Login
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • sign up today!

May 30, 2014

A history lesson

The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District – which works to protect Chicagoland’s waterways and mitigate flood damage in the area – celebrated its 125th anniversary Thursday.

The body was established by the Illinois Legislature’s enactment of the Sanitary District Enabling Act on May 29, 1889 to lead the reversal of the flow of the Chicago River, according to an MWRD press release. The task was completed by 8,500 workers over eight years.

Where are they now?

Friday was the one-year anniversary of the Chicago Sun-Times move to lay off 28 full-time photographers. To mark the anniversary, The Poynter Institute reached out to the former Sun-Times employees to find out what they are doing now.

According to Poynter: The Sun-Times in March rehired four photographers as “multimedia journalists”; Four were “forced into early retirement”; Four have begun working for Yahoo; Three are now working for area colleges and universities; “At least” three have changed careers; One has returned to school to earn his bachelor’s degree; And “most of the rest” are now freelancers.

A heightened sense of fear

From CBS Chicago: If you’re afraid of heights, it’s probably best that you stop reading now.

The Willis Tower on Friday was expected to reopen its fourth glass-encased box that is part of “The Ledge” tourist attraction after part of the box, which extends outward from the tower’s 103rd floor, shattered on Wednesday.

The incident occurred when Crest Hill resident Tony Saldana was visiting the attraction at about 10 p.m. with three other men. All four were inside the box, which is suspended in mid-air, when a portion of its glass floor started to shatter. As the glass that cracked was merely a protective surface for “The Ledge” itself, the men were able to make their way back into the tower free of harm.

“The Ledge was designed with a protective coating that completely covers all glass surfaces to protect against scratches,” Willis Tower spokesman Brian Rehme explained. “This coating does not affect the structural integrity of The Ledge in any way.”

Throw “the Book” at her

From the Chicago Tribune: Will County Forest Preserve District Police Lieutenant Tracey Phillips called Bolingbrook resident Christine Adamski on Thursday to tell her a $50 ticket she had received after bringing her dog, Ginger, to the Park District’s Whalon Park Dog Park without a permit, had been rescinded.

Adamski received the ticket in the mail, along with an explanation of the citation, a dog park permit application, after “admitting her guilt” to using the park without a permit in a post on the Whalon Park Dog Park group’s Facebook page, according to the Park District. She also received a copy of her Facebook post as proof of her admission.

Adamski wrote on the group’s page, in reference to concerns of kennel cough among dog-park patrons, that: “I was feeling bad that I haven’t bought a pass and been bringing Ginger there but I’m pretty glad I haven’t. So not going to worry about it until later. I hope all the doggies get better soon.”

-Tom Butala