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Tue, June 18, 2013

The tenth city. Data recently released by the U.S. trade administration shows that Chicago is the country’s tenth-most popular destination among international tourists. Determined to improve our city’s draw, Crain’s Chicago Business asked business leaders and elected officials what steps the city should take to improve its ranking.

Public innovation. The Chicago Transit Authority is seeking artists to beautify the Wilson Red Line state and South Side stops from the Cermak-Chinatown station through the 87th Street station, a section of the track that is currently the target of a five-month-long renovation project. Interested applicants must submit paperwork, available at transitchicago.com, by July 18. 

In the hole. Crain’s Chicago Business columnist Greg Hinz and photographer Stephen Serio recently toured the Chicago Transit Authority’s unfinished, underground “superstation” below Block 37 in the Loop. Work on the 472-foot long, $200 million station began under former Mayor Richard M. Daley, but was put on hold in 2008. Check out Crain’s to see a photo gallery and description of the cavernous space that will require another $150 million to complete.

The girl next door. Twenty-two year-old Columbia College student and River North resident Stacie Juris was named second runner-up in the Miss USA Pageant in Las Vegas on Sunday. Juris is the first person to represent Illinois in both the teen and adult levels of the Miss USA pageant.

-Tom Butala