January 13, 2023

Alderman Reilly Reports

Alderman Reilly's Office Closed on Monday, January 16 in Remembrance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

In observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, Alderman Reilly’s Office will be closed on Monday, January 16th.

Additionally, City Hall, City of Chicago governmental offices and Chicago Public Libraries will be closed in honor of Dr. King’s birthday and to comply with the City of Chicago mandatory holiday schedule.

If you have a need for city services, please call 3-1-1 for non-emergency requests, or dial 9-1-1 if you require immediate assistance.

18th District Council Candidate Forum:

Tuesday, January 31

The Gold Coast Neighbors Association & The Old Town Merchants & Residents Association have partnered to sponsor an 18th Police District Council Candidate Forum. It is scheduled for Tuesday, January 31, 2023, at 6:00 p.m.

The candidate forum will take place at Moody Church located at 1635 North LaSalle Dr. Admission is free, but advance registration is required. Please click here to register for the event.

In July 2021, the Chicago City Council passed an ordinance creating a new model for police oversight, accountability, and public safety. The ordinance creates two bodies: a citywide Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, with power to advance systemic reform, and District Councils, which will be elected in each police district and work to improve policing and public safety in the district.

District Councils will be created in each of the City’s 22 police districts. They will be made up of three people elected in regular municipal elections every four years. The first District Council elections will be on your ballot in February 2023, when Chicagoans will also vote for candidates for aldermen and mayor.

This forum will give candidates the opportunity to introduce themselves and their positions to the community. It will also give residents a chance to hear how those candidates answer questions on important safety issues.

For questions, please email [email protected], call 773-510-7327, or visit their website www.goldcoastneighbors.org.

Upcoming Committee on Zoning, Landmarks, and Building Standards

On Tuesday, January 17th at 10:00 AM, the City Council Committee on Zoning, Landmarks, and Building Standards will hold a meeting to review various items, including two proposals within the 42nd Ward, detailed below.

Re-Zoning of 65 East Huron Street

As previously reported in Reilly Reports, on October 26, 2022, Alderman Reilly introduced an ordinance to re-zone portions of the block bounded by East Huron Street, North Rush Street, East Erie Street, and North Wabash Avenue, to sunset the expired Planned Development (PD) # 889 that currently regulates the property.

Metra Van Buren Station Re-Zoning

Metra has applied for a change of zoning from the DX-16 Downtown Mixed-Use District to the T Transportation District for the portion of a railroad right-of-way in Grant Park from the Van Buren Street pedestrian bridge south to Balbo Drive (O2022-3880).

The rezoning is one component of the land use approvals needed for the rehabilitation of the Van Buren passenger station. Click here for details. The rezoning must be accomplished before proceeding with necessary approvals for the rehabilitation project. Metra will also be required to receive approval from the Chicago Plan Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals subsequent to this rezoning. Click here to review the public notice letter sent out in connection with this application.

In-person public comment is limited; click here for instructions. A livestream of the meeting will be available here on Tuesday, January 17th at 10 AM.

42nd Ward Development Proposal:

153-157 West Ohio Street

153-157 W. Ohio Street LLC recently acquired the subject property, a mid-block, 5-story (mostly vacant) commercial-office building generally located at 153-157 West Ohio Street.

The building owner proposes to convert the existing building from commercial/office to all residential. The proposal is to establish thirty-five (35) dwelling units on floors 1-5, and include some meaningful, yet discreet, communal amenities and outdoor space on the 5th floor and roof deck. The building does not currently contain parking, and none is proposed with this project. Most of the construction would be within the interior; with minimal changes to the exterior entryway and rooftop (but no expansion of the building height). All loading would be conducted through an existing internal loading berth, accessed by the alley. Click here for additional information.

Since no expansion of the building is proposed with this project, the building will continue to comply with the existing DX-7 Zoning. The developer must obtain a Special Use from the Zoning Board of Appeals in order to allow for a residential use on the ground floor, as well as a Variation to waive the parking requirement, for a Transit Served Location (TSL). This proposal does not require any additional approval from Alderman Reilly or City Council.

As part of Alderman Reilly’s transparent community process for new developments, your comments and observations are welcome on this project. Please click here to take a survey to provide your feedback.

Conversation with the Commander

Both 18th District and 1st District Commanders are holding Conversation with the Commander events. Please see the flyers below for more details.

18th District

1st District

Grant Park Advisory Council Meeting

The Grant Park Advisory Council (GPAC) is holding a meeting via Zoom on Wednesday, January 28, from at 6pm. Participants must pre-register for the meeting. Please click here to register the meeting.

