John Hancock Center

Red Line going offline during reconstruction

2013-05-10 07:27:00

The CTA Dan Ryan Line was state-of-the-art when it opened in 1969 on Chicago's South Side. Today, almost 44 years later, service has become feeble. About 40 percent of the Red Line south branch is mired in slow zones because of severe track...

New CEO to lead change microloan non-profit

2013-04-15 00:00:00

Inside the John Hancock Center, 13 floors up, Vicki Escarra gazes into a large camera lens. She eschews a word-for-word script, speaking instead from an outline that allows for more spontaneity. "You know, women are the largest untapped lever in the...

A history of bomb attacks

2013-04-21 00:00:00

Chicago is no stranger to bombs. We live in a relatively bomb-free era, the first such respite Chicagoans have enjoyed since at least the middle of the 19th century. The city that gave the world the mother of all explosive devices and ushered in the...

Howells & Hood goes upscale on a large scale

2013-03-21 00:00:00

For decades Chicago journalists' post-work watering hole of choice has been the Billy Goat Tavern, with its three beers on tap ($3.50 Schlitz and Billy Goat Dark and Lager) and $3.15 cheeseburgers just a dark stairway's descent from the Magnificent Mile's...

U. of C. center a smart hospital of the future

2013-02-11 14:53:00

It's not about looks. New York architect Rafael Vinoly is the first one to say so. The truth of his conviction is evident on seeing the colossal new hospital he designed at the University of Chicago that opens Feb. 23 called the Center for Care and...

What we know about 'Divergent' filming in Chicago

2013-01-27 10:33:00

We know "Divergent" — the futuristic sci-fi flick starring Shailene Woodley ("The Descendants") and directed by Neil Burger ("Limitless") — will begin filming entirely on location in Chicago and at Cinespace Chicago Film Studios on the West...

Chicago Confidential: City makes headway in Bloomingdale Trail project

2013-01-24 00:00:00

The city of Chicago last week bought the 2.7-mile-long elevated Canadian Pacific Railway spur known as the Bloomingdale Trail. The sales price was $1, not including administrative fees. By the time the spur's makeover into a bike and running path is...

Vintage meets modern at The Seneca on Chestnut

2012-10-18 11:38:00

Smiling, scrubbed Northwestern University medical students are among the first tenants, but the halls are quiet at The Seneca on Chestnut, Chicago's newest boutique apartment building. This studious group and the other young professionals living here are...

Authorities: Parolee charged in slaying of woman at Whitehall Hotel

2012-09-17 18:16:00

A parolee has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with last month’s fatal shooting of an alleged prostitute at a Gold Coast hotel, according to a spokeswoman for the Cook County state’s attorney’s office. Lamarcus...

Jimmie Oliver and Kim Wilson: Many happy returns

2012-04-29 00:00:00

It's this simple: Barack Obama brought Jimmie Oliver and Kim Wilson together. No, they've never met the president. They've only seen him on TV. But without Obama the couple would not be planning to marry June 23 — at a destination resort wedding in...

Madigan's kind of town

2010-01-24 00:00:00

Not long after developer Anthony Rossi got City Hall approval for a much-needed zoning change in downtown Chicago, he received a surprising phone call from the speaker of the Illinois House. Michael J. Madigan wasn't calling to talk about state issues....

Lightning strikes the John Hancock Center late Monday night in this photo taken from a reader's balcony.

2013-05-21 02:44:00

The John Hancock Center disappears into the fog on a rainy Chicago day.

2013-04-11 00:00:00

Cassie Stanley gets on her treadmill in the basement of her Elburn home. She trains daily for her upcoming climb to the top of the John Hancock Center which occurs in February.

2013-01-11 00:00:00