Clearly the most stately, tall building in Chicago, covered in granite from head to toe, it'll be…read morethe 4th tallest, right after Vista (Jeanne Gang) - which is practically next door. You may have seen the plans to build an external glass elevator (SW corner of the building) which will lead to a top level visiting area - for tourists and Yelpers alike. Looking North you have views of John Hancock, Trump Tower. Looking south and East - you have stunning views of Millennium Park, the curvature of the planet (view from the 80th floor), the lake, the Bean, etc. The parking garage below is so convenient but please allow time for security, which is good. Great restaurants and places to eat within this building - Starbucks, Market Thyme, AuBon Pain, Sopprafina and Jimmy Johns. The flags of our 50 states adorn the front area and there's a beautiful fountain out front. The lobby area is modern, yet inviting. It's also connected to the Pedway, so you can get to ORD (via the Blue-line) or other places in the loop, without ever having to be exposed to the elements.

Security addresses the biggest issues. If you are drinking water, they will yell "No eating in this…read morelobby." If you are looking for someone, they will help you find the revolving doors. Beautiful view from the outside looking in. They fired anyone from the community to police their neighbors.

Every number transferred to, their mailbox is full and you can't leave a message. The package…read morestatus is locked so you can't even get a vacation hold or change the delivery date. The entire department should be fired and outsourced to India. They'll do a better job and answer the phone. The website is useless for help.

At the time of the writing of this review viral records has been folded into the Cook County…read moreRecorder of Deeds. This office is the perfect stereotype of a government office with employees that just don't care and do everything in their power stop you from doing what you are attempting to do. As background, I am employed by a business that regularly requests death certificates as a required pay of its business. For the last two months I've bee going to this office on the regular basis. Keep in mind that a death certificate is a public record that does have any special privacy protections. There are several reasons why this office is terrible. First, the level of helpfulness and politeness depends on the random cashier you draw. The employees' attitudes range from down right mean and rude to indifference. Second, the worst part is the requirements to obtain the public records you need seem to shift every time I go there, the employees do their best to try and prevent me from obtaining a document that any member of the general public has a right to obtain. The following experience illustrates this point. About a week ago, I went there with four requests for death certificates with the required documents I have used in the past to obtain death certificates, a letter explaining why the death certificate with need with details of the deceased, their required request form and IDs of the requester (I had requests of my colleagues). The cashierI drew refused to provide me any death certificates because I was not requester. When I asked her if the policy had changed (I used the exact same types of requests and supporting documents that I had used to successfully obtain death certificates in the past), she said no. She checked with her supervisor, but she still refused. She then offered for mean opportunity to speak to her supervisor; I accepted her offer. After waiting about fifteen minutes, I met with the supervisor. I explained to the supervisor that we had used the same forms and supporting documents to obtain death certificates in the past. His was response was tell me that their policy had not changed, and that I should not have previously been issued the death certificates. He than asked which cashiers had issued me death certificates with the forms and supporting documents he now deemed insufficient. I point out the the numbers. The main bone of contention was that since I not the requester, I was not authorized to be issued the death certificate. Keep in mind this a public record that the general public has legal access to. He intended to call overt one of the cashiers in question and interrogate them as to why they issued me a death certificate in the past. Before he could that, I pointed out in the cover letter where I was authorized to receive the death certificate on behalf of my colleagues. After that they provide the requested death certificates. They literally refused to provide me with the requested documents because multiple employees, including a supervisor, did not bother to read the cover letter they require. Instead, they just wanted to give me a hard time, and do whatever they could to beguile my efforts. I would tell you to avoid this place, but you can't if you need these type of public records.

I recently had jury duty in the "George N. Leighton" criminal courthouse. By the way, Judge…read moreLeighton has a great story of his own and I encourage you all to Google and find out. I saw a few yelpers' reviews on the courthouse itself and their experiences. There was no cafeteria anymore. Instead, there were vending machines, featuring Farmer's Fridge and other generic ones, inside the jurors' waiting room. Overall, the offerings were quite decent and eating surely would make the time go by a bit faster! I did use the bathroom a few times and the janitor came through several times to tidy things up. Fortunately, we were dismissed early due to the defendant' plea deal. To be honest, I would love to be called to the court room and get that "voir dire" process started. Anyway, I was fine either way since it would be a long way traveling back home and traffic wasn't heavy in the late morning/early afternoon. The information video seemed to be updated from the last time I served my first jury duty (sometime 2017), except Judge Timothy C. Evans' introduction filed in the 90's still existed. That part could use some new technology because it didn't sync with the rest of the contents. People couldn't be any nicer! Everyone I talked to was polite. I almost wanted to use the lactation room, as I found out we were going to be dismissed soon. I opted out but the facility would be available for nursing moms and I bet the clerk would be happy to help. For transportation options, CTA bus #94 drops passengers in front of the courtroom and parking lot. Jurors can park for free and there is an instruction on the summon. The Pink Line California station is approximately of a 10-min walk and it seems safe during the day, yet exercise your own discretion.

