Revolution Closing Milwaukee Brewpub

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MCA Artist Talk With Lee Quiñones, Dao-Yi Chow, Romi Crawford

The MCA will present a talk with "street art luminary Lee Quiñones and his recent collaborator, creative director of New Era and streetwear designer Dao-Yi Chow," for the Chicago launch of Quiñones' monograph, "Lee Quiñones: Fifty Years of New York Graffiti Art and Beyond." The event, moderated by Chicago-based art historian Romi Crawford, is November 12. Details here .

Sheila Rashid Introduces Tennis-Themed Collection

SR Open is the latest collection from Chicago's Sheila Rashid [ Newcity Design 50 ], "inspired by the timeless allure of tennis. Blending classic court style with a modern twist, SR Open redefines accessible luxury with a dynamic, sport-inspired aesthetic that's equal parts sophisticated and playful. The collection blends sport, streetwear and layering to create versatile pieces that are both functional and stylish for the cooler months. With a focus on individual expression and sports culture, SR Open brings a new dimension to Rashid's signature urban aesthetic. The standout collection reflects the intersection of fashion and athletics, featuring thoughtfully crafted designs that move seamlessly from the court to the streets." More here .

Huge Foreclosure For Mies-Designed Skyscraper

Beacon Capital Partners, the owner of 330 North Wabash—a fifty-two-story office tower along the Chicago River formerly known as IBM Plaza—"has been hit with one of the largest foreclosure lawsuits ever for a property in the city, another high-profile example of [distress in the] downtown office market," tallies Crain's . Writes Chicago Architecture Center , it's "one of the last American projects designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, this powerful Modernist structure occupies a prominent place on the Chicago River."

McCormick Place's Lakeside Center Could Get Some Sprucing

"McCormick Place's Lakeside Center could be in line soon for big changes—including placing... solar panels on its nineteen-acre cantilevered roof—under prospective redevelopment plans for the aged, but architecturally significant convention hall," reports Lee Bey at the Sun-Times . "Built in 1971 and designed by the late architects Helmut Jahn and Gene Summers for what was then C.F. Murphy Associates (now Jahn), the steel and glass building with that signature, prairie-flat roof is a high point of Chicago modernism."

Funding Of $73 Million Approved For Amtrak Between Chicago And Milwaukee

"Federal funding will streamline rail traffic, improve Amtrak service, in Milwaukee," reports the Journal Sentinel . "The $72.8 million will be used to establish a new two-track line that will allow freight trains to bypass the Milwaukee Intermodal Station, minimizing passenger train delays and freeing up track capacity... The Hiawatha is one of Amtrak's busiest routes."

South Loop Kid Boutique Kido Chicago Closing

Kido Chicago will close on December 23 after six years, reports Block Club . "Blending commerce and social justice can be a risk, as owner Keewa Nurullah knows all too well, having received her fair share of racist and homophobic emails through the years as she pushed for love and inclusivity. But as the great-granddaughter of a tailor who survived the Tulsa Massacre, she remains committed to changing the world, even after Kido says goodbye."

Tenth Anniversary Of Maggie Daley Park Ice Skating Ribbon

Maggie Daley Park announced the Ice Skating Ribbon season will run Friday, November 15-Sunday, March 9, 2025. "The Skating Ribbon serves as a curving rink, extending one-quarter mile with a capacity of over 700 skaters." Reservations here .

DINING & DRINKING

Revolution Brewing Closing Milwaukee Avenue Brewpub After Fifteen Years

"Almost fifteen years ago, we threw open the doors of our Milwaukee Avenue brewpub and launched Revolution Brewing," the brewery announces . "The brewpub is where the first Revolution beers were served and where we first brewed beers like Anti-Hero IPA which would change... craft beer in Chicago... We are permanently closing the doors of the Logan Square brewpub, with our last day of service on December 14... We know that fifteen years is a good run for a restaurant and we are thankful for all the great moments along the way."

