CHICAGO BRIEFING March 2005

News this month

Brutal killings

On February 28th, a federal judge found her husband and elderly mother murdered in her home in Chicago's north side. Michael Lefkow, a 64-year-old attorney, and Donna Humphrey, who was visiting her daughter from out-of-town, were forced into the basement and shot several times. Federal agents have moved Joan Lefkow, a US District Judge, along with her remaining family, to a secret location.

Speculation about culprits immediately landed on the remnants of a white supremacist group known as the World Church of the Creator, and its former leader, Matthew Hale. Mr Hale was convicted in April 2004 of trying to have Judge Lefkow murdered, and was to be sentenced this April. On March 3rd, Mr Hale responded to the rumours by calling the murders “heinous” and saying, “Only an idiot would think I would do this.” The judge and Mr Hale first crossed paths in 2002, when she ruled in favour of Mr Hale and his group in a trademark-infringement case filed against them. But when an appeals court overturned her decision and she tried to enforce that ruling, Mr Hale began plotting her murder. The extra security staff Judge Lefkow was originally assigned had since been removed. A white supremacist website immediately praised the killings, while denying ties to Mr Hale and his group, which has largely dissolved since he was jailed in 2003.

Home sweet home

The market for new homes in the city centre continued to blaze in the fourth quarter of 2004, and sales for the full year broke an all-time record, according to a report released in February. More than 1,300 new residential units were sold downtown in the last quarter, a 60% increase over the same period last year. The report, by Appraisal Research Counselors, finds the full year’s figures even more remarkable, with an 80% jump over 2003. Factors driving the growth in new-home sales included the popularity of several residential towers surrounding the new Millennium Park development; an expansion of loft conversions in older buildings; and the renovation of moderately priced homes near the University of Illinois at Chicago’s south campus.

Soaring ambitions

Donald Trump, back in the spotlight with plans to build a luxury hotel and condominium tower along the Chicago River, is now in talks with the city about making the tower the tallest in North America. The project was originally pegged at 2,000 feet, but was drastically scaled back after the terrorist attacks in September 2001. Years later, the tower's proposed height has crept back up, to 90 storeys, and in December Chicago's mayor, Richard Daley, reportedly suggested a decorative spire.

After initial resistance from the developer, new configurations were floated by February. Bets are on designs for a 326-foot spire, which would make the tower the country’s tallest, but only a few feet more than the 1,450 foot Sears Tower. A second, more ambitious plan adds another 33 feet to the Trump spire. The new tower will be built on the site of the recently demolished Chicago Sun-Times building. Yet even if the tower reaches the heights proposed, it won't be tops for long: the Freedom Tower in lower Manhattan, on the site of the former World Trade Centre, will reach 1,776 feet in 2009 (assuming its spire is allowed). This surpasses the world’s tallest building, Taipei 101 in Taiwan, which is 1,667 feet. Another tower under construction in Dubai (designed by the Chicago architectural firm of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill) is expected to surpass 2,000 feet, but its developers are keeping its height a secret.

Trains and planes

Visiting Chicago may soon get easier, if the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) has its way. The agency is seeking proposals for a network of express trains that would link the central city to O’Hare International and Midway airports. Both airports are already linked by trains, but CTA officials say the new non-stop lines could cut travel time from downtown to O’Hare to about 20 minutes (from 45), and to Midway to under 15 minutes (from 25). Initial estimates put tickets at $10 to $15.

If plans for a downtown transit superstation go ahead, airline passengers can expect services such as express ticketing and advance baggage check-in. But the station does not come cheap, with costs expected to run to $213m. Funding for the whole project would probably come from a combination of federal grants, city and CTA funds, as well as bond issues and private investment. The CTA has an operating deficit that could result in service cuts by summer, but its president insists these new express trains are a profit-making priority.

Size matters

Among the enormous new SUVs and slinky sport cars, one of the biggest stars at February's Chicago Auto Show was a dwarf. The Smart Fortwo is 98.4 inches long, and four feet shorter than a Mini Cooper. Available in Canada since last October (for about $13,400), the Fortwo has a diesel 40-horsepower engine that averages 56 miles per gallon (equivalent to a Toyota Prius hybrid) and can reach 80mph. Will Americans ever have a chance to own one? Smart’s parent, DaimlerChrysler, is worried about launching the miniature car in America, where big SUVs (and their monstrous tyres) seem to rule the roads. Meanwhile, the Smart car has been a marketing hit in Europe but has not yet turned a profit.

Say a prayer

Chicago has long had America’s largest Catholic school system. But in February, Cardinal Francis George announced that 23 of the city's Catholic elementary schools will close, displacing more than 4,100 students in mostly African-American and Latino districts. The church also announced that it was closing 22 schools in New York.

Enrolment in Chicago's Catholic schools has gone down 70% in the last 40 years, driven partly by competition from other private schools and elite public schools. Immigrant neighbourhoods that the schools once served are shifting, with Irish and Italian Catholic immigrants moving away from the Chicago streets they once defined. They have been replaced with non-Catholic black families or Latinos, who often cannot afford the average elementary school tuition of $2,606. (Though Latinos make up 40% of the 2.4m Catholics in greater Chicago, they account for only 20% of Catholic schools students.) The Catholic school network has also been hurt by a shortage of priests and nuns, who once worked in the schools for low pay.

Catch if you can

March 2005

The CSO honours Pierre Boulez

Through March 2005

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra celebrates the 80th birthday of its principal guest conductor, Pierre Boulez, with a series of concerts exploring his life and music. Highlighting his radical output as a composer, as well those who have influenced him, this programme will then travel in the spring to Europe and to Carnegie Hall in New York. Highlights include several performances (March 3rd-8th) of Mr Boulez's Composition Rituel; a free talk about his life and work (March 8th); and a series of concerts with Mr Boulez conducting the CSO, with Johannes Moser on cello (March 10th-12th), featuring the works of Haydn, Rands and Bartok.

Symphony Centre, 220 South Michigan Ave. Tel: +1 (312) 294-3000. Evening concerts tend to start at 8pm, but for a full timetable and tickets, visit the centre's website.