July 31, 2026

Alderman Reilly Reports

440 North State Street Sidewalk Repair Completed

Dear Neighbor:

For decades, the sidewalk adjacent to 440 North State Street has been a significant tripping hazard and difficult, if not impossible, for pedestrians using wheelchairs, walkers, or other mobility devices to navigate because of its steep slope and deteriorated pavement.

Since taking office in 2007, I have repeatedly urged the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) to work together to repair this sidewalk and make it safe and accessible for everyone. I even attempted to dedicate a portion of my Aldermanic Menu funds to the project, but was informed that the repairs fell outside the scope of the program. Over the years, I continued to advocate for this improvement. You can click here to read some of the letters I sent to CDOT and the CTA.

After nearly two decades of persistent advocacy, I am pleased to announce that the sidewalk has finally been repaired and the hazardous sloped pavement has been removed. The improvements have created a safer, more accessible path for residents and visitors alike. I have included before-and-after photos so you can see the transformation for yourself.

While this project took far longer than it should have, it demonstrates the importance of persistent advocacy and the need to ensure our public infrastructure is safe and accessible for everyone. I appreciate the partnership of the agencies involved in bringing this long-overdue improvement to completion and will continue advocating for investments that make our neighborhoods safer and more accessible.

Sincerely,

Brendan Reilly

Alderman, 42nd Ward

Lollapalooza Returns to Grant Park July 30

Lollapalooza continues in Grant Park until Sunday, August 2 at 10pm. Grant Park will remain closed until Saturday, August 8. A temporary dog park has been set up to the southeast of Grant Skate Park. Pickleball courts will be closed until Tuesday, August 4 at 6am. Concerts and events will be active from 11am - 10pm daily, and the grounds will close shortly after 10pm each night. The following street closures are now in place until the listed dates:

Balbo Street, from Michigan to Columbus: July 27 – August 3
Balbo Street, from Columbus to Lake Shore Drive: July 15 – August 9
Jackson Drive, from Michigan to Columbus: July 27 – August 3
Jackson Drive, from Columbus to Lake Shore Drive: July 21 – August 8
Columbus Drive, from Monroe to Roosevelt: July 27 – August 3
Northbound Columbus Drive (two center lanes), from 13th Street to Roosevelt: July 27 – August 3
Congress Plaza Drive, from Michigan to Columbus: July 27 – August 3
Monroe Street, from Michigan to Lake Shore Drive: July 27 – August 3

Many sidewalks will also be closed to accommodate festival activity in the area. Any closed sidewalks will reopen to the public by Sunday, August 10. A complete list of all street and sidewalk closures can be found here.

To report a concern during the event, please text the Neighborhood Answering Service at 312-500-2646. Please note this service will only be active during the festival dates. Click here to review Lollapalooza safety and support information

Alderman Reilly Attends Groundbreaking from 500 North Michigan Avenue Residential Conversion

This week, Alderman Reilly joined Commonwealth Development Partners, Skender Construction, and City officials to celebrate the groundbreaking of the office-to-residential conversion at 500 North Michigan Avenue. As previously reported in Reilly Reports, the project will transform the existing office building into a mixed-use residential property featuring 320 new homes while retaining retail and commercial uses on the lower floors.

During the ceremony, Alderman Reilly spoke about the importance of thoughtfully repurposing underutilized office buildings to expand downtown housing, support local businesses, and strengthen the long-term vitality of the Magnificent Mile and surrounding neighborhoods.

Alderman Reilly Invites Residents to New Gunshot Detection Pilot Program Unveiling

Following the City's decision to discontinue the ShotSpotter program, Alderman Reilly identified the need for an innovative technology to improve public safety in the 42nd Ward. At Alderman Reilly's request, SplitSec AI, a Chicago-based company, has agreed to share its gunshot detection technology with 42nd Ward residents at no charge to the City.

SplitSec's proprietary mobile application is compatible with Android smartphones and will be made available at no cost to participating 42nd Ward residents during a two-month pilot program. Participants must have an Android phone to take part in the pilot. The application is traditionally not available through the Google Play or Apple App stores. Once installed, the application runs in the background without recording audio, tracking location, or storing any information externally. The app is trained to detect nearby gunshots and can alert emergency responders with one click.

