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Chicago's Sears Tower Will Change Name To Willis Tower
I landed at Chicago's O'Hare Airport late Saturday night and saw, probably for the last time, the Sears Tower.
The next time I'm in Chicago, the Sears Tower will be the Willis Tower.
Willis Group Holdings, a London-based global insurance broker, announced last week that it was consolidating its Chicago-area offices and moving into the Sears Tower, which they will rename in July.
"Having our name associated with Chicago's most iconic structure underscores our commitment to this great city, and recognizes Chicago's importance as a major financial hub and international business center," Joseph J. Plumeri, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Willis Group Holdings said in a news release on the company's Web site.
Plumeri acts like he is doing Chicago a favor, and maybe he is, by investing in real estate in the midst of a struggling economy. But the Sears Tower, the tallest building in the United States as well as the entire Western hemisphere, is too iconic to have its name changed. The Sears Tower is classic; the most prominent part of the Chicago skyline. Willis Tower sounds like the punchline to a bad "Diff'rent Strokes" joke.
The Chicago Tribune reported last week that, following the announcement about the building's name change, people were stopping by the 110-story building to take pictures of the Sears Tower name before it is gone.The Sears Tower hasn't been the headquarters of the Sears department store for 17 years, since Sears took up residence in the suburbs of Chicago in 1992. The company moved into the building, then the world's tallest, after it was completed in 1973, and even when they left, the name stuck.
Plumeri seemed surprised at the negative reaction to the proposed renaming of the Tower, according to statements reported in the Chicago Tribune.
"Would you rather have an iconic building with nobody in it, which doesn't say a lot about Chicago, or someone with enough faith to take the space?" he asked. "The headline should be: A company has decided to invest money in Chicago, and if you miss that headline, you've missed the side of the building by a mile and a half."
Plumeri may be a great CEO, but I think he would have struggled in the headline-writing business.
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Ken
6:38PM 6:38PM Mar 16th 2009
Just goes to show you that our once proud nation is for sale to the highest bidder. You don't have to be a citizen to buy it. Sad.
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Jphhh811
4:51AM 4:51AM Mar 17th 2009
no you sure don't. And sadly this is the kind of things that happen to a country when it has passed its prime. We are no longer the superpower we once were, and we are going to lose a lot more before we bottom out. We have bought up things in other countries and put our names on it before, hell we have a McDonalds in the forbidden city in China. I really think America is going to lose its sense of entitlement before this crisis is solved
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Master Shake
4:58AM 4:58AM Mar 17th 2009
If you don't like this name, don't worry. Within another couple of years the Chinese will own it, and rename it something that suits them. Perhaps the Mao Tse Tower.
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fubar
6:50AM 6:50AM Mar 17th 2009
Whats in a name it wont be long before USA stands for the united sellouts of america. what does america do for us anyway we pay all our money in taxes and what do we get nothing it all goes to other countrys and helps eveyone else out but not anyone here what once was a great nation is now nothing because they take all the money from " WE THE PEOPLE " and give it to everyone else and "WE THE PEOPLE" get flushed down the toillet I'd rather have a crackhead that screws whores running our country because he would at least keep the money and jobs here and not sell us out like bush did and obama is going to do
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Arnold
3:12PM 3:12PM Mar 17th 2009
Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Willis!?
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Sergeant
7:29PM 7:29PM Mar 17th 2009
Once again, capitalism rules. The highest bidder is allowed to determine the name of an iconic building that symbolizes one of the world's great cities. Oh, well, at least it's not being renamed the McDonald's Tower.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQ9vTJLIA8M
www.thirdpositionjustice.net
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