The items on the agenda for this meeting are: 1) Report of President Leslie Recht on the

status of the Grant Park Framework Plan review, including meeting dates; report on the

donation by Lollapalooza for tennis and pickle ball courts; 2) Report by Vice President

Jim Wales proposal for annual advisory council fundraiser; 3) Report of Park Supervisor

Sam Malinowski on programs in Grant Park and activities in Maggie Daley Park; 4)

Public comments and questions.

CAPS Meetings

18th District: (312-742-5778 / [email protected])
Beat 1824 Meeting scheduled on Thursday, January 19th at 6 PM
Beat 1831 Meeting scheduled on Tuesday, January 24th at 5 PM
Beat 1832 Meeting scheduled on Tuesday, January 24th at 6 PM
Beat 1833 Meeting scheduled on Thursday, January 26th at 5 PM
Beat 1834 Meeting scheduled on Thursday, January 26th at 6 PM
1st District: (312-745-4381 / [email protected])
Beat 121 Meeting scheduled on Wednesday, January 18th at 3 PM
Beat 123 Meeting scheduled on Wednesday, January 18th at 5:30 PM
12th District: (312-746-8306 / [email protected])
There are no CAPS meetings scheduled for the remainder of this month.

42nd Ward Traffic Closures & Construction Projects

Crane Lift: 21 E Bellevue

On Saturday, January 14, from 8am to 5pm, there will be a crane lift at 21 E Bellevue. During the lift, the following will be closed:

Sidewalk on the east side of Rush, from Bellevue to a point 200' south thereof
Curb lane on the east side of Rush, from Bellevue to a point 200' south thereof
Both traffic lanes, on Rush, from Bellevue to a point 200' south thereof

he curb lane on the west side of Rush will be turned into a northbound traffic lane.

Helicopter Lift: 333 West Wolf Point

On Saturday, January 21, from 8am-12pm, there will be a helicopter lift at 333 West Wolf Point Plaza. During the lift, the following will be closed:

Orleans, from Wacker to Kinzie
Wolf Point Plaza, from Franklin to Orleans

Filming

Chicago PD

On Tuesday, January 17, Chicago PD will be filming inside 220 S Wells Street. During the filming, parking at the following locations will be prohibited:

East side of Franklin from Van Buren to Monroe
Both sides of Wells from Van Buren to Monroe
Both sides of Jackson from Franklin to Wells

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Tim Turner (location manager) at 312-566-7764.

151 N Michigan:

Power Construction has began demolition of Millennium Park Plaza located at 151 N Michigan Avenue. During the demolition, the following will be closed:

Sidewalk on the north side of Randolph, from Beaubien Court to Michigan Avenue
Sidewalk on the east side of Michigan, from Randolph, to a point 100' north thereof
Beaubien Court, from Randolph to a point 100' north thereof

Pedestrians will be directed to use projected walkways that are placed in the curb lanes on Randolph and Michigan. Demolition is expected to be completed in early February.

Temporary Bus Stop Elimination

Until March 2024, the westbound bus stop at Grand and St. Clair will be temporarily removed.

Stop ID Number: 761
Route Stopping: #29 – State, #65 – Grand, #120 – Ogilvie/Streeterville Express, #121 – Union/Streeterville Express

Randolph Street Viaduct Repair

CDOT restarted viaduct repairs on Randolph, between Columbus and Field. Work hours are Monday-Friday, from 8am-8pm.

Throughout the project, at least one lane of eastbound traffic will be open. Westbound lanes will not be disrupted.

The project is expedited to be completed mid-December (weather dependent).

State & Lake Utility Relocations

Utility companies began relocating utilities in advance of the State and Lake CTA project. Train services will not be disrupted during utility relocations.

At least 1 lane of traffic will remain open (1 lane each direction on State St) at all times, but other driving and parking lanes may be closed.

Construction equipment and materials will be stored on the street, including during time periods between active work. Work will primarily occur 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM on weekdays and 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM on Saturdays, but there will be limited work during nights. Utility companies are aware of and required to abide by the Chicago noise ordinance, which limits noisy work during overnight hours.

150 E Ontario Construction

W.E. O'Neil began construction of a 23-story building at 150 East Ontario Street. Work hours will be Monday-Friday, from 9am-5pm (8pm during caisson pours). Some weekend work will occur.

Throughout the project, the following will be closed:

150' of sidewalk in front of 150 East Ontario
150' of curb lane in front of 150 East Ontario

Pedestrians will be directed to the sidewalk on the south side of the street at Ontario/Michigan and Ontario/St. Clair. The entire project is expected to take 23 months to complete.