Mayor Looks To Boost In Beer and Liquor Tax

Mayor Johnson's budget, reports Eater Chicago , "includes a proposal to raise retail tax rates on alcohol. Johnson's budget states they're the first such increases in sixteen years . The proposed increases to wholesale transaction prices per gallon include a twenty-four-percent increase for beer; a thirty-six-percent increase for liquors other than beer with less than fourteen percent ABV; a thirty-four-percent increase for liquors between fourteen and twenty-percent ABV and a thirty-five percent increase for liquors with more than twenty percent ABV." Says The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, a national lobbying group, "The hospitality industry has been relentlessly hit with economic challenges over the last four years starting with the pandemic and followed by supply chain disruptions, staffing shortages, and record inflation." (The complete 201-page proposed city budget is here .)

Puerto Rican Bakery Lasted Three Years In Logan Square

Borinken Cakes "is closing after three years in Logan Square, citing low store traffic and an insufficient kitchen," reports Block Club . A second location of "Chicago's soaked Puerto Rican Cupcake Shop" remains open in Archer Heights .

Stilling The Needle: New York Times Tech Guild Walks Out Before Election Night

"The New York Times Tech Guild walked off the job at 12:01 a.m. Monday, making good on a threat that has loomed over the company for months and could disrupt the newspaper's ability to cover this week's election results," reports the Washington Post ( MSN link ). "The Tech Guild called the open-ended unfair labor practice strike after increasingly intense negotiations between the guild and Times management failed to yield a contract agreement."

Concert To Celebrate Sir Andrew Davis

Lyric Opera of Chicago will celebrate and honor the life and legacy of the conductor Sir Andrew Davis (February 2, 1944-April 20, 2024) in a special concert on February 15. "This event provides a unique opportunity for audiences to come together in tribute to the remarkable artist who helped shape Lyric and left an indelible mark on the global music community. Serving as Lyric's music director and principal conductor from 2000 through the 2020-21 Season—and later as music director emeritus—maestro Davis brought unparalleled artistry and dedication to his work, creating an enduring legacy both at Lyric and on the world stage." Tickets and more here .

Chicago-Born Quincy Jones Was Ninety-One

"Quincy Jones, the musical giant who did it all as a record producer, film composer, multi-genre artist, entertainment executive and humanitarian, has died," relays the Hollywood Reporter . An entertainment industry titan, "Jones received the Motion Picture Academy's Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1995, an honorary Oscar in 2024 and the Grammy Legend Award in 1991 and reeled in twenty-eight Grammys from an all-time best eighty nominations... He played the trumpet with Lionel Hampton, produced albums ('Thriller'), songs ('We Are the World,' 'It's My Party'), films ('The Color Purple') and TV shows ('Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'), scored movies ('In the Heat of the Night') and charmed the world... Quincy Delight Jones Jr. was born in Chicago on March 14, 1933, to parents Quincy Delight Jones Sr. and Sarah Frances Jones. His mother worked in a bank before being admitted to a mental institution for schizophrenia when Quincy was seven; his father was a carpenter who played semi-pro baseball."

Jones' latterday interviews are marvels of one-man institutional knowledge, including this juggernaut from Vulture in 2018: "What's something you've worked on that should've been bigger?" "What the fuck are you talking about? I've never had that problem. They were all big." "From a strictly musical perspective, what have you done that you're most proud of?" "That anything I can feel, I can notate musically. Not many people can do that. I can make a band play like a singer sings. That's what arranging is, and it's a great gift. I wouldn't trade it for shit." "Is there innovation happening in modern pop music?" "Hell no. It's just loops, beats, rhymes and hooks. What is there for me to learn from that? There ain't no fucking songs. The song is the power; the singer is the messenger. The greatest singer in the world cannot save a bad song. I learned that fifty years ago, and it's the single greatest lesson I ever learned as a producer. If you don't have a great song, it doesn't matter what else you put around it."

In 2022, Publishers Weekly talked to Jones about his missive to the future, "12 Notes: On Life and Creativity": "I'm a be-bopper/arranger at my core, but I always had an innate desire to learn all that I could about music. When I studied with the great classical music teacher and conductor Nadia Boulanger in Paris in the 1950s, she would say 'Quincy, there are only twelve notes. Until there is a thirteenth, learn everything that everyone has done with those twelve.' And that is exactly what I did. That is my foundation, and because of it, there is nothing that gives me pause musically, or in any other medium that I'm working in."

Elbo Room Deal Closed

Hilco Real Estate Sales has announced "the completed sale of one of Chicago's iconic performance venues, The Elbo Room. Known as a vital part of Chicago's music scene, the Elbo Room was a beloved location in the Lakeview neighborhood that served as a staple site for up-and-coming bands," relays PR Newswire .

