Marathon Pundit: More good news on the endangered Chicago Reagan apartment

Reagan apartment--Janaury 6, 2013

Favorable news continues to trickle in on the status of the endangered Chicago home of Ronald Reagan. Through Heneghan Wrecking, the University of Chicago, which owns the six-flat where "Dutch" lived with his family in 1915, applied for a permit to tear down the building last month. But City of Chicago officials almost immediately placed a 90 day hold on that request.

The Chicago Maroon, the school paper of the University of Chicago, supplies more details:

According to Peter Strazzabosco, a spokesman for the Chicago Department of Housing and Economic Development, the City of Chicago's Historic Preservation Division will use this time to "reach out to the property owner and discuss alternatives to demolition."

Jack Spicer, who sits on the Hyde Park Historical Society board, supports the forced delay and believes the University should consider concerns from community members before tearing down the property.

"Respect ought to be paid whether or not you agree with [Reagan] politically," said Spicer, who has actively spoken out against the demolition.

Reagan was the first president to live in Chicago and he's the only one who was born in Illinois.

The alderman for the ward where the Reagan apartment stands is Leslie Hairston--her email address is lhairston@cityofchicago.org. Hairston appears satisfied with having a plaque marking the site--as opposed to saving the building.

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