Daniel Burnham famously said “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably will not themselves be realized.” Burnham, co-author of the famous 1909 Plan of Chicago, had a vision for a much grander Chicago. What he probably didn’t forsee was Chicagoan’s fulfilling that vision 100 years later by building massive pieces of public art. The latest iteration of Chicago’s fascination with large public art is located across the street from the iconic Harold Washington Library in Pritzker Park just northwest of the intersection State Street and Van Buren Street. What is it? A three-story tall eye balll, dubbed the EYE.

Chicago is a summer city. I never understood the desire of some Chicagoans to have a country home or lake home for the summer. A Florida condo in the winter perhaps, but why leave Chicago on the weekends during the short time of the year the weather is nice? Of course, if you’re in Milwaukee, you already get this.

It’s time for a clear brand for high-speed rail in the Midwest. The discussion surrounding the Milwaukee to Madison high-speed rail grant has made the need for a coherent brand clear with people confused if the new train will be a stand-alone route, somehow connected to the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail line, similar to the Amtrak Empire Builder, or a competitor to the existing Amtrak Hiawatha line.

The Plan of Chicago is a quick and easy read that’s perhaps best described as a launchpad. Carl Smith breaks down key aspects of Burnham’s plan in his book and details how they came to be, who influenced them, and how they turned out. For someone who hasn’t actually read the actual plan (not required or expected for reading this book), author Carl Smith uses just the right amount of detail to illustrate the concepts.

The intercity bus service famous for their $1 tickets has substantially scaled back their operations in and out of Milwaukee. Megabus provided a wealth of options to and from Chicago just a few months ago, and their scaling back of a few daily runs in December wasn’t cause for much concern. Apparently, we should have viewed it as a sign of bad things to come though, with what used to be six trips each way everyday trimmed first to four, and now down to two.

The residents of Waukesha County will love the Madison to Milwaukee high-speed rail line once it’s up and running, and not for any reason that readily jumps out at you. Certainly residents of Waukesha County will likely use the train to get to Madison, but that’s not a big sell to the residents. Taking a train from Brookfield or Oconomowoc to the Madison Airport just isn’t all that appealing because of the distance. What is appealing though? First-class comfort from Milwaukee’s western suburbs to the heart of Chicago.

Megabus, the no-frills intercity bus company with an intriguing pricing scheme starting at $1, has revised their service schedule between Milwaukee and Chicago. Unfortunately two trips have been eliminated in each direction. One can only assume it’s because of the economy and that January through March has always been a down travel period for Megabus (something they compensate for by giving away 100,000 tickets).

The production of renewable energy continues to move forward in the Midwest as new projects are proposed and government adjusts to make construction of new developments easier. The most noteworthy is the planned 39 acre urban solar power plant in the City of Chicago’s West Pullman neighborhood.

The debate swirling around the Janet Zweig art project got me thinking about the value of public art to our city and how other cities embrace opportunities to enhance their public places. In Chicago the mix of architecture, and the hustle and bustle is in of itself valuable but public places like Millennium Park and the artwork that fills it add to the overall appeal of city life.

Too often we, as Milwaukeeans, are too quick to assume all the good ideas in Milwaukee are trickling up from Chicago. That Chicago gets the latest trends, fashions, fast food restaurants (see: Sonic), and other soon-to-be-passing fads before we do.

Of course that’s not always the case, with the Quadracci Pavilion being the best example. You of course know that building better for the world renown architect that designed it, Santiago Calatrava.