Tag Archives: millenium park

Chicago using new technology to count Millennium Park visits

CHICAGO (AP) — The city of Chicago is using new technology to count visitors to Millennium Park and its numbers show 12.9 million visited the lakefront park in the second half of last year.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office on Thursday said that the city now measures Millennium Park attendance using a third-party vendor that has passive electronic sensors. The city ran a pilot project with the technology, measuring visitors to the area of the park around the Cloud Gate sculpture, also known as “The Bean,” and three main entrances from June 15 through Dec. 31. That count estimated 12.9 million people over the six months. The area counted covers about half of the 24.5-acre park.

The city says previous estimates found 5 million annual visitors to the park.

 

 

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Man fatally shot while walking near Millennium Park downtown

(CHICAGO) A 54-year-old man from the western suburbs has died after being shot in the head Saturday night near Millennium Park and the Art Institute of Chicago downtown.

Peter Fabbri was pronounced dead at 5:53 p.m. Sunday at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. He lived in the 2100 block of South Oak Park Avenue in Berwyn.

He had been walking with two people around 7:35 p.m. Saturday along Michigan Avenue when he got into an argument with another man at the northeast corner of Michigan Avenue and Monroe Street, according to Chicago Police. They started fighting, and the other person pulled a gun and shot him in the head, police said.

The shooter took off on a bicycle but was arrested nearby, according to police, who said detectives were still questioning a “person of interest” Sunday night.

“I feel unsafe now,” said Twion Stevens, 26, who was out for a walk near the park when he heard the commotion and came upon the crime scene. “It makes me worry about my daughter — she’s 4 years old and means the world to me. This is Millennium Park. Kids play here, people come here to enjoy themselves. This is sad.”

Stevens, a minister, said he moved away from the South Side to get away from violence.

“Chicago needs to do better than what’s going on right now,” he said.

Weekend A-Jenda: September 22nd – 25th

Click Here for Weekend Traffic Projects
Click Here for Weekend CTA Travel Alerts

The Chicago Half Marathon

Date: Sunday, September 25

Traffic Impact from 6:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. – The race runs on the south side of Lake Shore Drive. The entire drive will be closed to traffic between Jackson Park (67th Street) north to 31st Street. Other streets around Jackson Park will be closed.

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Oktoberfest Chicago

Date: Friday, September 23 – Sunday, September 25
Time: Friday, 5 p.m. – 10 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m.- 10 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m – 7 p.m.
Location: 1429 W. Wellington Ave, Lincoln Park

16th annual Bavarian celebration in Lincoln Park welcomes fall with plenty of food, music, arts & crafts, and activities for children.

Craft beer tasting nights on Friday and Saturday with “KinderFest” family activities on Saturday and Sunday.

Admission is $5, and benefits St. Alphonsus Church. The event is free of cost on Sunday!

 


Ravinia District’s Harvest and Harmony Festival

Date: Friday, September 23 – Saturday, September 24
Time: Friday, 4 p.m. – 9 p.m. & Saturday, 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Location: Jens Jensen Park

Friday, September 23rd

4-5pm School of Rock
5-6:30pm FUTURE STUFF
7-9pm Ravinia Ramblers

Saturday, September 24th

11-11:45am Little Miss Ann from Old Town School
Noon-12:30pm Language Stars
1-2:30pm 341 Trio
3–4:30pm Louie Zagoras of Rollover
5-6:30pm The Remars
7-7:45pm Michael McDermott
8-9pm Sam Llanas, Formerly of the BoDeans

For more information and list of food vendors, click here!

 


EXPO Chicago

Date: Thursday, September 22 – Sunday, September 25
Time: Friday, September 23 from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.;
Saturday, September 24 from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.;
Sunday, September 25 from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.;
Location: Navy Pier

From the website, EXPO CHICAGO, the International Exposition of Contemporary & Modern Art, opens the fall art season each September at historic Navy Pier.

 


Bon Appétit presents Chicago Gourmet 2016

Date: Saturday, September 24 – Sunday, September 25
Location: Millenium Park

The Bon Appétit website says:

Now in its ninth year, Chicago Gourmet is excited to introduce our first-ever Host Chef – Rick Bayless of the acclaimed Frontera Restaurants. Additionally, a weekend-long theme – Food Is Art! – will showcase the culinary arts and explore its vibrant connections to art of many kinds. You’ll find fun and interactive art components throughout the event including Friday night’s popular Hamburger Hop and the exclusive Grand Cru tasting.

 


.38 Special

Date: Sunday, September 25
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Location: Arcadia Theatre, St. Charles

After more than three decades together, 38 SPECIAL continue to bring their signature blast of Southern Rock to over 100 cities a year. And at each and every show, thousands of audience members are amazed by the explosive power of the band’s performance.

