Illinois and Indiana trailed only Florida in monthly construction employment gains in June, adding 3,500 jobs (1.8%)  and 2,700 jobs (2.2%) respectively, according to data compiled by Arlington, Va.-based Associated General Contractors of America (AGC).Both states also posted gains in year-over-year comparisons, with Illinois adding 7,300 jobs (3.8%) and Indiana adding 3,800 jobs (3.1%). Other Midwest states didn't fare as well. While Michigan saw solid year-over-year gains (3,300 jobs, 2.5%), it lost 1,600 jobs (-1.2%) jobs in month-to-month comparisons. Missouri (-1,000 jobs, -0.9%), Ohio (-700 jobs, -0.4%) and Wisconsin (-200 jobs, -0.2%) logged more modest losses during the same period.

Filmmaker George Lucas announced Monday he has selected Chinese designer MAD Architects and Chicago-based Studio Gang Architects to design his Museum of Narrative Art on Chicago's museum campus, located along the city's lakefront. MAD will design the building and Gang its landscaping, in addition to a bridge linking the museum to Northerly Island, a nearby peninsula.  Chicago-based VOA Associates will serve as executive architect on the $1-billion project. “We are bringing together some of the top architects in the world to ensure that our museum experience begins long before a visitor ever enters the building,” Lucas indicated in a statement

Ill. Gov. Pat Quinn on Tuesday signed a $1.1 billion bill to repair and upgrade state roads and bridges in the wake of one of the region's harshest winters in decades. Quinn also signed a bill to fund the program with general obligation bonds. In all, the funds will bankroll more than 200 “shovel ready” projects statewide while creating more than 14,000 jobs. Major projects in metropolitan Chicago include $48 million in repairs to bridges linking I-55 to Chicago's Lake Shore Drive and $86 in repairs and upgrades to bridges linking I-55 to I-171 in southwest suburbia. Plans also call

Navy Pier Inc., the non-profit operator of Chicago's Navy Pier, is seeking proposals from private developers to finance, construct and operate a 150- to 225-room hotel on the 30-acre property, currently Illinois' largest tourist attraction.  As planned, the five-story hotel would be sited atop a two-story facility currently housing restaurant and entertainment uses. The hotel also would be sited adjacent to an existing 170,000-sq-ft exhibit hall. Pier officials at a community meeting last week indicated a hotel and other planned renovations would help transition the 98-year-old-property from a seasonal “carnival”-like attraction to a year-round venue more focused on landscaping and

The nation's mighty industrial engine is beginning to rev up. The problem is that much of the activity, construction included, is occurring outside the Midwest, putting a drag on regional recovery.

The forward shell and sections of the cutterhead were first to arrive. Later came motors, hydraulic cylinders and other parts that were scavenged from other tunneling machines around the world.

 JohnsonAndrew J. Johnson has been named vice president and Jeffrey J. Krusinski executive vice president with Oak Brook, Ill.-based Krusinski Construction Co. Additionally, the firm has named Gina M. Krusinski vice president and Rick Drews senior project superintendent. Related Links: ENR Midwest People Showcase ENR People Showcase      Jack Sbertoli has been named senior project manager with Skokie, Ill.-based developer and contractor Missner Group. A 10-year industry veteran with extensive engineering expertise, Sbertoli is managing projects from preconstruction to completion while coordinating among clients, architects and engineers. He previously was a project manager with Missner and holds a degree in civil

Misalignment of star markets plunged its regional revenue into a free-fall in the wake of the recession, but Southfield, Mich.-based contractor Barton Malow Co. has soared back on the strength of a better business model and organizational blueprint.

The Chicago Landmarks Commission on Thursday unanimously approved plans for $575 million in additions and renovations to 100-year-old Wrigley Field, home to Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs. Plans include more outfield signage and commercial uses than a plan the commission approved in 2013. The Cubs submitted new plans to the city in May after breaking off negotiations with 15 neighborhood rooftop owners, who threatened to sue over signage included in the 2013 plan. While the earlier plan called for a pair of signs, including a jumbotron-like video board in left field, current plans feature as many seven, including a 3,990-sq-ft

Midwest construction backlogs inched upward in the first quarter, from 5.51 months to 6.16 months, but finished a distant fourth behind those of other U.S. regions, according to data compiled by Washington, D.C.-based Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC). Among other factors. ABC attributes the lag to “highly constrained public budgets” in major metro markets, including Chicago and Detroit. “When Chicago and Detroit continue to stumble, that limits how much the region can recover,” says ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Chicago continues to be burdened by high tax rates and underfunded pensions. Though it is attracting capital, Detroit has one of