April 2022 Newsletter
Upcoming
SLN Events
Night at
Jazz Showcase
7:30 pm, May 18
806 S. Plymouth

Candidate's Forum
May 21
Second Presbyterian
1936 S. Michigan
Night at Jazz Showcase
Wednesday May 18
7:30 pm socialize
8:00 pm start time
$15 members
$20 non-members

Join SLN for a night of jazz and light bites at Jazz Showcase. Featuring Bob Lark Septet.
Candidate's Forum
Saturday, May 21
Afternoon (exact time TBD)
2nd Presbyterian
193 S. Michigan Ave.

Join SLN and GSLA in this 7th Illinois Congressional Forum. We will be joined by Kira Collins (Democrat, challenger), Danny K Davis (Democrat, incumbent), and Navarius Mendenhall (Democrat, challenger).







Ice Cream Social
Thurs., July 21
5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Printer's Row Park
532 S. Dearborn

Summer's coming...

Come out and enjoy a free ice cream social sponsored by the South Loop Neighbors in partnership with Printers Row Advisory Council.
Photo Contest: Seasons of the South Loop
Aug. 13-14
10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Dearborn and Polk

Photos will be exhibited at the Printer's Row Art Fest. This year's theme is "Seasons of South Loop." Start taking your photos now! 
Planning & Development
The revised layout for The 78, showing where a proposed casino and observation tower might be built. The egg-shaped building shown in blue is the University of Illinois Discovery Partners Institute.
Alderpersons Oppose Any Casino Site (In Their Wards)
All three sites for a proposed Chicago casino have now been opposed by the local alderperson—but will that have any effect on the city’s choice?

Mayor Lori Lightfoot, anxious to finally get a casino in operation and providing tax revenue, has set up a special City Council committee to make all decisions related to a Chicago casino. The committee does not include any of the alderpersons representing a ward where a casino has been proposed. 

Three sites remain of the five initially proposed: Ballys at the former Tribune printing plant (Halsted & Chicago), Hard Rock at One Central, and Rivers at The 78. Proposals for Rivers at McCormick Place Lakeside Center and Ballys at McCormick Place’s truck marshaling yards were eliminated from consideration in late March. 

In early April, Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th) wrote that he “cannot support” a proposal for a casino to be built as part of The 78. On April 18, Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd) announced she “cannot support” Hard Rock International’s plan to open a casino as part of a proposed mega-development in her ward. Technically, being south of 18th St., the Hard Rock casino would be in Ald. King’s 4th Ward, but she has previously opposed any casinos in her ward. Two days later, Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. (27th) said he doesn’t want a casino at the Tribune Publishing site in his ward.

Will the City Council’s traditional respect for “aldermanic privilege” doom the casino proposals, or has Mayor Lightfoot’s supercommittee paved the way for approval of whatever site is chosen—while also giving the affected alderpersons a way to tell their constituents they fought for their local interests?

Meanwhile, the city made available the traffic studies for the three casino sites.
633 South LaSalle
Construction has begun on 633 South LaSalle, a new building on the site of a surface parking lot between Harrison and Polk. It would be one of the first US locations for The Collective, a London-based chain of co-living communities. Clusters of small rooms for 380 single residents, each only 250 square feet with bath and kitchenette, are organized to share dining and living areas.

Though the concept is a bit like a suite-style college dorm, the project will not be aimed at students. A ground-floor lobby and café are to be open to the public.
Development update
presentation
A roundup of what's proposed and underway for the South Loop was the program at our annual meeting in January. You can watch it on YouTube.

The latest information on planning and development in our area can always be found at our website SouthLoopUpdate.org
Briefly noted . . .

  • Chicago Police 1st District and Community Beat Meetings schedule can be found here!
  • Join the South Loop Advisory Council
  • Chicago Loop Alliance advisories
  • Info on free days at Chicago museums here!
  • Car jacking prevention tips
  • Community Alert Robberies: March 2022
  • AT&T will be doing Construction in the Public Way for a proposed construction project in the 4th Ward at the following locations: 601 S Clark St. The exact dates of the proposed construction are to be determined.
  • RCN provided notification for a proposed construction project. RCN has a planned fiber optic conduit installation, including the installation of 1 communications manhole at 525 S State St (RCN-ST-569, OUC 114171). This build is scheduled for Q2 2022 construction.
  • Parking restrictions are in place for the South Loop from Roosevelt Road to Cermak Rd. from Lake Shore Drive to Clark St. during all Chicago Bears football games and many other Soldier Field events. Wintrust Arena events have been removed from the parking restrictions. Vehicles parked in the South Loop without a valid South Loop Event Parking Pass, South Loop Event Guest Pass or Residential Permit Parking pass (for Residential Permit Parking Streets ONLY) are subject to ticketing or towing. Complete list of Soldier Field events.
  • Street sweeping schedule can be found here.
  • Dearborn Express: April 20, 2022
Recent Past SLN Event
Easter Egg Hunt
April 10, 2022
CTA and Crime Presentation
April 13, 2022






Earth Day Clean Up
April 16, 2022