{"id":427382,"date":"2025-12-05T22:01:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T22:01:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/427382\/"},"modified":"2025-12-05T22:01:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T22:01:14","slug":"a-20-year-plan-for-downtown-chicago-the-rundown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/427382\/","title":{"rendered":"A 20-year plan for Downtown Chicago: The Rundown"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good afternoon! It\u2019s Friday, and my latest song obsession<\/a> has kept me sane while stuck on the bus in Lake Shore Drive traffic this week. Here\u2019s what you need to know today.<\/p>\n

1. Chicago\u2019s 20-year development plan for Downtown calls for more nightlife, housing and greenery<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Chicago has one of the nation\u2019s fastest-growing downtowns, and the city\u2019s Department of Planning and Development hopes to shape its growth with the first comprehensive downtown development plan in more than 20 years.<\/p>\n

The plan includes more than 250 goals, actions and strategic projects such as more nightlife, office-to-residential building conversions, transportation enhancements and flexible green spaces that can host year-round events.<\/p>\n

For example, officials proposed extending the Chicago Riverwalk between Lake Street and the south branch of the Chicago River. They also want an extension between Wolf Point and the Wild Mile, as well as new water taxi stops.<\/p>\n

As Abby Miller reports for the Chicago Sun-Times, this is the latest update to a framework the city puts together every 20 years on the future growth and development of Downtown and adjacent neighborhoods. [Chicago Sun-Times<\/a>]<\/p>\n

2. A Cook County drug court program is helping nonviolent offenders overcome substance use<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Fourteen graduates got their records expunged for completing the (W)RAP program, which offers nonviolent offenders treatment and support as an alternative to incarceration, my colleague Anna Savchenko reports for WBEZ.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving a substance abuse disorder is not a moral failure. It\u2019s a recognized disease,\u201d Cook County Judge Charles Burns told the graduates, who packed the jury box as some wiped away tears.<\/p>\n

Hara Scalin, 52, said the hardest part was the beginning, when she had to \u201clearn how to deal with emotions and problems without the use of drugs and alcohol.\u201d But the accountability aspect of (W)RAP, including frequent drug tests and regular court appearances, helped her heal.<\/p>\n

The program has graduated 1,151 participants since its inception in 1998. Leaders say they look for people within the justice system facing nonviolent charges that show a clear link between a substance use disorder and their criminal history. (W)RAP relies on community partnerships to help participants get jobs and find housing. [WBEZ<\/a>]<\/p>\n

3. Belmont Cragin restaurant owners say business is ticking up \u2014 but not back to pre-immigration enforcement levels<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Independent restaurant owners have struggled to stay afloat in the two months since U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol enforcement actions prompted foot traffic to dry up, WBEZ food contributor Maggie Hennessy reports.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome restaurants are starting to recover but aren\u2019t at pre-raid business yet,\u201d said Alonso Zaragoza, a community organizer and founder of Belmont Cragin United, an online resource center for residents. \u201cThings are looking up for businesses in the area though, and hopefully they are able to get back on track.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zaragoza said that since he spearheaded the Taste of BC series to bolster struggling restaurants, more owners reported seeing new faces from outside the neighborhood, some of whom \u201care starting to come in regularly too.\u201d BC United continues to host and platform Whistle Packing and Know Your Rights workshops around the city. [WBEZ<\/a>]<\/p>\n

4. Pope Leo helped shield clergy accused of abuse in Peru, abuse survivors allege<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Survivors of clergy abuse are calling for an investigation into Pope Leo XIV during his tenure as bishop of Chiclayo in Peru, alleging he played a role in covering up how priests and clerics accused of sexual assault were allowed to continue their roles in the Catholic Church.<\/p>\n

New recordings of church officials spurred the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests to file an updated complaint with the Vatican, Violet Miller reports for the Chicago Sun-Times.<\/p>\n

Recordings of a meeting from this past April between the Rev. Giampiero Gambaro with Ana Mar\u00eda Quispe D\u00edaz and others accusing Peruvian clerics of assault revealed the man they accused had confessed to church officials years ago, and he was granted an \u201chonorable discharge\u201d in September. The Chicago Sun-Times reviewed a translated version of the recordings made public by Conclave Watch. [Chicago Sun-Times<\/a>]<\/p>\n

5. The Loop tower that replaced the historic Chicago Stock Exchange Building won preliminary landmark status<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

A city panel unanimously approved the designation for 30 N. LaSalle St., the 44-story skyscraper for which the historic Chicago Stock Exchange Building was demolished \u2014 causing a civic uproar \u2014 in 1972.<\/p>\n

As Chicago Sun-Times architecture columnist Lee Bey writes: \u201cThe idea of landmarking the 30 N. LaSalle hit a sore spot with some preservationists (and this architecture critic) because the unrelentingly drab tower was built 50 years ago to replace the far superior structure designed by Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler in 1894.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fight to save the stock exchange led to the city\u2019s modern preservation movement. It also claimed the life of preservationist Richard Nickel, who was killed in 1972 after a portion of the old building collapsed on him as he salvaged the structure\u2019s ornament. [Chicago Sun-Times<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what else is happening<\/b><\/p>\n