I was affirmed to be serving jury duty in person at this criminal Court in Chicago. Today, it was…read morean epic subzero day where most schools were closed. Jury duty members and members attending their court date arrived and entered the same entrance across the street from the parking garage. Getting in around 8:30, an hour earlier than the reported time, seemed to be a good idea, however, there was a bit of a lack of efficiency in the way the lines were queued up. If you are attending courts for any reason and you are not in jury duty, you must check your mobile phone or not bring it into the building at all. If you have a summons to be on jury duty, you are allowed to bring in a laptop, tablet, mobile device while the mobile device is officially allowed. There is a Starbucks stand after the metal detectors at entrance. But as the office of the clerk says, that thing is fake. They never opened it. So look at your hopes up. The cafeteria doesn't exist anymore on the first floor, you are relegated to vending machines, one of which is a farmers fridge. On the second and third floor. Floor. You will head to the third floor and spend the majority of your day through 4:30 p.m. I was selected shortly after lunch. At the roll call, your panel number paper is adorned with a red jury member badge. The 30 to 34 people seemed to include four to five panels. We were shepherded down, across and up to another location where the court rooms are. The walk from the third floor jury duty, waiting room to the courtrooms were through a few ornate corridors and stairwells. I suspect this building is pretty cool inside architecturally speaking. The room we were in was circular and the audio was well adjusted. I do not envy the people who have the hold court everyday. The judge asks the same questions to each of the first 28 people who were selected to be in the court room. There are rest rooms in the juror room (if you get picked after the completion of voir dire) or outside of the courtrooms at the exterior edge of the floor. Restrooms are one person at a time. This is the furthest I've participated in jury duty. At the end of the day, which ended about 5pm, I was not selected to be a jurer. The intent of this trial was to last through this Friday, at worst. Pay for the day is $35 USD and parking is free.

When we decided to get married, we knew we wanted a City Hall ceremony, for multiple reasons. The…read morewhole time, we planned to get married downtown, but when they stopped taking appointments for awhile, I panicked and called Skokie to see if they still were. This was right before the Delta surge, so I don't know what, if anything, has changed, but at the time, we were allowed 4 people to go in with us. I later on found out downtown resumed taking appointments and made one there, but we kept circling back to Skokie, because again, multiple reasons. Downtown only allowed 2 people to go in, there's no easy parking and we wanted to take some photos at spots up north, so we'd be driving in all sorts of circles in such a short period of time. After much debate, we figured Skokie would be easier to navigate for my mom, easier to hit up our photo locations and allowed us to have 2 extra people, which ended up being really nice and much needed on the actual day. This was a rough day. My mom unexpectedly passed a couple weeks prior and I stopped caring about our wedding plans completely. My friends came through and helped get me out of my sadness long enough to have a wonderful day, and the judge? Well, he was great. We actually ended up having 5 people with us (unintentionally) and he didn't mind. He allowed (only) us to take our masks off and then claimed it was his anniversary day, too. He probably tells that to everyone, or maybe it really was, but he really put a smile on everyone's face. If I remember correctly, we were the 2nd to last to get married, but he didn't rush us. He made sure the photographer got all of her photos, and our friends, too! We had 3 separate cars of people driving here. The first 2 cars were friends we sent ahead to "check-in" for us and let them know we were on our way, since we had to make a quick pit stop after the first photo location. Security was quick to come out and remind us about masks, which we then panicked about when we realized my stepdad didn't have his and my friends who were inside had all the extras. In all that chaos, everything worked out. During covid, at least, they have you check-in, pay the fee (I think it was $10) and then have you wait a little bit before they get started. Each couple, and their party, goes in one at a time and I think they had something like 6 spots per day, which is why it was important to call and make that appointment. I recently remarked to my husband that it would have been nice to have some pictures outside of City Hall, but we had no regrets about choosing this location and there was a spot right out front where we were able to take some really nice photos.

