Portal:Chicago/Selected article
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Portal:Chicago/Selected article/1
The Smashing Pumpkins are an American alternative rock band that formed in Chicago in 1988. While the group has gone through several lineup changes, The Smashing Pumpkins consisted of Billy Corgan (vocals/guitar), James Iha (guitar/vocals), D'arcy Wretzky (bass/vocals), and Jimmy Chamberlin (drums/percussion) for most of the band's recording career. The Smashing Pumpkins broke into the musical mainstream with their second album, 1993's Siamese Dream. The group built their audience with extensive touring and their follow-up, 1995's double album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, debuted at number one on the Billboard charts. With approximately 18.3 million albums sold in the United States alone as of 2006, The Smashing Pumpkins were one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands of the 1990s. However, internal fighting, drug use, and diminishing sales hampered the band and led to a 2000 break-up. In April 2006, the band officially announced that they were reuniting and recording a new album. Returning members Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin were joined by new additions Jeff Schroeder (guitar) and Ginger Reyes (bass) in 2007 to tour behind their new release, Zeitgeist.
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The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). They are currently the National Football Conference Champions, after winning the 2006 NFC Championship Game. The Bears have won nine Professional American Football league championships (eight NFL Championships and Super Bowl XX), trailing only the Green Bay Packers, who have twelve. The Bears have the most enshrinees in the Pro Football Hall of Fame with 26 members. The club was founded in Decatur, Illinois, in 1919 and moved to Chicago in 1921. The team played home games at Wrigley Field on Chicago's North Side through the 1970 season. With the exception of the 2002 season, they have played their home games at Chicago's Soldier Field every year since 1971. The stadium is located next to Lake Michigan and was recently remodeled in a modernization that has attempted to bring stadium amenities expected by today's fans to a historic Chicago building. The team has a fierce, long-standing rivalry with the Packers, whom they have played in over 170 games.
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The Bank of America's Chicago Marathon (formerly the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon) is a major marathon held yearly in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Alongside the Boston, New York, London and Berlin Marathons, it is one of the five World Marathon Majors. The October 7, 2007 running was the 30th Anniversary running of the race. It has been run every year since the September 25, 1977 running of the first race under the original name the Mayor Daley Marathon drew a field of 4200 runners. It is among the fastest growing marathon road races in the world, due in part to its largely fast and flat course which facilitates the pursuit of personal records and world record performances. The race has achieved its elite status among marathons by developing relationship with sponsors who provide prize money to lure elite runners who have produced American and world record performances. There is no qualifying time to participate in the Chicago Marathon, but only runners who finish within 6½ hours are officially timed. The race is limited to 45,000 runners on a first-come, first-served basis. Although the race has limited registration, exceptions include elite runners and charity representatives. Increasingly, local, national and global charities and humanitarian organizations encourage sponsored participation in the event as a means of fund raising. The 2008 marathon will feature a new sponsor name in Bank of America, (as Bank of America acquired LaSalle Bank in 2007). The 2008 Bank of America Chicago Marathon will take place on Sunday, October 12th, 2008. 2008 registration opened to the general public on Feb. 1st.
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The 1880 Republican National Convention convened from June 2 to June 8, 1880 at the Interstate Exposition Building in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and nominated James A. Garfield and Chester A. Arthur as the official candidates of the Republican Party for President and Vice President of the United States, respectively, in the 1880 presidential election. Of the 14 people nominated for the Republican nomination, the three strongest candidates leading up to the convention were Ulysses S. Grant, James G. Blaine and John Sherman. Grant had served two terms as President from 1869 to 1877, and was seeking an unprecedented third term in office. He was backed by the Stalwart faction of the Republican Party, which supported political machines and patronage. Blaine was a senator and former representative from Maine who was backed by the Half-Breed faction of the Republican Party. Sherman, the brother of Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman, was the then Secretary of the Treasury under President Rutherford B. Hayes. He was also a former senator from Ohio and was backed by a delegation that did not support the Stalwarts or Half-Breeds. Garfield's Ohio delegation chose Chester A. Arthur, a Stalwart, as Garfield's vice-presidential running mate. Arthur won the nomination by capturing 468 votes, and the longest-ever Republican National Convention was subsequently adjourned. The Garfield-Arthur Republican ticket later defeated Democrats Winfield Scott Hancock and William Hayden English in the close 1880 presidential election.
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Grand Central Station was a passenger railroad terminal in downtown Chicago, Illinois from 1890 to 1969. It was located at 201 W. Harrison Street in the south-western part of the Chicago Loop, the block bounded by between W. Harrison Street, S. Wells Street, W. Polk Street and the Chicago River. Grand Central Station was designed by architect Solon Spencer Beman for the Wisconsin Central Railway, and was completed by the Chicago and Northern Pacific Railroad. Grand Central Station was eventually purchased by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, which used the station as the Chicago terminus for its passenger rail service, including its glamorous Capitol Limited to Washington, D.C.. Major tenant railroads included the Soo Line Railroad, successor to the Wisconsin Central, the Chicago Great Western Railway, and the Pere Marquette Railroad. The station was eventually shuttered in 1969 and torn down in 1971.
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Wilco is an American rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure from the band. Wilco's lineup has changed frequently, with only singer Jeff Tweedy and bassist John Stirratt remaining from the original incarnation. The other current members are guitarist Nels Cline, multi-instrumentalists Pat Sansone and Mikael Jorgensen, and drummer Glenn Kotche. Wilco has released six studio albums, a live double album, and three collaborations: two with Billy Bragg, and one with The Minus 5. Wilco garnered media attention for its fourth album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002), and the controversy surrounding it. After the recording sessions were complete, Reprise Records rejected the album and dismissed Wilco from the label. As part of a buy-out deal, Reprise gave Wilco the rights to the album for free. After streaming Foxtrot on its website, Wilco sold the album to Nonesuch Records in 2002. Both record labels are subsidiaries of Warner Music Group, leading one critic to say that the album showed "how screwed up the music business [was] in the early twenty-first century." The album was the most successful of Wilco's career, selling over 590,000 copies. Wilco won two Grammy Awards for their fifth studio album, 2004's A Ghost Is Born, including Best Alternative Music Album.
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The South Side is a major part of the city of Chicago, which is located in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Much of it has evolved from the incorporation of independent townships, such as Hyde Park Township, that have been annexed by the city. Regions of the city, referred to as sides, are divided by the Chicago River and its branches. The South Side of Chicago was originally defined as all of the city south of the Chicago River, but it now excludes the Loop. The South Side has a varied ethnic composition, and it has great disparity in income and other demographic measures. The South Side covers 60% of the city's land area, with a higher ratio of single-family homes and larger sections zoned for industry than the rest of the city. The South Side boasts a broad array of cultural and social offerings, such as professional sports teams, landmark buildings, nationally renowned museums, elite educational institutions, world class medical institutions, and major parts of the city's elaborate parks system. The South Side is serviced by bus and train via the Chicago Transit Authority and a number of Metra lines. In addition, it has several Interstate highways and United States highways to serve vehicular traffic.
