed on the Ohio Feeder Ramp project.  IDOT  removed pieces of the Ohio Feeder ramp to the Kennedy Expressway, as part of the reconstruction of the ramp. This required partial closures of the ramps from the Kennedy to and from Ohio and Ontario, as well as partial lane closures on the Kennedy.  Work began Friday nights at 10:00 PM and finished early than expected on Sunday.

For more updates, http://www.dot.il.gov/KennedyatOhio/detour.html.

This summer, the Office of Chicago City Clerk Susana A. Mendoza and the City of Chicago is helping move the annual Chicago City Vehicle Sticker Sales Program out of the horse and buggy era and into the 21st Century. The seasonal Chicago City Vehicle Sticker rush started in 1908. This summer, we can all say “goodbye” to the long lines and more than 100 years of inefficiency and “hello” to the Year-Round Chicago City Vehicle Sticker Program.The goal is to improve customer service experience, and reduce wait times while cutting overtime costs and bringing greater efficiencies to the City Clerk’s Office.

Purchase Your City Sticker Online:

The easiest and fastest way to get your vehicle sticker is buying online. Use EZ>BUY to purchase new 2014 Chicago City Vehicle Stickers or 2014 Chicago Residential Parking Daily Permits online. You can either use your renewal form or your license plate number, street name and last name to pull up your record from more than two million on file with the Chicago City Clerk’s Office. Please allow 10 to 14 business days for the delivery of your online Chicago City Vehicle Sticker purchase.

 Information About Year-Round Sales and other changes to the Chicago City Vehicle Sticker Program:

This summer, when you receive your 2014 Chicago City Vehicle Sticker Renewal Form, everyone will renew their Chicago City Vehicle Sticker as they have in the past – online, in the mail or in-person – but motorists will be given two purchasing options to set their new Year-Round Chicago City Vehicle Sticker Program renewal schedule.

The new renewal date will be set six months from the expiration date of each motorist’s Illinois State License Plate Registration (see chart below). The Office of the Clerk has partnered with the Office of Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White to stagger the renewal schedule of more than one million Chicago motorists to establish the Year-Round Chicago City Vehicle Sales Program and help residents better budget for vehicle costs throughout the course of the year.

 

Please note, seniors will not be affected by the change to Year-Round Sales and will remain on a June-to-June renewal schedule.

On the 2014 Chicago City Vehicle Sticker Renewal Form, motorists will be given a choice to purchase either a short-term Prorated Chicago City Vehicle Sticker or a long-term Extended Chicago Vehicle Sticker.

Here’s how these options work for a motorist with an Illinois State License Plate Registration expiration month of April. For this motorist, their new Chicago City Vehicle Sticker expiration month is October. You can use the chart above to check to find your new renewal month. All this information regarding your new renewal month and your purchase options are customized for you on your 2014 Chicago City Vehicle Sticker Renewal Form.

Residential Permit Parking Information:

The 2014 vehicle sticker will again feature residential zone information on the annual vehiclesticker. Residential parking permit (RPP) zones limit parking to residents and their guests during specified hours. This program helps to ensure that residents of densely populated areas have reasonable access to parking near their residences.  Vehicles parked in an RPP zone must display an RPP annual permit or daily pass on their windshield or they may be ticketed.  In addition, residents parking in an RPP Zone must adhere to any other parking regulations or restrictions on the street – including, but not limited to paying meters, adhering to rush hour or tow zone regulations, and street cleaning parking restrictions.  It is the driver’s responsibility to read and comply with all the posted parking restriction signs.

 Residents can check to see if their address falls in a residential parking zone by clicking here.

A city vehicle sticker is not required to purchase daily guest passes. Daily passes are for guests of a RPP zone resident. The pass is valid for no more than 24 hours from the time written on the permit. All other traffic restrictions must be followed while displaying a permit. By ordinance, an RPP zone resident can purchase up to 30 daily passes every 30 days.

