Residential Parking Permit Daily Passes Now Available Online
October 10, 2008
Residents living in residential parking zones no longer need to visit the Office of the City Clerk to obtain residential parking permit daily passes. Daily passes are now available through the City Clerk's website at www.chicityclerk.com.
Residents who have already purchased their annual parking permit passes can purchase up to two books of daily passes every 30 days from the City Clerk's website. Online purchases are typically processed in two to three days and mailed thereafter. There is no service fee. If you experience any technical difficulties with the website, please contact the Data Services Division at 312-742-9200 or CityClerk@CityofChicago.org.
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New Valet Parking Ordinance
October 10, 2008
In response to community concerns, Alderman Reilly introduced an ordinance this week at City Council to address valet parking abuses. This ordinance would require a significant increase in off-street parking requirements and double (or in some cases triple) fines for valets who violate City ordinance, in addition to increasing the amount of insurance valet companies must carry.
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River North/Kingsbury Alley Summary
September 26, 2008
After many months of working diligently to address community, business and City of Chicago concerns with the "Kingsbury Alley" (located from Orleans to Kingsbury, between Erie and Ontario Streets), Alderman Reilly is pleased to announce that the Gallery 400 and Admiral's Pointe Condominium Associations have voted to officially dedicate the alley to the City of Chicago.
While this issue has been a source of neighborhood concern for a number of years, Alderman Reilly began the process of negotiating with the affected parties after this issue was brought to his attention in June 2007.
This process involved dozens of meetings between City of Chicago officials, neighborhood leaders and the two condominium associations that own the alley, as well as several site visits by Alderman Reilly, city officials, neighborhood leaders and affected residents in an attempt to resolve this long-term public health and safety hazard.
While certain procedural items remain to be accomplished, this was one of the final obstacles remaining in improving this alley. The accomplishment of this critical step represents significant progress in the goal of improving this alley for the overall benefit of the River North neighborhood.
The next step of the alley dedication process requires that the property managers for both buildings mail a notice to all "First Mortgage Holders"; this notice was mailed on September 17th, 2008 and is legally bound to a 30-day "waiting" period prior to engaging in any further action related to the dedication.
In the interim, Alderman Reilly has requested that the Chicago Department of Transportation update their surveys and present his office with an updated cost estimate for the necessary alley improvements. The reconstruction of the alley will be funded by Alderman Reilly's Aldermanic Menu funds, and work is projected to begin in the spring of 2009.
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River North SummerFest and Erie Park Farmer’s Market
June 23, 2008
The 7th Annual River North SummerFest was a great success! Community members of all ages- both human and canine- mingled for a day of music, food and summer fun in Erie Park. SummerFest also marked the opening day of the Erie Park Farmer’s Market, which is open Sundays this summer from 7am to 2pm.
Click here to visit the River North Residents Association website.
CDOT Seeks Feedback for Pedestrian Plan
June 16, 2008
CDOT held a public meeting on the Pedestrian Plan in mid-June, but they are still seeking feedback on ways to increase pedestrian safety and enjoyment. CDOT is currently seeking further input on its upcoming Pedestrian Plan. The Department of Transportation has prepared an online survey; please visit this link to participate.
Click here to read the full article.
Recent Press Coverage on the Chicago Children's Museum's
Proposed Move to Grant Park
June 12, 2008
Kid's museum site approved
Chicago Tribune, June 11, 2008
"Casting aside a generations-old City Council custom in favor of a more recent tradition- namely, following Mayor Richard Daley's lead-Chicago aldermen voted 33-16 Wednesday to approve a new Chicago Children's Museum in Grant Park."
Click here to read the full article.
Like 'Braveheart,' Reilly was betrayed by peers
Chicago Tribune, June 12, 2008
"Ald. Brendan "Braveheart" Reilly looked straight ahead, as 33 of hisfellow aldermen trotted away in betrayal to join their liege lord,Richard Shortshanks, in the great Children's Museum vote on Wednesday."
Click here to read the full article.
Free Trolley Summer Service Under Way
May 19, 2008
Memorial Day weekend marked the start of Chicago’s Free Trolley summer service to many popular locations in downtown Chicago, such as Michigan Avenue, the museum campus and Navy Pier. The Free Trolley service runs until Labor Day. Find more information about the trolley service here.
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[Chicago Children's Museum] Option 6: Logan Square
Chicago Tribune – May 4, 2008
We hope Chicago's 50 aldermen--or museum board members with the courage to confront their leaders--state the obvious: No matter what the design, no matter how deep the burial of a museum, Grant Park is off limits: "forever open, clear and free."
But this $100 million project would be a spectacular investment in one of many neighborhoods. A setting away from uniquely protected Grant Park would give architects room to create an above-ground masterpiece--as opposed to a concrete tomb.
One unorthodox but intriguing possibility: Erect a combined Children's Museum, activities campus and neighborhood park near, and over, Blue Line tracks southeast of Logan Square on Chicago's Northwest Side.
Click here to read the full article
Visit www.savegrantpark.org for a comprehensive list of press coverage of this issue, and also to sign the online petition!
[Chicago Children's Museum] Option 5: Garfield Park
Chicago Tribune - April 30, 2008
As part of our search for a good above-ground museum site—one that wouldn't condemn visiting children and their families to a gloomy underground sarcophagus—we're evaluating several spots away from the lakefront. One common advantage: ease of highway access, room for parking, and less road congestion for school buses and autos. Among these potentially excellent locations: Garfield Park, at roughly the geographic center of the city.
Click here to read the full article
[Chicago Children's Museum] Option 4: Pritzker Park
Chicago Tribune - April 27, 2008
In our quest to help officials of the Chicago Children's Museum undo the dreadful damage they're inflicting on its image, we offer this fourth alternative to their attempted land grab of a relocation site in Grant Park: If you don't have paws and a tail--or feathers and a beak--you may not spend time in a pleasant but essentially featureless, L-shaped plot of land in Chicago's South Loop. Few spots in the city are so ripe to enhance into a kid-friendly learning environment. This might well be an excellent location for a new Chicago Children's Museum.
Click here to read the full article
[Chicago Children’s Museum] Option 3: Lincoln Campus
Chicago Tribune – April 23, 2008
A coalition of community, environmental, consumer rights and labor groups now formally opposes the proposed interjection of a new Chicago Children's Museum into Grant Park. Citizen Action / Illinois joins the rising clamor of voices urging Chicago's mayor and aldermen to find a better (and legal) site.
Click here to read the full article
[Chicago Children’s Museum] Option 2: Children’s Island
Chicago Tribune – April 20, 2008
Placing the Children's Museum on Northerly Island would expand and enhance the Museum Campus—a safe and natural home for this facility. And while this is lake frontage, it doesn't have the special legal protections of Grant Park.
Click here to read the full article |