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The Oliver Typewriter Company was an American typewriter manufacturer headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The Oliver Typewriter was the first effective "visible print" typewriter, meaning text was visible to the typist as it was entered. Oliver typewriters were marketed heavily for home use, utilizing local distributors and sales on credit. Oliver produced more than one million machines between 1895 and 1928 and licensed its designs to several international firms. Competitive pressure and financial troubles resulted in the company's liquidation in 1928. The company’s assets were purchased by investors who formed The British Oliver Typewriter Company, which manufactured and licensed the machines until its own closure in the late 1950s. The last Oliver typewriter was produced in 1959.
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The Pioneer Zephyr is a diesel-powered railroad train formed of railroad cars permanently articulated together with Jacobs bogies, built by the Budd Company in 1934 for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q), commonly known as the Burlington. The train featured extensive use of stainless steel, was originally named the Zephyr, and was meant as a promotional tool to advertise passenger rail service in the United States. The construction included innovations such as shotwelding (a specialized type of spot welding) to join the stainless steel, and articulation to reduce its weight. On May 26, 1934 it set a speed record for travel between Denver, Colorado, and Chicago, Illinois, when it made a 1,015-mile (1,633 km) non-stop "Dawn-to-Dusk" dash in 13 hours 5 minutes at an average speed of 77 mph (124 km/h). For one section of the run it reached a speed of 112.5 mph (181 km/h), just short of the then US land speed record of 115 mph (185 km/h). The historic dash inspired two films and the train's nickname, "Silver Streak".
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Prairie Avenue is a north–south thoroughfare on the South Side of Chicago, which historically extended from 16th street in the Near South Side community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, USA to the city's southern limits and beyond. During the last three decades of the 19th century, a six-block section of the street served as the residence of many of Chicago’s elite families and an additional four-block section was also known for grand homes. The upper six-block section includes the historic Prairie Avenue District. Several of Chicago's most important historical figures have lived on the street. This is especially true of the period of recovery from the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 when many of the most important families in the city moved to the street. Residents of the street have influenced the evolution of the city and have played prominent national and international roles. The street still has landmark buildings and is the backbone of an historic district. Recently, developments have extended the street north to accommodate new high-rise condominiums along Roosevelt Road (12th street) bordering Grant Park with Prairie Avenue addresses.
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The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago is a particular church of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. The Archdiocese of Chicago is one of the largest dioceses in the nation by population and comprises Cook and Lake counties, covering 1,411 square miles (3,653 km²) of Illinois. The original Diocese of Chicago was created on November 28, 1842, and was elevated to the status of an archdiocese on September 10, 1880. On September 27, 1908, the Diocese of Rockford was broken off from the Archdiocese. The Archbishop of Chicago concurrently serves as metropolitan bishop of the Ecclesiastical Province of Chicago, whose suffragan bishops are the bishops of Belleville, Joliet, Peoria, Rockford, and Springfield. It has become customary for each successive Archbishop of Chicago to be raised to the rank of Cardinal by the Pope in consistory, but the offices are not formally linked. Francis Eugene Cardinal George, OMI is the current Archbishop of Chicago. Holy Name Cathedral in downtown Chicago is the mother church of the Archdiocese of Chicago. The Archdiocese also has three minor basilicas, the most of any diocese in the United States: Basilica of Saint Hyacinth administered by the Congregation of the Resurrection, Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica administered by the Servite Order, Queen of All Saints Basilica administered by the archdiocese
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Rush Street is a northbound one-way street in the Near North Side community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It runs northbound from 401 North and 65 East to 1138 North and 0 E in the Chicago street address system, making it slightly less than a mile long. It runs parallel to and one block west of the Magnificent Mile on the two-way traffic street North Michigan Avenue, which runs at 100 east up to 950 north. The street, which is also one block east of the one-way southbound Wabash Avenue, formerly ran slightly further south to the Chicago River where over time various bridges connected it to the Loop. Rush Street's history traces back to the original incorporation of the city. The street, which was named after Dr. Benjamin Rush, is currently known for its nightlife, especially at the northern end, but was an integral part of the city as a main river crossing at the southern end from the mid-1800s until the 1920s. However, the Michigan Avenue Bridge has taken over this role for this neighborhood.
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Man Enters the Cosmos is a cast bronze sculpture by Henry Moore located on the Lake Michigan lakefront outside the Adler Planetarium in the Museum Campus area of downtown Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The planetarium, which is both a National Historic Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is located in the Near South Side community area of Chicago. Moore's sculpture is a functional bowstring equatorial sundial created in 1980 measuring approximately 13 feet (4.0 m). The sundial was formerly located slightly further south at the steps of the main entry plaza to the Planetarium, but it now sits directly on the lakefront.
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The University of Chicago is a private university located principally in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. Incorporated in 1890 by the American Baptist Education Society, the school has traditionally dated its founding to July 1, 1891, when William Rainey Harper became President and first member of the faculty; the oil magnate John D. Rockefeller is officially designated "Founder." The University of Chicago held its first classes on October 1, 1892. Chicago was one of the first universities in the United States to be conceived as a combination of the American interdisciplinary liberal arts college and the German research university. Affiliated with 81 Nobel Prize laureates, the University of Chicago is widely regarded as one of the world's foremost universities. Historically, the university is noted for the unique undergraduate core curriculum pioneered by Robert Hutchins in the 1930s, and for influential academic movements such as the Chicago School of Economics, the Chicago School of Sociology, and the Law and Economics movement in legal analysis. The University of Chicago was the site of the world's first man-made self-sustaining nuclear reaction. It is also home to the Committee on Social Thought, an interdisciplinary graduate research program, and to the largest university press in the United States.
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The S.S. Christopher Columbus was an excursion liner on the Great Lakes, in service between 1893 and 1933. She was the only whaleback ship ever built for passenger service. The ship was designed by Alexander McDougall, the developer and promoter of the whaleback design. Columbus was built between 1892 and 1893 at Superior, Wisconsin by the American Steel Barge Company. Initially, she ferried passengers to and from the World's Columbian Exposition. Later, she provided general transportation and excursion services to various ports around the lakes. At 362 feet (110 m), the ship was the longest whaleback ever built, and reportedly also the largest vessel on the Great Lakes when she was launched. Columbus is said to have carried more passengers during her career than any other vessel on the Great Lakes. After a career lasting four decades, she was retired during the Great Depression and scrapped in 1936 by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company at Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
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Fall Out Boy is an American band from Wilmette, Illinois, (a suburb of Chicago) that formed in 2001. The band consists of Patrick Stump, Pete Wentz, and Andy Hurley. Fall Out Boy has won several awards for their album From Under the Cork Tree. Released in 2005, the album has achieved triple platinum status after selling more than 2.5 million albums in the United States. In support of the album, Fall Out Boy headlined tours in 2005 and the year before 2007 in the United States, Canada, Japan, and Europe. In February 2007, the band released Infinity on High to major chart success, reaching #1 on the Billboard 200 and selling 260,000 copies in its first week. The first single, "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race", reached #1 on the Pop 100 and #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. To promote the album, the band performed at the Live Earth concerts July 7, headlined the Honda Civic Tour through mid-2007, and the band performed at the MTV Video Music Awards on September 9.