With First Cure Album In Sixteen Years, Robert Smith Talks Tickets And More

"I don't really want my head to be drawn back into this idea that I'm 'Robert Smith of the Cure,'" Robert Smith of the Cure tells the New York Times ( gift link ), "raising a blue-shadowed brow. 'It just doesn't suit me anymore.' For the Cure's first North American tour in seven years, Smith was determined to keep prices affordable, making sure that each venue had seats at $20 or $25—an extraordinarily low entry point for an arena show at a time when the average cost of a seat for one of the top one hundred tours is $131... In part, he was thinking about his youngest fans. Though he has no children, 'I have an enormous family now, a wider family. And I know how they struggle just to live.'"

Entire British Classical Music Industry Endangered

Brexit means Brexit: "A top soprano has warned Britain risks losing its entire classical music industry due to post-Brexit red tape blocking UK artists from touring in the EU." New British Prime Minister Starmer "is facing calls to urgently cut the red tape blocking traveling singers and bands from touring the continent, with campaigners attacking the government for not striking an agreement in its first hundred days," reports the Independent . "English soprano Rachel Nicholls warned that 'unless we are very careful, we are going to lose our entire classical music industry in this country... The atmosphere is one of terrible, terrible sadness and fear.'"

Joffrey "Nutcracker" Returns For Twenty-Five Performances

The Joffrey Ballet's reimagined "The Nutcracker," by choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, returns to the Lyric Opera House for twenty-five performances, December 6-28. Set at Chicago's World's Fair in 1893, Wheeldon's "The Nutcracker" "highlights the rich cultural heritage of Chicago and the wonder of the season." Tickets and more here .

Oak Park Sees Stormy Daniels Stand-Up

Comedy Plex Comedy Club in Oak Park will host Stormy Daniels, "an adult entertainment star whose involvement with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has been well chronicled, will perform for about forty minutes with a question-and-answer period," reports Wednesday Journal .

ARTS & CULTURE & ETC.

Balloon Artist Tommy DeLorenzo Was Thirty-Eight

"Tommy DeLorenzo launched Balloons by Tommy at age fourteen. In August, his team orchestrated a drop of 100,000 balloons in his honor at the Democratic National Convention," reports the Sun-Times . "'Tommy was always absolutely filled with joy,' his sister, Debbie Strohm, said. 'Even from when he was very, very little, he had a permanent smile on his face. Everything was full of laughter. He brought fun into everything he did.'"

Streeterville Dispensary Approved

"Regulators have approved a controversial proposed cannabis dispensary for Streeterville, despite a recommended denial from the city zoning administrator. Opponents say it is too close to a school and will delay emergency vehicles," reports the Tribune . "The hysteria [about cannabis stores problems] that may have existed ten years ago just has not come to fruition," dispensary attorney Jim Banks said. "There's no evidence of an impact on increased crime, traffic or property values."

Elgin Community College Building $85 Million Center To Create Skilled Workers

"The building will be the second-largest public community college manufacturing center in Illinois and allow the college to expand its program offerings and instruction space," reports the Sun-Times . "Elgin Community College will start the first phase of construction next month on its $85 million Manufacturing and Technology Center... that will help enhance programs in skilled manufacturing and address the nationwide labor shortage of skilled workers."

Minnesota Farm Town Battles Immigration Controversy

"Immigrants from Southeast Asia, East Africa and now predominantly Central America have transformed Worthington, Minnesota, a once overwhelmingly white community on the vast prairie. Students of color constitute more than eighty-percent of those enrolled in K-12, Spanish is most children's first language, and soccer is far more popular than football," reports AP . "Most lifelong residents in this politically red area [are] proud of Worthington's cosmopolitan flair, thriving economy and booming population. Thanks to migrants, most of whom come to work in the pork processing plant next to giant corn silos on its outskirts, the town has bucked the trend of rural communities nationwide that never recovered from the 1980s farm crisis... But such rapid change has come with significant challenges and costs, as schools, churches and law enforcement have sought to respond to new needs despite language and cultural barriers. Old-timers and newcomers in Worthington are grappling with perhaps the most basic question—how to turn very separate groups into one functioning community."