Chicago's landmark ordinance struck down by appellete court

(Crain's) — An Illinois appellate court has struck down the city of Chicago’s landmarks ordinance, saying it is unconstitutionally vague, putting in jeopardy the city’s protection of more than 250 buildings and 50 historic districts.

(Source: Crain's Chicago Business)

Needless to say, this is a good day for developers and a very bad day for preservationists, though the ultimate outcome of this ruling remains unclear.  It appears the law will stay in place at least until the case is over-- it now goes back to the lower court-- and the Daley administration says it will consider appealing to the State Supreme Court.  I hope they do.

For further reading, Lynn Becker at Architecture Plus and Blair Kamin at the Tribune have both written interesting posts on this topic.

Note on the photo: The Chicago Theater, built in 1921, is one of the many buildings currently with landmark status under the Chicago Landmark Ordinance.  Canon A590, 1/60sec, f3.5, ISO200.