July 24, 2026

Alderman Reilly Reports

Alderman Reilly Cuts Ribbon at

Montgomery Ward Park

This week, Alderman Reilly cut the ribbon to mark the official re-opening of the children's playground at Montgomery Ward Park following the completion of a resurfacing project funded through his Aldermanic Menu Funds. As reported in a previous Reilly Report, Alderman Reilly allocated funding for the project after hearing concerns from local parents and neighborhood groups about the condition of the playground surface.

At the event, the Alderman spoke about the importance of maintaining neighborhood parks and investing in public infrastructure that enhances quality of life throughout the 42nd Ward. He also thanked the River North Residents Association (RNRA) for its advocacy and Schneider Deli for providing bagels and coffee for attendees. Please see below for photos from the event, along with a poster created by preschoolers at the nearby Gardner School.

Lollapalooza Returns to Grant Park July 30

Lollapalooza begins Thursday, July 30 at 11am and will run until Sunday, August 2 at 10pm. To prepare for the festival, Grant Park is now closed and will remain so until Saturday, August 8. A temporary dog park will be set up to the southeast of Grant Skate Park. Pickleball courts will be closed from 11pm on Sunday, July 26 - 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 will be in place during the listed times:

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. See below for a map of access points, stages, and vendors on festival grounds.

Alderman Reilly Attends Ribbon-Cutting for

111 West Illinois Residential Conversion

This week, Alderman Reilly attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the completion of the adaptive reuse project at 111 West Illinois Street. As reported in a previous Reilly Report, the former commercial building has been redeveloped into a residential property featuring more than 150 new housing units for 42nd Ward residents. The building also includes indoor amenity space, a rooftop terrace, and new bicycle parking to encourage alternative transportation options.

During the ceremony, Alderman Reilly spoke about the importance of expanding the neighborhood's housing supply while continuing to bring high-quality, modern amenities to the 42nd Ward.

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.

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

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, July 27th, 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.

Lead Water Line Replacement:

Please be advised that on Tuesday, July 28, from 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM, the Chicago Department of Water Management will be conducting a lead service line replacement at 124 W. Kinzie Street.

During this time, westbound traffic on West Kinzie Street, between North Clark Street and North LaSalle Street, will be closed. Detour signs will be posted to direct traffic.

Water service to nearby buildings is not expected to be affected unless unforeseen circumstances arise.

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.

Crane Lifts:

300 N Michigan

On Saturday, July 25, a crane lift will take place at 300 N Michigan Ave. The lift will occur between 8am - 4pm. During the lift, the following street and sidewalk closures will be in place:

North sidewalk on Wacker Pl, from Michigan Ave to MacChesney Ct
Two traffic lanes on the north side of Wacker Pl, from Michigan Ave to MacChesney Ct

Flaggers will be in place to redirect motorists and pedestrians. In the event of inclement weather, the lift will occur on Sunday, July 26.

Public Assembly:

Disability Pride Parade

On Saturday, July 25, the Disability Pride Parade will take place downtown. The parade will begin at the corner of the Van Buren St and Plymouth Ct and will proceed west on Van Buren St and north on Dearborn St to Daley Plaza (50 W Washington St). The City estimates an attendance of 1,500 people. The parade will include several vehicles and floats. The participants will begin assembling at 8am and will step off at 11am, disbanding at approximately 1pm at Daley Plaza.

806 N Michigan

On Sunday, July 26, a public assembly will take place at 806 N Michigan Ave. The group will begin assembling at noon and will disband at 3:30pm. The City estimates an attendance of 200 people. The group will not be marching.

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 Station: Upcoming Weekend Closure July 24^th – July27th

The State/Lake Station project will have overnight work the weekend of July24th – 27^th between Midnight – 5 am. The elevated track will be shut down by CTA and detour rail line service. During this time pedestrian traffic will be maintained through the intersection and vehicle and bus traffic will be detoured on State Street between Randolph Street to Wacker Drive.

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 has begun 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.

205 W Superior

The Department of Water Management continues its single-lane closure on Superior St near Wells St, at approximately 205 W Superior St. Parking on the north side of Superior St at this location will continue to be prohibited, and vehicles will be permitted to utilize these spaces to continue eastbound. These closures will last until July 23, weather permitting.

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.