Main Michael Reese Hospital building to be razed

City officials in Chicago have confirmed that they plan to raze the 103-year-old main building at the former Michael Reese Hospital on the city's South Side.

The demolition plans, which were confirmed Thursday, greatly displeased Jim Peters, president of Landmarks Illinois, a Chicago-based architectural preservation group.

Peters told the Chicago Tribune that Mayor Richard M. Daley had promised to spare the historic Prairie Style building when he announced plans to tear down the hospital campus as part of his unsuccessful plan to attract the 2016 Summer Olympics to Chicago.

But Daley defended Thursday his decision to tear down the long-vacant building, saying it has serious structural damage that would cost $13 million to repair. Daley says demolition will cost only $2 million.