Their many Gold and Platinum album awards stand in testament to the endurance of a legendary powerhouse.

With sales in excess of 20 million, most associate the band with their arena-rock pop smashes, “Hold On Loosely,” “Rockin’ Into the Night,” “Caught Up in You,” “Fantasy Girl,” “If I’d Been the One,” “Back Where You Belong,” “Chain Lightnin’,” “Second Chance,” and more – Timeless hits that remain a staple at radio, immediately recognizable from the first opening chord, and paving the way to their present-day touring regimen.

 


Other Local Events

Manteno Oktoberfest 09/22/2016 Manteno, IL
Elmwood Park Fall fest 09/23/2016 Elmwood Park, IL
Huntley Fall Fest 09/23/2016 Huntley, IL
Long Grove Apple Festival 09/23/2016 Long Grove, IL
Quad Cities Balloon Festival 09/23/2016 East Moline, IL
Hyde Park Jazz Festival 09/24/2016 Chicago, IL
Edgewater Arts Festival 09/24/2016 Chicago, IL
OKTOBERFEST, Vernon Hills 09/24/2016 Vernon Hills, IL
Oktoberfest, Oak Brook 09/24/2016 Oak Brook, IL
Oktoberfest Bethany 09/24/2016 Naperville, IL
Oktoberfest Family Festival 09/24/2016 La Grange Park, IL

 


Traffic Restrictions & Road Projects

The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) announced that starting Friday, Sept. 23, overnight lane closures will take place over several days, including a full closure of northbound and southbound Lake Shore Drive (U.S. 41), as part of the ongoing reconstruction of the interchange between Lake Shore Drive and the Stevenson Expressway (Interstate 55). The closures are required for the installation of new bridge beams.

Friday, Sept. 23 to Wednesday, Sept. 28:
Northbound Lake Shore Drive: Starting at 8 p.m. Friday, northbound Lake Shore Drive will be fully closed until 12 p.m. Saturday. A posted detour will direct northbound Lake Shore Drive traffic to take the 39th Street exit to State Street, north on State Street to enter the inbound Stevenson and re-enter northbound Lake Shore Drive. The 31st Street entrance ramp to northbound Lake Shore Drive also will be closed.

Northbound Lake Shore Drive to outbound Stevenson ramp: The ramp will be closed from 8 p.m. Friday to 12 p.m. Saturday. A posted detour will direct northbound Lake Shore Drive traffic to take the 39th Street exit to State Street, enter the inbound Stevenson and exit at Martin Luther King Drive to immediately enter the outbound Stevenson.

Inbound Stevenson to southbound Lake Shore Drive ramp: The ramp from the inbound Stevenson to southbound Lake Shore Drive will be closed Saturday from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. A posted detour will direct northbound Stevenson traffic to take the ramp to northbound Lake Shore Drive, exit at 18th Street and enter southbound Lake Shore Drive.

Southbound Lake Shore Drive: Beginning at 10 p.m. Sunday, the left lane on southbound Lake Shore Drive will be closed, with a second lane closing at 11 p.m. At midnight, southbound Lake Shore Drive will be completely closed until 5 a.m. All lanes will be closed nightly until Wednesday, Sept. 28. A posted detour will direct southbound Lake Shore Drive traffic to take the southbound Stevenson ramp, exit at State Street and take the northbound Stevenson to re-enter southbound Lake Shore Drive.

CTA and Public Transit Weekend Alerts

Trains Rerouted Downtown – Lake and Wabash Closed; Pink Line Rerouted to Connect to Racine Blue Line Station

Orange and Brown Lines: Trains will operate as one route, between Kimball and Midway, via Wells and Van Buren on the Loop elevated.

Green Line: Trains will operate between Harlem and 63rd via Wells and Van Buren on the Loop elevated.

Pink Line: Trains will operate between 54th/Cermak and Polk, then to Racine Blue Line for connecting Blue Line train service to/from downtown.

• For service to downtown from Pink Line stations between 54th/Cermak and Polk, take a Pink Line train toward the Loop and stay on board until the train reaches Racine on the Blue Line, where you can transfer to continuing Blue Line service into downtown.

• For service from downtown to Pink Line stations between Polk and 54th/Cermak, take a Blue Line train toward Forest Park to Racine and transfer to a Pink Line train toward 54th/Cermak.

• For service to/from Ashland, Morgan or Clinton stations, use Blue Line service between Racine and Jackson, and Green Line service.

Customers may transfer between the Loop elevated, and Blue and Red line subways at Harold Washington Library (Loop elevated) and Jackson (Blue and Red lines) stations.