Chi-town's a-changin', part 1

The Guardian Unlimited ran a pretty good AP story about Chicago yesterday. In it, former Mayor Jane Byrne and others talk about how the city is changing, not necessarily for the better. From the Soldier Field retrofitting to Marshall Field's changing to Macy's, Chicagoans are lamenting the differences in the city.

The changes extend to how and where people live. In neighborhoods across the city, scores of taverns and other small businesses have been erased from the landscape in favor of pricey bistros and new condominiums.

``I don't recognize my own neighborhood,'' said writer Studs Terkel, one of Chicago's most distinctive literary voices for decades. He lives on the North Side.

I for one am happy to see some of the changes coming to my neighborhood. Currently along Clashland (where Clark and Ashland become one), there's nothing but muffler shops and used car dealers. The alderman is trying to change the zoning to prohibit those kinds of businesses and bring in places that will make us look like Andersonville. Hopefully, that won't backfire with the area becoming another Clybourn corridor, although I guess Best Buy is better than Best Catalytic Converters.