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Interstate 355 (I-355), also known as the Veterans Memorial Tollway, is an interstate highway and tollway in the western and southwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, U.S. Like other tollways in the northeastern portion of the state, I-355 is maintained by the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (abbreviated ISTHA, but commonly referred to as the "tollway authority"). I-355 runs from Interstate 80 in New Lenox north to Interstate 290 in Itasca, a distance of 32.5 miles (52.3 km). The highway is six lanes wide for its entire length. The tollway authority opened I-355 as the North–South Tollway in 1989 to ease congestion on Illinois Route 53 (IL 53), a parallel two-lane state highway in central DuPage County. Initially, I-355 ran from Interstate 55 north to I-290. On November 11, 2007, the tollway authority opened a southern extension of I-355 from I-55 to I-80, a distance of 12.5 miles (20.1 km); on its opening, the tollway authority changed the name of the tollway to "Veterans Memorial Tollway".
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Alpha Kappa Alpha (ΆΚΆ) is the first Greek-lettered sorority established and incorporated by African-American college women. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at Howard University in Washington, D.C. by a group of nine students, led by Ethel Hedgeman Lyle. Forming a sorority broke barriers for African-American women in areas where little power or authority existed due to a lack of opportunities for minorities and women in the early twentieth century. Alpha Kappa Alpha was incorporated on January 29, 1913. Alpha Kappa Alpha is part of the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC). The current International President is Barbara A. McKinzie, and the sorority's document and pictorial archives are located at Moorland-Spingarn Research Center. Consisting of college-educated women of African, Caucasian, Asian, and Hispanic descent, the sorority serves through a membership of more than 200,000 women in over 975 chapters in the United States and several other countries. Since being founded over a century ago, Alpha Kappa Alpha has helped to improve social and economic conditions through community service programs. Members have improved education through independent initiatives, contributed to community-building by creating programs and associations and influenced federal legislation by Congressional lobbying through the National Non-Partisan Lobby on Civil and Democratic Rights. The sorority works with communities through service initiatives and progressive programs relating to education, family, health, and business.
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Road to Perdition is a 2002 period drama directed by Sam Mendes. The screenplay was adapted by David Self, from the graphic novel of the same name by Max Allan Collins. The film stars Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law, Tyler Hoechlin, and Daniel Craig. Hanks stars as Michael Sullivan, an enforcer who is forced to flee with his son from the crime syndicate for whom he had worked. Filming took place in the Chicago area. Director Sam Mendes, having recently finished 1999's acclaimed American Beauty, pursued a film that had minimal dialogue and conveyed emotion in the imagery. A "cold look" was created for the locations to emphasize the characters' emotional states. Cinematographer Conrad L. Hall took advantage of the lighting and the environment to create symbolism for the film, for which he won several awards. Road to Perdition explored the themes of violence's consequences and the relationship between father and son. The film was released on 12 July 2002, and received mostly positive reviews. The cinematography, setting, and the performances of Paul Newman and Tom Hanks were well-received, though the film was criticized for not creating a strong emotional attachment to its audience.
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Crown Fountain is an interactive public fountain in Millennium Park, in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Designed by Jaume Plensa, it opened in July 2004. The fountain consists of a black granite reflecting pool located between a pair of artistic and technically sophisticated opposing glass brick sculptures measuring 50 feet (15.2 m) in height. The structure involved numerous complicated electronics and architectural considerations, and the construction and design cost $17 million. Throughout most of the warmer months, it incorporates water in the form of a cascade and spouting water nozzle as well as a reflecting pool. The sculptures are known for the digital videos of Chicago residents that they display continuously throughout the year. The fountain has been praised by both trained architects and ordinary city residents for its artistic contribution to Millennium Park. In addition, the fountain has a reputation as a public play area that accommodates a need to escape from summer heat. At times when the National Weather Service issues summer heat advisories and the Illinois Governor is compelled to declare state office buildings as official daytime cooling centers, the national press points to Crown Fountain as a respite not only for Chicagoans, but also for residents of the most remote reaches of the Chicago metropolitan area.
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"My Kind of Town" or "My Kind of Town (Chicago Is)" is a popular song composed by Jimmy Van Heusen, with lyrics by Sammy Cahn. It was originally part of the musical score for Robin and the 7 Hoods, a 1964 musical film starring several members of the Rat Pack. It was nominated for the 1964 Academy Award for Best Original Song but lost to "Chim Chim Cher-ee" from Mary Poppins. Although the song predated the Grammy Award Best Original Song for a Motion Picture category, the entire score was nominated for the 1964 Grammy Award in the category Best Original Score Written for A Motion Picture, but it lost to the eponymously titled Mary Poppins score. Frank Sinatra has recorded several versions which have appeared on many of his albums. Also, many artists have performed the song as a tribute to Sinatra in posthumous tribute albums. In addition, the song had been recorded by many other artists prior to Sinatra's death. The lyrics, which praise the city of Chicago for its people and institutions, repeat the phrase My Kind of Town several times, usually in a line that says "My kind of town, Chicago is".
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Chicago Midway International Airport (IATA: MDW, ICAO: KMDW, FAA LID: MDW), also known simply as Midway Airport or Midway, is an airport in Chicago, Illinois, United States, located on the city's southwest side, eight miles (13 km) from Chicago's Loop. The airport's northern half is within the Garfield Ridge community area, and the southern half is within the Clearing community area. The airport is managed by the Chicago Airport System, which also oversees operations at O'Hare International Airport and Gary/Chicago International Airport. Midway is heavily used by low-cost carriers, such as AirTran Airways and Southwest Airlines, and to a lesser extent by legacy carriers, such as Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Northwest Airlines. Both the Stevenson Expressway and Chicago Transit Authority's "L" Train Orange Line provide passengers access to downtown Chicago. Chicago Midway Airport is the second largest passenger airport in the Chicago metropolitan area. In its 80-year history of passenger traffic, Midway Airport has had 21 incidents and accidents, and only one accident since 1976. Chicago Midway International Airport ranked third amongst large airports in the nation for "Best On-Time Arrival Rates" in June 2007, with 75.4% of all flights (8,087) arriving on time, a 3.8% increase from the previous year. Southwest is the dominant carrier at Midway, controlling 29 of the airport's 43 gates. Currently, the airline offers 227 daily departures to 47 destinations. AirTran is the second largest carrier, occupying 4 out of the 43 gates at Midway, and offering over 20 daily nonstop flights to 8 destinations; 6 of which are served year-round. In April 2008, after filing for bankruptcy in Indianapolis ATA immediately discontinued all flights. Currently the city is seeking approval from the current airline carriers to auction a lease for the operation rights of the airport to a private company. Such a lease is estimated to be valued at $3 billion dollars for the city. Approval by five of the seven carriers is required.
