from wbez.org

Hundreds of Chicago public schools collectively need more than $3 billion in repairs — including leaky roofs, unreliable boilers, and decaying windows that are made worse year after year as critical needs are deferred.

And yet, school staff, parents, and students have no way of knowing when — or if — their buildings will ever get attention from the cash-starved school district. (read more) 

from chicagoconstructionnews.com

Illinois ranks near the middle in US construction employment growth, according to data Labor Department data reported by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGCA).

Overall, in between March and April, 800 additional jobs were created between March and April, bringing the total to 225,800.  In the past year, 7,000 new jobs were added, an increase of 3.2 percent, from the employment total last year of 218,800. (read more)

from Chicagolandconstructionnews.com

The long empty Cook County Hospital building is one step closer to getting a new lease on life as two separate hotel properties and office and retail spaces thanks to $135 million in financing.

According to the Chicago Tribune, construction on the site is set to begin in about two weeks. The 14-acre site will see as many as five development phases and will include office spaces as well as some apartments. The hospital has sat unoccupied since 2002 and this facelift has been long awaited. (read more)