Bill to demolish part of McCormick Place along lakefront gets labor support

Chicago Federation of Labor President Bob Reiter is beating the drum for a plan to demolish the above-ground portion of Lakeside Center, the oldest McCormick Place building, and replace the lost convention space with a new building over Martin Luther King Drive.

Insiders said the partial teardown of Lakeside Center could result in additional parkland along the lakefront and that below-ground portions of the building, such as the Arie Crown Theater, could still be preserved.

Three years ago, then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel proposed tearing down the outmoded hulk that is Lakeside Center to make way for movie mogul George Lucas' museum featuring a giant green roof.

It was a last-stab at salvaging for Chicago a project that ultimately went to Los Angeles when Lucas got fed up with the court battle that blocked Emanuel's plan to build the Lucas Museum on a parking lot near Soldier Field.

For the full story, click here.