Completely Unnecessary

Four alarm blaze destroyed part of the Mega Mall. Aw, man. That sucks.

Fire officials said the fire broke out shortly after midnight, just as the department was responding to several 911 calls about “rubbish” behind the mall.

The fire’s cause is still under investigation, said Richard Rosado, spokesman for the Chicago Fire Department.

That sounds like they think it’s arson, which was my first thought. Sounds a lot like plowing up the runway if you don’t want the airport anymore (not that I mean the City is involved, just that it’s shady). I assume the condos will be going up soon.

“I don’t know what we’re going to do,” said Juan Enriquez, whose Mexican candy store inside the mall has supported his wife and two children for four years. “They said it burned everything. It’s over. Everything.”
…
Park said he suspected the fire was caused by vandals, pointing out loose cardboard drooping from a building rooftop. Though surrounded by security cameras, the mall has been a magnet for graffiti and trespassing over the years, part of what has inspired a campaign to tear it down.
…
Larry Ligas, a local developer who co-founded a group called Logan Square Concerned Citizens, has been among those spearheading the effort to get rid of the mall.

Citing the fire damage, he said the buildings were a greater risk than ever. “We have people walking by that mall constantly,” he said. “If one of those buildings falls down, we can have a real tragedy.”

Imagine. A developer is concerned about a building that has been the flash point for resistance to rampant condo development in Logan Square. How come groups that involve the word ‘Concerned’ always seem to be kinda not so good?

Blaze Destroys Section of Mall [Trib]

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