Daily Whale Originals

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday joined Server Farm Realty CEO Avner Papouchado for the official opening of the firm’s new downtown data center. The new facility, located at 840 S. Canal St. in the South Loop, is already in operation and the company is working to attract new clientele, according to a release from the mayor’s office.

Trade show organizer GLM has agreed to hold its Internet Retailer Conference and Exhibition in Chicago over the next several years.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office announced in a press release Friday that GLM inked a 6-year extension of its contract with the city to hold the IRCE at McCormick Place, which will keep the show in Chicago through 2020.

Several state lawmakers discussed upon whom to place blame for the legislature’s recent failure to pass pension reform while appearing on a Monday night episode of WTTW’s “Chicago Tonight.”

During the show, state Rep. Michael Connelly (R- Naperville) said there is “nothing more important than pension reform” and added that Gov. Pat Quinn was ultimately to blame for the legislature’s failure to reach an agreement on pension system reform.  

The Illinois Legislature on Friday approved concealed carry legislation, sending the bill to the desk of Gov. Pat Quinn before Friday’s midnight legislative session deadline.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday unveiled plans to develop a domestic violence shelter in the city’s Chicago Lawn neighborhood.

The 40-bed shelter, tentatively called “WINGS Metro,” will feature “suite-based” rooms designed to provide guests with additional privacy and comfort. The shelter is expected to serve 100 families within its first year.

The Southwest Side shelter, slated for completion in June 2014, will also include ten affordable housing units that will be provided for victims transitioning out of the shelter.