This place bites. I needed to get some documents from the vital records office and when we got…read morethere, the security guard said that office was closed (I guess that's why there were people pouring out of the building a few minutes after 4 pm). He also told me that apparently the vital records office runs on an appointment only basis. Yet when I made my appointment for the following day, they let folks in who didn't have an appointment. Weird. I don't really love this new development, especially since you don't know about it unless you show up or I guess look at their website beforehand. This is a relatively new system, because when I went to pick up some record a couple years ago from this same office at this courthouse and was able to walk in and do it within fifteen minutes. And when you get there they make you sit directly next to one another--four of us were sitting elbow to below when there were at least a dozen and a half chairs there. If you want to walk in, go downtown for assistance.

Good park for athletics located in Bridgeport. It conveniently is across 35th from the Sox stadium…read more Armour Square Park is pretty okay for the area. Has a few baseball and softball diamonds. There's also a pretty big fieldhouse. A park located in a neighborhood of the same name, known for athletics. It's well known for being across from the Sox stadium of course. The park is named after Philip D. Armour, who was considered Chicago's "captain of industry," and owned the largest meatpacking company in the world. A lot of athletics are here. The fieldhouse was completed in 1905 and has an auditorium, a fitness center, two gymnasiums, and meeting rooms. Among the athletic fields are baseball, football, soccer, and tennis courts. There's also a pool and a playground. For sure it's a place to play sports, outside or inside. It's got a pretty impressive fieldhouse with lots of character and charm to be sure. This is also a convenient option for those going to Sox games or whatever.

"Armour Square Park" is a neighborhood park located between W. 33rd. and W. 35th. St (north-south),…read moreand between S. Wentworth and S. Wells (east-west). It's also adjacent to U.S. Cellular Field, the Home of Chicago White Sox. It has the basic amenities: children's playground, a large field that is often used for high school football practice, concrete paths good for exercising and walking the dog. However, I think the park is need of an update. Most benches, chairs, and tables were certainly functional, yet I noticed the screws have come out from some of them. Whenever the park office isn't open, users can utilize the porta-potty by the stadium. It's accessible via the red line. Just get off at the CTA-Sox/35th. stop. I know, I know. Why do I review so many Chicago parks? My followers knew the answer already (hint, hint...I play Pokemon Go). Bridgeport is one of my favorite neighborhoods in the city. It's close to downtown, Chinatown, and has a few must-visit local flavors.

I kept putting off changing my name after getting married because I dreaded the SS change…read moreexperience. Reading reviews for this office was also less than encouraging...I finally bucked up and went this past Thursday. Wow, what was I waiting for?! I arrived at 11am and was out by 12:30pm, super quick, especially considering this was over lunch AND they were packed with customers. EVERYONE was really nice, from the security staff - to the information desk - to the service desk - to the other people waiting to get helped. This was the first time I have been to a government office (DMV, post office, etc) and it was a pleasant experience. Everyone that works at this location deserves a hug and a thank you. Cheers!

Wow! I have never been to a government office run that well! I had an appointment for a later date…read morebut I didn't want to wait 3 weeks so I went the following day after applying online. I walked in Tuesday around 9:40 ish, I grabbed a number then I sat down- waited 1 minute- my number was called and then I was done within 5 minites! Very very impressive! Great job guys

Had an appointment Fantastic service in and out 20 mins. The Security their on their toes excellent…read moreJob. They walk the Parking Lot and very helpful.Thank You Great Job. SECURING our Safety.GOD BLESS

1. No heat 2. Not enough chairs…read more3. No INDOOR bathrooms (33 degrees out) 4. Impossible to reach by phone 5. Woman who helped me was very nice. Many expressed "Thank trump for this" I appreciate that - he's a deviant.

I had an extrodinary experience with Ms. Parker and she was helpful, had a professional demeanor,…read moreassisted me with answering my licensing questions and solving my business dilemmas. Great asset to businesses in Chicago!

The people here are helpful when you can speak with someone and therein lies the problem. You…read morecannot make an appointment online and must call. When you are called you are told to go in person. When you go in person there is only one person assisting when the doors open. Just a waste of time.