As CEO of the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, which owns McCormick Place, no one was more alarmed than I was when, earlier this week, a small section of non-structural decorative face brick on one of Lakeside Center’s retaining walls fell and temporarily blocked traffic on DuSable Lake Shore Drive. And no one was more grateful than I was that there were no injuries and only minor vehicle damage.
MPEA takes this incident incredibly seriously, and we are working quickly to identify the cause to ensure nothing like this happens again. The affected face brick — the rest of which has been removed out of an abundance of caution — was purely cosmetic. Therefore, it’s unfortunate that the Sun-Times editorial board is using this incident to spin abject hyperbole about the condition of Lakeside Center.
