Hearing officer will determine fate of infamous E2 Nightclub

(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — It will be up to a city hearing officer to determine whether the building that housed an infamous nightclub where 21 people died in a stampede in 2003 will be torn down.

A hearing before the Landmarks Commission will decide if the E2 Nightclub at 2347 South Michigan Avenue will be torn down.

“Particularly, as part of the cluster of buildings that make up the Motor Road district. Together, as we’ll hear, these buildings represent an important, unique part of the city’s history,” Planning and Development Attorney Ellen McLaughlin.

The building is a historic Motor Road building that preservationists want to keep, and families of the victims of the 2003 tragedy want a memorial.

Former 21st Ward Alderman Howard Brookins, the attorney for the current building owner, said the only reason the owner sought to demolish it was because the city building department told him to make it safe or tear it down.

“He cannot be in the middle of an interdepartmental fight. The building department is telling him that the building is dangerous and hazardous,” Brookins said.

Some victims' families were split on whether the original building should stay or go.

Mary Carwell, the mother of one of the victims, does want to see the building taken down.

“I don’t want to see nobody going in there, even as a restaurant or anything,” Carwell said.

Other families feel differently. A hearing officer will help decide this case.

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