Alderman Reilly and SplitSec will be showcasing the technology at a virtual kickoff event on Monday, August 3 at 11am. At the event, SplitSec will demonstrate their app and distribute the technology to residents as part of a two-month free trial in the 42nd Ward. To register for the kickoff event with Alderman Reilly, please click here. Those who have already registered do not need to register again. The Zoom link will be emailed to residents upon registration.

Free Brookfield Zoo Tickets

Alderman Reilly’s Office has 80 free admission tickets to Brookfield Zoo for 42nd Ward residents. Alderman Reilly would like to thank Commissioner Bill Lowry and Commissioner Michael Scott for helping secure the tickets for the 42nd Ward.

Tickets will be distributed as follows on a first-come-first-served basis:

Family: four tickets
Individual: two tickets

Please email Alderman Reilly’s Office at office@ward42chicago.com to reserve your tickets, while supplies last. Reserved tickets must be picked up at City Hall, Room 200 with proof of residence.

CAPS Meetings

18th District: (312-742-5778 / CAPS.018District@chicagopolice.org)

There are no remaining 18th District CAPS meetings this month in the 42nd Ward.

1st District: (312-745-4381 / CAPS.001District@chicagopolice.org)

There are no remaining 1st District CAPS meetings this month in the 42nd Ward.

To find your appropriate beat to attend your CAPS meeting, please click here.

42nd Ward Traffic Closures & Construction Projects

Film Notices

Chicago Fire

Chicago Fire will be filming on the Riverwalk Theater between (Clark Street and LaSalle Street) on Monday, August 3, from 7am to 12pm. During the filming, parking will be prohibited at the following locations:

Both sides of Wells, from Wacker to Randolph

West side of LaSalle, from Wacker to Lake

West side of Clark, from Wacker to Lake

Ultraviolet

Ultraviolet will be filming at 190 S LaSalle Street on Monday, August 3 at 2pm to Tuesday, August 4 at 4am. During the filming, parking at the following locations will be prohibited:

West side of Wells from Adams St to Jackson Blvd

West side of Clark St from Monroe St to Jackson Blvd

South side of Monroe St from Wells St to Clark St

West side of LaSalle St from Adams St to Jackson Blvd

There will be a full closure of Marble Pl from LaSalle St to Wells St. Additionally, there will be ITC on the following streets:

LaSalle St from Adams St to Jackson Blvd

Jackson Blvd from Clark St to Wells St

Crane Lifts:

600 N Michigan

On Friday, August 7, a crane lift will take place at 600 N Michigan Ave. The lift will occur between 8am - 3pm on Rush Street. During the lift, the following street and sidewalk closures will be in place:

Partial street, sidewalk, traffic lane and curb lane closures on North Rush Street between Michigan Ave between Ohio and Ontario St

Traffic control will be onsite to help direct traffic and pedestrians.

Lower Michigan Avenue and Lower Wacker Drive

Project: Repairs to Michigan Avenue Bridge performed by a Contractor on behalf of CDOT.

Impacts: Beginning on Monday, August 3rd, the sidewalk at the northwest corner of Lower Michigan Ave and Wacker Drive with be closed to pedestrian traffic. The southbound curb lane on Lower Michigan Ave and the westbound curb lane on Lower Wacker Drive will be closed to vehicular and bicycle traffic.

Upon reopening of the west side, the sidewalk at the northeast corner of Lower Michigan Ave and Wacker Drive will be closed to pedestrian Traffic. The westbound curb lane on Lower Wacker and the northbound curb lane on Lower Michigan Ave will be closed to vehicular and bicycle traffic.

Reason: The northwest and northeast corners of Lower Michigan Ave and Lower Wacker Drive require repairs and protective measures. Prolonging repairs will lead to further corrosion of steel and safety risks of falling concrete, resulting in the need to restrict vehicular and pedestrian traffic in the area.

Duration: This work will require closure of the sidewalk and the curb lane at the northwest corner of Lower Michigan and Lower Wacker for four weeks beginning on Monday, July 27th. This work will require closure of the sidewalk and the curb lane at the northeast corner of Lower Michigan and Lower Wacker for four weeks directly following.

CTA will still be able to maintain their routes in the area.