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The Chicago Spire is a supertall skyscraper under construction in Chicago, Illinois. The skyscraper will stand taller than Chicago's Sears Tower and New York's upcoming Freedom Tower, as well as Toronto's CN Tower, thereby becoming North America's tallest free-standing structure and the world's tallest all-residential building. The building was designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava and is being developed by Garrett Kelleher of Shelbourne Development Group, Inc. Originally announced in July of 2005 by Christopher T. Carley of the Fordham Company, the project was supported by many Chicagoans and city officials. After several months of development, Carley failed to acquire necessary financing and the project was taken over by Garrett Kelleher of the Shelbourne Development Group. Since that time, three major revisions were made to the design.
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The 3rd Congressional District of Illinois includes part of Cook County, and has been represented by Democrat Dan Lipinski since January 2005; the district was previously represented by his father Bill Lipinski beginning in 1993. This district includes west and southwest suburbs of Chicago as far as the DuPage County border, as well as a portion of the southwest side of the city of Chicago itself, and covers 124.5 square miles (322.45 km²), making it one of the 50 smallest districts in the U.S., although there are five smaller districts in Illinois. It is adjacent to the 1st District to the east and south, the 4th District to the north, and the 13th District to the west, and also borders the 6th and 7th Districts at its northwest and northeast corners respectively. The district was created following the 1830 Census and came into being in 1833, five months before Chicago was organized as a town; it initially included northern and western Illinois before representing areas of east central and northwestern Illinois from 1843 to 1873. The district has included part of Chicago since 1873, and part of the city's southwest side since 1895; the district has been primarily suburban since 1973. Although the district has elected Democrats to Congress in 24 of the last 25 elections, and has voted for the Democratic nominee in the last four presidential races, there is also a strong tradition of social conservatism in the area which has resulted in the election of conservative Democrats, as well as greater support for Republicans than might be expected based on voter identification by party.
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The Blues Brothers is a 1980 musical comedy directed by John Landis and starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as "Joliet" Jake and Elwood Blues, characters developed from a "Saturday Night Live" musical sketch. It features musical numbers by R&B and soul legends James Brown, Cab Calloway, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and John Lee Hooker, and epic car chase scenes. The story is a tale of redemption for paroled convict Jake and his brother Elwood, who take on "a mission from God" to save the Roman Catholic orphanage in which they grew up from foreclosure. To do so they must re-form their rhythm and blues band, the Blues Brothers, and organize a performance to earn $5,000 to pay the tax assessor. Along the way they are targeted by a destructive "mystery woman," Neo-Nazis, and a country and western band – all while being relentlessly pursued by the police, and eventually the military and a SWAT team. The film is set in and around Chicago, Illinois, and also features non-musical supporting performances by John Candy, Carrie Fisher and Henry Gibson.
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Rainbow/PUSH is a non-profit organization formed as a merger of two non-profit organizations — Operation PUSH (People United To Save Humanity) and the National Rainbow Coalition — founded by Jesse Jackson. The organizations pursue social justice, civil rights and political activism. In December 1971, Jackson resigned from Operation Breadbasket after clashing with Rev. Ralph Abernathy and founded Operation PUSH. Jackson founded the National Rainbow Coalition in 1984 which merged with PUSH in 1996. The combined organization keeps its national headquarters on the South Side of Chicago and has branches in Washington, D.C., New York City, Los Angeles, Detroit, Houston, Atlanta, the Silicon Valley, and New Orleans. Operation PUSH was successful at raising public awareness to initiate corporate action and government sponsorship. The National Rainbow coalition became a prominent political organization that raised public awareness on numerous political issues and consolidated a large voting block. The merged entity has undertaken numerous social initiatives.
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Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Pritzker Pavilion, or Pritzker Music Pavilion is a band shell in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The Frank Gehry-designed pavilion, named for Pritzker family member Jay Pritzker, was constructed between June 1999 and July 2004 in Millennium Park. It is located on the south side of Randolph Street directly across from some of the tallest buildings in the world and east of the Chicago Landmark Historic Michigan Boulevard District. It is the park's outdoor performing arts venue and the new home of the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. As home of the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra and Chorus it is also the home of the Grant Park Music Festival, the nation's only remaining free outdoor classical music series. The structure is built partially atop the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, the park's indoor performing arts venue. It serves as the centerpiece for the park that was opened on July 16, 2004. The first mainstream concert at the Pavilion was performed by Tori Amos and took place on August 31, 2005. The performance venue is designed with a large fixed seating area, a great lawn, a trellis network to support the sound system and a signature Gehry stainless steel headdress. It features a sound system with an innovative acoustic design that replicates an indoor concert hall sound experience. The pavilion and the park in general are well-known and respected for their accessibility.
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The AT&T Corporate Center is the 4th tallest completed skyscraper in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States and the 9th tallest in the United States at a height of 1,021 ft (307 m) containing 60 floors. Completed in 1989, the 1.7 million square foot (158,000 m²) supertall building stands two blocks east of the Chicago River and northeast of the Sears Tower at 227 West Monroe Street (100 South Franklin alternate address) in the Loop community area of downtown Chicago. Composed of retail and commercial office space, the tower is the tallest building constructed in Chicago in the last quarter of the 20th century. The building was built to consolidate American Telephone & Telegraph Company central regional headquarters offices.
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The Bud Billiken Parade and Picnic is an annual parade in Chicago, Illinois, and the largest African American parade in the United States. Since 1929, it has always been held on the second Saturday in August. The idea for the parade came from Robert S. Abbott, the founder of the Chicago Defender. It is now the second largest annual parade in the United States. The 78th Annual Parade took place on August 11, 2007, and was televised on WLS-TV as well as nationally on WGN-TV in addition to local coverage. In 2008, the second Saturday in August falls on August 9, 2008. The parade features celebrities, politicians, businessmen, civic organizations and youth. It occurs on the South Side of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States and concludes in Washington Park. National and international celebrities have attended and some have served as the parade's Grand Marshal. The focus of the parade is on the betterment of Chicago youth.
