One of the most prominent towers of Chicago’s skyline, the 83-story Aon Center was valued at $414 million, down nearly half from the $780 million it was worth when a $536 million loan secured by the property was issued in 2018, according to a report from credit ratings agency Morningstar. Chicago Teachers Union contract demands are totally divorced from reality – Wirepoints
May 8, 2024
36 Comments
Details emerging about Chicago Teachers Union’s upcoming contract show just how divorced its demands, both extreme and expensive, are from the reality at Chicago schools. It’s not just about massive salary increases, but also about money for migrant students, climate initiatives, abortions and gender-affirming care. About blocking parental notification. Count on CTU’s demands to veer further from reality until the public finally says no.
Weekly crime statistics from the Chicago Police Department: Report through 5/4/2024.
Gov. JB Pritzker calls it “ethics” reform.
It’s rare to see city leaders in Chicago take an open, unabashed stance on the collapse of literacy. To complain is deemed as too political, too racist or too anti-public schools. So it’s refreshing to see Willie Wilson, a successful businessman and leader of the black community, call for a literacy initiative “with the goal of getting 100% of Black students reading at grade level.”
Skyscrapers = Buggy Whips. Information technology is now built on the backbone of the Internet, gone are the days of applications you install on computers one at a time on computers the company physically owns. The benefits of having these buildings go obsolete is far outweighed by the benefits of why it is happening. Companies no longer have to hire from the limited talent pool that just happens to live near their building. Companies no longer need to spend on massive data centers. Companies no longer have to pay big rent. Workers get work life balance that is humane. Massive… Read more »
Some workers can work like that. Physical presence and collaboration has become even more valuable to me now. I’ve definitely noticed a downturn in quality and performance since wfh and then there’s the matter of training the next generation. No zoom meeting has yet been able to replace the magic of rolling out a giant paper plan of a development site with all the players at a big table scribbling on it with pencils and talking over each other all at once. 20 zoom meetings and hundreds of PDFs can be taken care of in a 2 hour in person… Read more »
Also the Aon building is in a really annoying location in the city. It’s nearly two slow miles due east from union/C&NW stations, and you have to walk up an cold wind blowing icy hill in the winter to get there. It adds 15-20 minutes to the commute each way to get there. No thank you.
That’s if your coming from the burbs. I used to walk to Pru2 from near northside or take the L and it was great over there. Markets in the summer, indoor pedway system with IL Center for the winter. And if your coming from the south suburbs or IN the Metra drops you off right there, you dont even have to go outside.
Detroit used to have alot of top notch buildings at one time too. Security really matters and I don’t care what ……. the offender is.
They’ll be lucky to get 47% — a Michigan Avenue retail building just sold for less than 25% of its 2019 purchase price
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/commercial-real-estate/developer-nears-deal-buy-empty-magnificent-mile-building#:~:text=A%20joint%20venture%20of%20Chicago,people%20familiar%20with%20the%20deal.
I doubt the valuation comes back. My estranged father’s office foe years was on the Northeast Corner of the top office floor in the Aon Building. It fit with his ego and his concept of business. He was also Chairman of the Mid America Club a floor above and he often never had to leave the building to meet with clients which were tenants in the Aon Building. The Mid America Club closed after his death a few years back and the concentration of money and human capital in the AON building and other locations is simply no longer what… Read more »
Knife catchers.