  Please be advised that residents will need to bring a photo id with their current address or proof of residence (mortgage or lease, water, gas, light, satellite or cable television or land line phone bill), in order to purchase the annual residential permit parking sticker or daily guest passes.

 Please visit the City Clerk’s website for additional information on vehicle stickers and residential passes, or call them directly at 312-744-6770.

Dog friendly areas are designated sections within Chicago parks or beaches, where dogs are allowed to run and play off -leash, the only areas in the city where this is allowed.  Until the creation of these areas, dogs were only allowed in the city’s parks on a leash. Many of these sites provide features such as doggie drinking fountains, separate areas for shy dogs, dog owner bulletin boards, trash receptacles and extra doggie bags.

The owner or other responsible person bringing any dog into a dog friendly area must have a permit and tag issued by a participating Veterinarian for each dog. Please be responsible when using these areas by following the policies and procedures for Chicago Park District Dog Friendly Areas.
We hope your dog enjoys running, playing and socializing with other dogs in a Chicago Park District dog friendly area. Remember to be safe, obey the rules, and respect the park and others.

For further information on dog friendly areas:

• Rules & Regulations

Where can I get a permit and tag? Permits and tags are available at participating Chicagoland veterinary offices. If you are an out-of-state resident you have the option of contacting a participating veterinary office.   Most of the Chicagoland veterinarians will assist those whose own vets are not participating.  You should call them first to confirm that they will assist you, what paperwork is necessary to obtain the permit and tag, and to determine how much they charge for an office visit. You can also have your own veterinarian purchase the tag on your behalf from the Chicago Park District. They can contact us at 312-742-4687.  View the list of participating Chicagoland veterinary offices. http://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/facilities/dog-friendly-areas/participating-veterinarians/

For the second year in a row, hundreds of our River North residents voted in our summer movie survey.  Shown in A. Montgomery Ward Park, movies will begin Tuesday June 17th at sundown. We are looking for volunteers to help us greet and hand out programs prior to the movies. Interested, please contact info@rnrachicago.org.

This year’s movie line-up:

• June 17^th – As Good As it Gets
• July 1^st – Captain Phillips
• July 15^th – Chicago
• July 29^th – Gravity
• August 12^th – The Blind Side
• August 26^th – The Lego Movie

The six movies are sponsored by RNRA with the support of the Chicago Park District. The cost of each move is paid by RNRA along with support from local businesses who sponsor our program. The movies are selected from a catalog supplied by the Park District. All movies are rate PG-13 or lower.

Please remember Dogs are NOT allowed in A. Montgomery Ward Park at anytime. Alcohol is also prohibited.

See you in the park!

The 31st Annual Chicago Blues Festival, June 13 through June 15 in Grant Park is the largest FREE blues festival in the world and remains the largest of Chicago’s Music Festivals. This year the festival theme celebrates “Blues by the Lake,” with three days of the finest blues music featuring headliners Carolina Chocolate Drops, Otis Taylor Band and a special celebration commemorating the centennial of John Lee “Sonny Boy” Williamson featuring Billy Boy Arnold and The Siegel-Schwall Blues Band with Sam Lay. Also headlining, Theo Huff, Willie Clayton, Bettye LaVette Nikki Hill, Aaron Neville and Dr. John.

The FREE admission Chicago Blues Festival is open from 11am to 9:30pm daily. The Petrillo Music Shell will feature headliners at 6pm–9:30pm on Friday, June 13 and Saturday, June 14. The stage will run 5:30pm–9:30pm on Sunday, June 15.

During three days on five stages, more than 500,000 blues fans prove that Chicago is the “Blues Capital of the World.” Past performers include Bonnie Raitt, Ray Charles, B.B. King, the late Bo Diddley, Buddy Guy and the late Koko Taylor. Admission is free.

Please visit www.chicagobluesfestival.us for more information.