Chase Tower Clark Street Tunnel Project

In mid-July, Berglund Construction began repairs on the Chase Tower Clark Street tunnel at 23 S. Clark Street. The project scope consists of repairing Chase’s below-grade tunnel structures that cross below Clark Street at 23 S. Clark St, and will require excavation of Clark Street in that area to access the tunnel structures to perform repairs.

There will be one lane of southbound traffic open at all times. Berglund will have flaggers and barricades in-place throughout the project.

The project will last 26 months. Berglund would like to begin mid-June. Work hours will be Monday-Friday, from 8am-5pm.

535 N. St. Clair Street Project

Demolition of 535 N St. Clair is completed. LendLease has mobilized for construction and they have began pouring caissons. Throughout the project, there will be a protected pedestrian canopy on the north side of Grand, from St. Clair to a point 100' east thereof. The entire project is expected to be completed at the beginning of 2024.

Cassidy Tire Construction

Construction of the 33-story mixed-use building is underway. Throughout construction, McHugh Constriction will occupy the curb lane on the west side of Canal along 344/350 N. Canal Street's property line. The construction company has leased the area north of the building from the railroad to use as a staging area. Additionally, they will use the parking lot south of the building as a staging area too.

As a reminder, this project is contributing to numerous public benefits. Click here for a list of public benefits, and stay tuned to Reilly Reports for future updates on this project and the implementation of these public benefits. All work is expected to take 24 months to complete (weather dependent).

311 W Huron Project

In June, ARCO Murray began construction of a new building at 311 W. Huron Street. Work hours will be Monday-Friday, from 9am-5pm (8pm during caisson pours). Throughout the project, the following City right-of-way will be occupied:

Sidewalk/curb lane on the south side of Huron, from Franklin west to the end of 311 W Huron's property line - approximately 150'. The sidewalk will be used to store their concrete pump, dumpster, and hoist dock. Trucks will back into the site at this location too. Jersey barriers will be placed in the curb lane to create a protected pedestrian path.
3' of the sidewalk on the west side of Franklin, from Huron to the first alley south thereof. This leaves 6' of clearance. They will need to push the fence out a few feet during excavation.
150' of the east/west alley bounded by Huron, Franklin, Erie, and Orleans will be closed. The closure is from Franklin to a point 150' west thereof.

The project is expected to be completed in September 2023 (weather dependent).

214 West Erie Street Renovations

On Monday, December 13, Crane Construction began renovations of 214 West Erie Street. During construction, the following will be closed:

Sidewalk/curb lane in front of 214 West Erie Street. The curb lane will be used as a pedestrian walkway. Crane Construction will place jersey barriers and ramps in the curb lane to protect pedestrians and provide wheelchair access.
Close 100' of the north/south alley adjacent to 214 W Erie Street. This is a T alley and residents of 222 W Erie will still be able to access their parking garage from the alley entrance on Franklin and Huron.

This project is expected to be completed in early 2023 (weather dependent).

LG Construction: 751 N. Hudson and 451 W Chicago

LG Construction continues work on 751 N. Hudson Avenue and 451 W. Chicago Avenue, which are adjacent parcels. Work hours will be 8am-5pm, Monday-Friday.

Throughout the project, the following will be closed:

Sidewalk/curb lane/traffic lane of the east side of Hudson, from Chicago to the first alley south thereof
Sidewalk/curb lane/traffic lane on the west side of Sedgwick, from Chicago to the first alley south thereof
Sidewalk/curb lane on the south side of Chicago, from Hudson to Sedgwick

There will be a protected pedestrian walkway in the curb lane on the south side of Chicago Avenue, from Hudson Avenue to Sedgwick Street.

This project is expected to take 18 months to complete (weather dependent).

354 North Union Construction

The Onni Group is constructing a 33-story residential building with 373 units. Work hours will be 8am-8pm, daily.

Parking will be prohibited on North Union, from West Kinzie to the cul-de-sac west thereof throughout the project. All construction equipment and vehicles will be staged on the Onni Group’s property. This project will take approximately two years to complete.

Dearborn Street Bridge Project

CDOT began emergency work on the Dearborn Bridge in June 2022. They will be conducting the following work:

Replacing both sidewalks
Replacing all of the bridge gratings
Replacing the beam structures

Due to supply chain issues, the project is expected to be completed in April 2023 (weather dependent).

The bridge will be reduced to one lane of traffic/sidewalk at a time. Bike traffic will be detoured to Clark Street via the north side of Upper Wacker Drive.