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Hyde Park Township, Cook County, Illinois is a former civil township in Cook County, Illinois, United States that existed as a separate municipality from 1861 until 1889 when it was annexed into the city of Chicago. Its borders are Pershing Road (formerly 39th Street) on the north, State Street on the west, Lake Michigan and the Indiana state line on the east, and 138th Street and the Calumet River on the south (see map in footnote). This region comprised most of what are now known as the South Side of Chicago including the entirety of the following community areas: Hyde Park, Kenwood, Woodlawn, South Shore, South Chicago, East Side, Hegewisch, Avalon Park, Calumet Heights, South Deering, Burnside, Pullman, and Riverdale as well as the Southern part of Oakland and the eastern parts of Grand Boulevard, Washington Park, Greater Grand Crossing, Chatham, Roseland, and West Pullman. During its brief history it developed from unpopulated wildlife to a largely developed residential, commercial and resort community. However, due to infrastructure limitations, legislative incentives and the lure of better municipal services it, along with numerous adjoining townships, agreed to be annexed into the city of Chicago, creating the largest city in the United States at that time.
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Loose Fur is an American rock band comprising of Wilco members Jeff Tweedy and Glenn Kotche, and Wilco collaborator Jim O'Rourke. The trio first convened in May 2000 in preparation for a Tweedy performance at a festival in Chicago. Tweedy was offered the opportunity to collaborate with an artist of his choosing, and he decided to work with O'Rourke. O'Rourke brought Kotche to a rehearsal session, and the trio recorded an album's worth of songs. The trio have since released two albums, 2003's Loose Fur and 2006's Born Again in the USA, for Drag City Records. The band is a side project of Wilco, and only toured once. The band is noted for its influence on Wilco's fourth album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Tweedy was unhappy with how music from the initial recording sessions for the album were sounding, resulting in a lineup change for the band. Both O'Rourke and Kotche replaced members of Wilco during the recording sessions for the album, and are still contributors to the band as of 2007.
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Haystacks is the title of a series of impressionist paintings by Claude Monet. The primary subjects of all of the paintings in the series are stacks of grain that have been stacked in the field after the harvest season. The title refers primarily to a twenty-five canvas series (Wildenstein Index Number 1266-1290) begun the fall of 1890 and continued through the following spring, using that year's grain harvest. Some use a broader definition of the title to refer to other paintings by Monet with this same theme. The series is known for its thematic use of repetition to show differences in perception of light across various times of day, seasons, and types of weather. The subjects were painted in fields near Monet's home in Giverny, France. The series is among Monet's most notable works. Although the largest collections of Monet's work are held in Paris at the Musée d'Orsay and Musée Marmottan Monet, Boston, Massachusetts at the Museum of Fine Arts, New York City at the Metropolitan Museum and Museum of Modern Art and Tokyo at the National Museum of Western Art, six of the twenty-five haystacks pieces are currently housed at the Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, United States holds two, and The Louvre in Paris, France holds one. Other museums that hold parts of this series in their collection include the Hill-Stead Museum in Farmington, Connecticut, National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom, Minneapolis Institute of Arts in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, Kunsthaus Zürich in Zürich, Switzerland, and Shelburne Museum, Shelburne, Vermont, United States. Several private collections also hold Haystack paintings.
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T. B. Blackstone Memorial Library is a building that is part of the Chicago Public Library System and is named after Timothy Blackstone. It is now known as the Chicago Public Library - Blackstone Branch and commonly referred to as Blackstone Library, or Blackstone Branch and sometimes Blackstone for short. The Concord Granite building's two-year construction started in 1902, and it was dedicated on January 8, 1904. Blackstone Library marks the beginning of the Chicago Branch Library System as the first dedicated branch in the system.[1][2] Blackstone is also the only branch of the 79-branch Chicago Public Library branch system that was privately funded. The building is located in Chicago's Kenwood community area in Cook County, Illinois, United States and serves the Hyde Park, Kenwood, and Oakland community areas. The branch celebrated its 100th anniversary of service in 2004.
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The Near South Side is a community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is located just south of the downtown central business district, the Loop, which is itself a community area. The Near South Side's boundaries (see map) are as follows: North—Roosevelt Road (1200 S); South—26th Street; West—Chicago River between Roosevelt and 18th Street, Clark Street between 18th Street and 22nd Street, Federal between 22nd and the Stevenson Expressway just south of 25th Street, and Clark Street again between the Stevenson and 26th Street; and East—Lake Michigan. The portion of the Near South Side located east of Lake Shore Drive contains some of the most well-known structures in Chicago: Soldier Field (the home of the National Football League Chicago Bears), the eastern half of McCormick Place (Chicago's primary convention center), the Museum Campus (which contains the Field Museum of Natural History, the Shedd Aquarium, and the Adler Planetarium), and Northerly Island. The remaining area is currently undergoing a major residential and mixed-use redevelopment. As part of the Chicago 2016 Olympic bid, the Olympic Village is planned to be located on a 37 acre truck parking lot south of McCormick Place that is mostly in the Douglas community area and partly in the Near South Side.
Portal:Chicago/Selected article/35
Washington Park is a 372 acre (1.5 km²) park between Cottage Grove Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard, (originally known as "South Park Blvd.") located at 5531 S. Martin Luther King Dr. in the Washington Park community area on the South Side of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It was named for President George Washington in 1880. Washington Park is the largest of 4 Chicago Park District parks named after persons surnamed Washington (the others being Dinah Washington Park, Harold Washington Park and Washington Square Park, Chicago). This park is the proposed site of the Olympic Stadium for Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics. Washington Park was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 20, 2004.
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Batman Begins is a 2005 superhero film based on the fictional DC Comics character Batman. Christopher Nolan directed the film, which stars Christian Bale as Batman, as well as Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Cillian Murphy, Morgan Freeman and Tom Wilkinson. The film reboots the Batman film series, telling the origin story of the character with inspirations from classic comic book storylines such as Batman: The Man Who Falls, Batman: Year One and Batman: The Long Halloween. After a series of unsuccessful projects to resurrect Batman on screen following the critical and commercial failure of Batman and Robin (1997), Nolan and Goyer began work on this film in 2003. Aiming for a dark and realistic tone, the filmmakers created a new interpretation of the Batmobile, here a military vehicle called the "Tumbler". The film was primarily shot in England and Chicago, and relied on traditional stunts and miniatures; computer-generated imagery was used minimally. Batman Begins was critically and commercially successful, and a sequel titled The Dark Knight was commissioned for a 2008 release with both Nolan and Bale returning.