CTA #22 Temporary Bus Stop - Clark & Kinzie

As a result of the Clark Street Outdoor Dining Program, the southbound CTA #22 bus will now temporarily stop approximately 200' south of the intersection of Clark and Kinzie. This change will be in effect through October 2026. The regular southbound stop at the northwest corner of Clark and Kinzie will remain closed during the Outdoor Dining Program.

Public Assembly:

50 W Washington

A public assembly will take place on Sunday, August 2 at Daley Plaza (50 W Washington St). The group will begin assembling at 10am and will march east on Washington St, north on State St, west on Wacker Dr, and south on Clark St to return to Daley Plaza. The group will disband at approximately 2:30pm. The City estimates an attendance of 500 people. The group may utilize up to three vehicles on the street.

State / Lake CTA Station Reconstruction

As part of the ongoing State / Lake CTA Station Reconstruction project, a full closure of the southbound lanes has been implemented on State St, from Wacker Dr to Randolph St. Lake St, between State St and Wabash Ave, remains closed. Please click here for the detour map. This closure will remain in place until further notice.

Until the closure is lifted, southbound vehicles will be rerouted to Kinzie St, Clark St, and Washington St to re-access State St. Local business, driveway, and sidewalks access on State St will be maintained during the closures. The underground CTA Red Line train station at Lake will remain open. As a result of the closure on State Street, the following southbound CTA bus stops will be eliminated at State & Lake until further notice:

#2 - Hyde Park Express, #6 – Jackson Park Express, #10 – Museum Science & Industry, #29 – State, #36 – Broadway, #62 – Archer, #146 – Inner Lake Shore/Michigan Express, #148 – Clarendon/Michigan Express.

This weekend, the CTA Brown, Green, Pink, Purple, and Orange line trains will be out of service downtown during the following times:

Friday, July 24 at 11:59pm - Monday, July 27 at 5am

Click here for more information on the service disruptions downtown on the elevated CTA tracks.

Utility Work:

Grand Avenue - Bally's Casino

To prepare for the new permanent Bally's Casino, utility work is in progress on Grand Ave in River North. As a result of this construction, Grand Ave, between Union Ave and Kingsbury St, will be reduced to one lane in each direction. These closures will be in place until the third week of August 2026.

Randolph St Concrete Repair

CDOT continues concrete repair work on Randolph St, from Michigan Ave to Lake Shore Drive. As a result of this work, CDOT will continue to implement rolling two-lane closures from 8pm - 6am, when necessary, along Lower and Intermediate Randolph St, from Michigan Ave to Lake Shore Drive. CDOT will remove the netting between Upper and Intermediate Randolph St. One lane of traffic will be maintained at all times. Rolling two-lane nighttime closures will be required. This project is scheduled to be completed by the end of August 2026. CTA bus routes will be unaffected by the work on Intermediate Randolph St, and traffic on Upper Randolph St will not be impacted.

Cityfront Plaza

Work is expected to begin within two weeks to repair steel curbs on both sides of Cityfront Plaza Drive. During construction, both the northbound and southbound lanes of Cityfront Plaza Drive will remain open to automobile traffic, but street parking will not be permitted on Cityfront Plaza Drive. A graphic of the site plan for the work can be found here.

Canal St Reconstruction

The closures remain in place on the east side of Canal St, between Adams St and Madison St. As a result, parking on Canal St, between Adams St and Madison St, will be prohibited. Two lanes on the west side of Canal St will be maintained for northbound traffic. These closures will last until late 2026. Pedestrian traffic will be maintained on the west side of Canal St, as well as access to driveways and commercial loading zones.

Weekend Closures: Ohio / Ontario Feeder Ramp

Over the next two weekends, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) will implement a series of full weekend closures of the Ohio Street and Ontario Street Feeder Ramps at the Kennedy Expressway to perform pavement patching. During the following weekends, the feeder ramps will be closed from Friday at 10pm - Monday at 5am:

July 24-27

Vehicles will be detoured to access the expressway via Orleans St, Division St, and Clybourn Parkway to North Avenue (Illinois 64).

Bridge Construction Updates

Work continues on the Lake St Bascule Bridge. The sidewalk on the southwest corner of the bridge will remain closed until summer 2026. The Lake St Bascule Bridge is expected to re-open by spring 2028. The detour map can be found here. The State Street Bridge is now open. The approximate completion date for the Chicago Ave Bridge is January 2027, and the Lake St Bridge will be completed by spring 2028.