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Arts Club of Chicago is a private club located in the Near North Side community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States, a block east of the Magnificent Mile, that exhibits international contemporary art. It was founded in 1916, inspired by the success of the Art Institute of Chicago's handling of the Armory Show. Its founding was viewed as a statement that art had become an important component of civilized urban life. The Arts Club is said to have been pro-Modernist from its founding. The Club strove to break new ground with its shows, rather than collect the works of established artists as the Art Institute does. The club presented Pablo Picasso's first United States showing. In addition, the 1951 exhibition by Jean Dubuffet and his "Anticultural Positions" lecture at the Arts Club were tremendous influences on what would become the mid 1960s Imagist movement. Another important presentation in the history of the Arts Club was the Fernand Leger showing of Le Ballet Mecanique. The Club's 1997 move to its current 201 E. Ontario Street location was not without controversy, because the club demolished its former interior space designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and moved only the central staircase to the new gallery space. However, the new space is 19,000 square feet (1,800 m²), which is 7,000 square feet (650 m²) larger than the old space.
Portal:Chicago/Selected article/38
Chevelle is an American hard rock band that formed in 1995 in Grayslake, Illinois. The band was originally comprised of three brothers: Pete (lead vocals/guitar), Sam (drums/percussion), and Joe Loeffler (bass/vocals). Joe left the band in 2005 and was replaced by Dean Bernardini soon after. Chevelle has sold nearly two million albums in the United States. Its second album, Wonder What's Next, was certified Platinum by the RIAA. Since its formation, Chevelle has released four studio albums, one live album, and one DVD.
Portal:Chicago/Selected article/39
SummerSlam 1994 was the seventh annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It took place on August 29, 1994 at the newly-opened United Center in Chicago, Illinois, which had opened eleven days earlier. The tagline was "So Hot it's Scary". The pay-per-view had two main events. The first featured Owen Hart fighting his brother Bret Hart in a steel cage match. Bret won the match, but the storyline feud escalated after Owen and his brother-in-law Jim Neidhart attacked Bret after the match. The other main event was a match between The Undertaker, the original Undertaker portrayed by Mark Calaway, and Brian Lee, who portrayed a "fake" Undertaker. The original Undertaker won the match, and the impostor did not appear in the WWF again. The undercard featured a match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship between Diesel and Razor Ramon, which Ramon won to regain the title. The other major angle going into SummerSlam was a feud in which Tatanka accused Lex Luger of joining the Million Dollar Corporation, a stable of heel wrestlers. This storyline turned out to be a swerve, as Tatanka was revealed to have secretly joined the corporation.
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The Joffrey Tower will be the name of the high rise commercial real estate development on the northeast corner of North State Street and East Randolph Street in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States that will be the new permanent home of the Joffrey Ballet. It is located immediately south of the Chicago Theatre and directly across the street from Macy's on State Street, the flagship location of the Chicago Landmark Marshall Field and Company Building of the former Marshall Field's within the Loop Retail Historic District. Its address had once been the site of the Masonic Temple. The placement of the Joffrey Ballet in this building appears to have involved political dealings with the Mayor of Chicago, Richard M. Daley and his brother, William Daley, a co-chairman of the Joffrey board of trustees. The building was originally scheduled for completion in December 2007. As of January 2008, the anticipated grand opening will be in the summer of 2008.
Portal:Chicago/Selected article/41
108 North State Street is planned to be a mixed use urban center located in the Loop community area of downtown Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The 3 building structure is being developed by Simon Property Group, as a project inherited from the Mills Corporation. It will be located on the square block bounded by North State Street, West Randolph Street, West Washington Street and North Dearborn Street that is known as "Block 37", which was its designated number as one of the original 58 blocks of the city. The project broke ground on November 15, 2005. On July 31, 2006, the construction phase began. The retail phase is now slated for completion in Fall 2008. The Mills Corporation has also been contracted to develop an underground transit center beneath Block 37 that will be jointly funded by the City of Chicago, the Chicago Transit Authority and The Mills Corporation. The planned project includes a new subway station, track connections and a common downtown airport check-in facility for train service to both O'Hare and Midway airports. Both Block 37 and The Mills Corporation have histories of financial difficulties. Block 37 had been demolished in 1989 for a hotly contested redevelopment plan under the then new Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. The debates included the demolition of a former Chicago Landmark that was debated in the Illinois Supreme Court. The demolition proceeded, but the initial redevelopment plan fell through as did several subsequent plans leaving the block vacant and undeveloped for nearly a generation. The Mills corporation has itself been in financial difficulty in the past. This reputation and changing financial climate caused a delay in 2006 as contractors feared not getting paid.
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Blues is a vocal and instrumental form of music based on the use of the blue notes. It emerged in African-American communities of the United States from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads. The use of blue notes and the prominence of call-and-response patterns in the music and lyrics are indicative of African influence. The blues influenced later American and Western popular music, as it became the roots of jazz, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, hip-hop, and other popular music forms.
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William W. Powers State Recreation Area is an Illinois state park administered by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources on 580 acres (2.35 km²) in the Hegewisch community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The area includes 419 acres (1.70 km²) of water in Wolf Lake that provides about 6 miles (9.7 km) of shoreline to fishermen. The park hosts about half a million visitors annually. The park hosts numerous species, which are the concern of ecologist. As a result, some of these species have been placed on special watch lists, and the park has been the subject of extended study as well as the focal point of extensive volunteerism.
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The Reputation were an indie rock band from Chicago, Illinois. The band was fronted by former Sarge singer-songwriter Elizabeth Elmore, with other positions filled by various members. The band, which formed while Elmore was attending law school, released two albums between the years of 2001 and 2006, both of which were met with generally positive reviews. The band has toured the United States and the United Kingdom.
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Washington Park Race Track was a popular horse racing venue in the Chicago metropolitan area from 1884 until 1977. It was first situated in what is the current location of the Washington Park Subdivision of the Woodlawn community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. This is located immediately south of both the current Washington Park community area and Washington Park. The track was later relocated to Homewood, Illinois, which is also in Cook County. The original track and its accompanying Jockey Club were social draws in the late 1800s, but modern developments and changes in the law led to the decline of both. In its prime, the track was an especially important social gathering place on opening day and the day of the American Derby, which ranked as one of horse racing's highest purses. The Jockey club, designed by Solon Spencer Beman, hosted a social gathering led by General Philip Sheridan who was an early leader of the track and club. The track was closed and reopened according to the contemporary state and local laws on gambling and eventually waned in popularity and social importance. Over the years, numerous famous horses and jockeys appeared at the track. In the 19th century, notable horses of the time, such as Emperor of Norfolk and Domino raced. In the 20th century, some of the most notable Thoroughbreds to race at Washington Park included Triple Crown winners Citation and Whirlaway. Other notable horses included Native Dancer and Swaps, who each won legs of the Triple Crown. Jockey Eddie Arcaro won both the 1948 and 1953 American Derby races at the track. In addition to the American Derby, several other notable graded stakes races were run at the track such as the Stars and Stripes Turf Handicap and the Washington Park Handicap. In addition, notable match races were held at the track.
Portal:Chicago/Selected article/46
The Rock N Roll McDonald's (formerly The Original Rock 'N Roll McDonald's) is one of the most famous McDonald's locations in the world, and was once the busiest in the United States. It is a flagship location. The restaurant/museum, located in the Near North Side community area (neighborhood) of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States a few city blocks west of the Magnificent Mile, has been a tourist attraction since it opened in 1983. The site has a Rock & Roll exhibit in a building adjacent to the restaurant and a small upstairs McDonald's museum display. The restaurant has a maximum occupancy of 300, which is about three times the standard patron capacity. The building features the first two-lane McDonald's drive-through, relatively luxurious decor, a cafe, plasma display flat screen televisions and a green roof.
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Super Bowl XLI was an American football game played on February 4, 2007, at Dolphin Stadium to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion following the 2006 regular season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Indianapolis Colts (16-4) defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Chicago Bears (15-4), 29-17. Colts quarterback Peyton Manning was named the game's Most Valuable Player, completing 25 of 38 passes for 247 yards and a touchdown, with one interception. This was Peyton Manning's first super bowl title after being one of the leagues most dominant quarterback for some eight years. Nielsen Media Research reported 93 million viewers for Super Bowl XLI, making it the fourth most-watched program in U.S. television history (trailing only the M*A*S*H finale and Super Bowls XLII and XXX). This game featured two teams ending long Super Bowl appearance droughts. The Colts made their first appearance in a Super Bowl game since winning Super Bowl V in the 1970 season during the team's tenure in Baltimore; they moved to Indianapolis in 1984. Meanwhile, the Bears made their first appearance since winning Super Bowl XX in the 1985 season. It was only the second time that two pre-expansion era (pre 1960) teams met in the Super Bowl. The first was Super Bowl XIV between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Los Angeles Rams.
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The Museum of Contemporary Art, often abbreviated to MCA, is a contemporary art museum near Water Tower Place in downtown Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The current location at 220 East Chicago Avenue is in the Streeterville neighborhood of the Near North Side community area.
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Burnham Park is a public park in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The six mile (9.66 km) long 598 acre (2.4 km²) park is composed of Chicago Park District property that connects Grant Park to Jackson Park (14th St. to 56th St.) along the Lake Michigan lakefront. It was named for urban planner and architect Daniel Burnham in 1927. Burnham was one of the designers of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. Businessman A. Montgomery Ward felt that Chicago needed to have a publicly accessible, "forever open, clear and free" lakefront lest the city descend into the squalor typical of American cities of the time, with buildings and heavy industry destroying any chance for beauty. To this day the city's lakefront is open from the former city limits at Hollywood down to the steel mills near Rainbow Beach.
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Prison Break is a Golden Globe and Emmy nominated American action/serial drama television series that premiered on the Fox Broadcasting Company on August 29, 2005. The story revolves around a man who was sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit and his brother's elaborate plan to help him escape his death sentence. Created by Paul Scheuring, the show is produced by Adelstein-Parouse Productions in association with Original Television and 20th Century Fox Television. The current executive producers are Scheuring, Matt Olmstead, Kevin Hooks, Marty Adelstein, Dawn Parouse, Neal Moritz, and Brett Ratner. Its theme music is composed by Ramin Djawadi, and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in 2006. The show recently concluded its third season. A fourth season of 22 episodes has been confirmed by FOX as of March 25 2008. It is expected to be back on television later in the year. The production for the fourth season will move from Dallas to Los Angeles. The uniqueness of Prison Break is attributed to its serialized story structure, a similar format used by Lost and 24, and to its setting, as very few television series were primarily set and filmed in a prison.
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Douglas Park is a large Chicago Park District park that also serves as a cultural and community center in Chicago, Illinois. It is named after the U.S. Senator Stephen A. Douglas, who died in 1861. Originally named South Park, its 173 acres (0.70 km²) are in the North Lawndale community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States with an official address of 1401 S. Sacramento Drive. Currently, Chicago's 2016 Olympic bid includes plans to host the Olympic swimming competitions in this park.
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Harold Washington Cultural Center is a performance facility located in the Grand Boulevard community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It was named after Chicago's first Afro-American Mayor Harold Washington and opened August 17, 2004 ten years after initial groundbreaking. In addition to the 1000 seat Com-Ed Theatre, the center offers a Digital Media Resource Center. Both Chicago City Council Alderman Dorothy Tillman and singer Lou Rawls take credit for championing the center, which cost $19.5 million. It was originally to be named the Lou Rawls Cultural Center, but Alderman Tillman changed the name without telling Rawls. Although it is considered part of the Bronzeville neighborhood it is not part of the Chicago Landmark Black Metropolis-Bronzeville District that is in the Douglas community area. The limestone building, which is located on the same site as a former historic black theatre, has become the subject of controversy stemming from nepotism. After a construction phase marked by delays and cost overruns, it has had a financially disappointing start and has been underutilized by many standards. These disappointments were chronicled in an award winning investigative report.
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The Frank Borman Expressway is an east-west highway in northwest portion of the U.S. state of Indiana, carrying Interstate 80, Interstate 94, and U.S. Highway 6, as well as a short section of U.S. Highway 41. The designation begins from the Illinois state line east to the Lake/Porter County Line, just east of the junction with the Indiana Toll Road. The Borman Expressway has been identified in federal transportation legislation as part of High Priority Corridor 18, Segment 27, making current and future construction projects on I-94 eligible for federal funding in association with extending Interstate 69 to the Texas/Mexico border. The Borman Expressway is a major truck thoroughfare, providing a free alternative to the Indiana Toll Road/Chicago Skyway combination (Interstate 90) to the north. Originally constructed in segments starting in the 1950s, with its Illinois counterpart, the Kingery Expressway, reconstruction of the expressway began in 2004. The Borman Expressway is named after Frank Borman, commander of the Apollo 8 space mission, who was born in Gary.
Portal:Chicago/Selected article/54
SummerSlam 1994 was the seventh annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It took place on August 29, 1994 at the newly-opened United Center in Chicago, Illinois, which had opened eleven days earlier. The tagline was "So Hot it's Scary". The pay-per-view had two main events. The first featured Owen Hart fighting his brother Bret Hart in a steel cage match. Bret won the match, but the storyline feud escalated after Owen and his brother-in-law Jim Neidhart attacked Bret after the match. The other main event was a match between The Undertaker, the original Undertaker portrayed by Mark Calaway, and Brian Lee, who portrayed a "fake" Undertaker. The original Undertaker won the match, and the impostor did not appear in the WWF again. The undercard featured a match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship between Diesel and Razor Ramon, which Ramon won to regain the title. The other major angle going into SummerSlam was a feud in which Tatanka accused Lex Luger of joining the Million Dollar Corporation, a stable of heel wrestlers. This storyline turned out to be a swerve, as Tatanka was revealed to have secretly joined the corporation.
Portal:Chicago/Selected article/55
The 2003 Chicago balcony collapse was a disaster that occurred on 29 June 2003 in the city of Chicago, resulting in the deadliest porch collapse in United States history. An overloaded balcony collapsed during a party in an apartment building, killing thirteen people and seriously injuring fifty-seven others. The ensuing investigation was highly critical of the way the balcony was built, finding a large number of errors in its construction which ultimately resulted in the collapse. However, the building's owner continues to blame overcrowding on the balcony for its complete structural failure, although he has taken steps to strengthen the balconies at his properties to prevent a recurrence of the disaster. The accident resulted in sweeping inspections of similar structures across Chicago, with 1,260 cases being actioned by the city authorities.
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Washington Park is a well-defined community area (and neighborhood) on the South Side of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, USA. It includes the 372 acre (1.5 km²) park named Washington Park, stretching east-west from Cottage Grove Avenue to the Dan Ryan Expressway, and north-south from 63rd Street to 51st. The park is the proposed site of the Olympic Stadium in Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics. Half of the neighborhood's lots are vacant, reflecting the fact that Washington Park is one of the poorest in Chicago, with a median household income of only $15,000 per year, As of the turn of the century nearly half of the residents lived below the poverty level.
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Lane Technical College Preparatory High School (also known as Lane Tech), is a public, four-year, magnet high school located on the north side of Chicago. Lane is one of the oldest schools in the city and has an enrollment of over four thousand students. Lane is a selective-enrollment-based school in which students must take a test and pass a certain benchmark in order to be offered admission. As a result of consistent victories in the fields of sports and academics, the school is known as the "School of Champions". Lane has also produced more Ph.D. holders than any other high school in the country.
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The Northern Illinois University shooting was an incident that took place on February 14, 2008, during which a gunman shot multiple people on the campus of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois; five of his victims were killed, eighteen were wounded. The incident happened on the campus's Cole Hall at approximately 3:05 p.m. local time. The school placed the campus on lockdown and cancelled all classes until February 25. Students and teachers were advised to head to a secure location and take cover, avoiding the scene and all buildings in the vicinity of the area. Six people died in the incident, including the perpetrator, making it the fourth-deadliest university shooting in United States history, after the Virginia Tech massacre, the University of Texas Clock Tower shooting, and the California State University, Fullerton library massacre.
Portal:Chicago/Selected article/59
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Mirth & Girth is a portrait painting by School of the Art Institute of Chicago student David K. Nelson, Jr. It was painted in response to what the artist described as the deification of the popular African-American mayor of Chicago, Illinois, Harold Washington, after his sudden death on November 25, 1987 due to cardiac arrest. After a brief showing at a May 11, 1988 private student exhibition in the institute, angry African-American aldermen arrived with Chicago Police Department officers and confiscated the painting, triggering a First Amendment and race relations crisis. Free-speech advocates condemned the seizure of the painting, while the aldermen maintained that the painting was an insult to Washington and should have been taken down. Some students at the SAIC showed their support for free speech by holding rallies in front of the school and at the Richard J. Daley Plaza. Remembering the city's recent "Council Wars" between Washington and mostly-white aldermanic majority, other students criticized Nelson for poor timing in showing a racially insensitive image. At some point between when the painting was confiscated and when it was returned, a 5 inches (13 cm) gash was made in the painting. Nelson filed and later won a federal lawsuit against the city, claiming that the painting's confiscation and subsequent damaging violated his First Amendment rights. He was awarded US$95,000 in compensation for the damaged painting after the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upheld the lower court's decision.
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The Chicago Race Riot of 1919 was a major racial conflict that began in Chicago, Illinois on July 27, 1919 and ended on August 3. During the riot, dozens died and hundreds were injured. It is considered to be the worst of the approximately 25 riots during the Red Summer of 1919, so named because of the violence and fatalities across the nation. The combination of arson, looting and murder was also the worst race rioting in the history of Illinois. The sociopolitical atmosphere of Chicago was filled with ethnic and racial tension caused by competition among many new groups. With the Great Migration, thousands of African Americans from the South had settled next to ethnic neighborhoods on Chicago's South Side, near jobs in the stockyards and meatpacking plants. Post World War I tensions caused frictions between the races, especially in the competitive labor and housing markets. Overcrowding and increased African American militancy by veterans contributed to the visible racial frictions. Also, ethnic gangs and police neglect strained the racial relationships. According to official reports, the turmoil came to a boil after a young African American was struck by a rock and died at an informally segregated beach. Tensions between groups arose in a melee that blew up into days of unrest. William Hale Thompson was the Mayor of Chicago during the riot and future iconic Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley rose to prominence following the riots although he never officially acknowledged involvement in the violence. United States President Woodrow Wilson and the United States Congress attempted to promote legislation and organizations that would decrease the racial discord in America at the time. Illinois Governor Frank Lowden took several actions at the request of Thompson to quell the riot and promote greater harmony in its aftermath. Several sections of the Chicago economy were shut down for several days during and after the riots. Thompson drew on associations with this riot to influence later political elections.
Portal:Chicago/Selected article/61
McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink or McCormick Tribune Plaza is a multi-purpose venue located along the western edge of Millennium Park in the Historic Michigan Boulevard District of the Loop area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, USA. Opening in 2001, it was the first attraction in Millennium Park. The plaza was funded by a donation from the McCormick Tribune Foundation. For four months a year, it operates as McCormick Tribune Ice Rink, a free public outdoor ice skating rink, and one of the ten parks on ice in the Chicago Park District. It is generally open for skating from mid-November until mid-March. It is known as one of Chicago's better outdoor people watching locations during the winter months. For the rest of the year, it serves as Plaza at Park Grill or Park Grill Plaza, Chicago's largest outdoor dining facility. The park grill hosts various culinary events as well as music during its months of outdoor operation.
Portal:Chicago/Selected article/62
The Trump International Hotel and Tower is a skyscraper condo-hotel under construction at 401 N. Wabash Avenue in downtown Chicago, Illinois named for famed real estate developer Donald Trump. It is located in the River North District of the Near North Side community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The Trump International Hotel and Tower is expected to be 415 meters (1,362 feet w/Spire - 1,170 feet (360 m) w/o Spire) tall and contain 92 floors for various uses. Despite ongoing difficulties, construction is proceeding. It is located on a jog of the main branch of the Chicago River with an unobstructed view of the entry to Lake Michigan beyond a series of bridges that cross the river. It is notable for the publicity it received in association with the first season of the The Apprentice when the winner, Bill Rancic, selected its construction as his job choice. The building was designed by Adrian Smith, who worked for Skidmore, Owings and Merrill during the building's planning and design stages, and is being constructed by Bovis Lend Lease.
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