Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley, on March 8, 2006, submitted a National Register of Historic Places nomination for the Old Cook County Hospital Building, 1400 W. Harrison St., to the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. The announcement was timed to correspond with the 93rd anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone for the old hospital.   Quigley and several other members of the Cook County Board have strongly disagreed with longstanding plans to demolish the old hospital building. “By supporting the listing of Old Cook County on the National Register, we can put an end to this deadlock and move forward with reuse plans,” Quigley said, “instead of spending $44,000 a month to maintain this landmark building in an idle and non-functional state.”   LPCI President David Bahlman, who spoke at the press conference announcing the nomination, noted that National Register listing would enable developers to take advantage of a wide range of economic incentives in the redevelopment of the historic structure. “We applaud the county commissioners for pursuing this listing,” Bahlman said, “and we urge them to invite reuse plans immediately.” LPCI’s involvement in the effort to save Cook County Hospital dates to 2001, when it listed the building as one of the “Ten Most Endangered Historic Places in Illinois.”   The National Register nomination follows a November 2005 vote by the Cook County Board not to proceed with the demolition of the 1912 Beaux Arts-style structure. That action, in turn, followed the release of a $1.4 million consultant study that found the building to be structurally sound and adaptable for needed medical office space. However, the county-commissioned study concluded by recommending that the old building should be demolished and replaced with a new office structure. The Cook Hospital Administration Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 8, 2006.		Press conference on March 8, 2006 in front of Cook County Hospital in Chicago. (photo left to right) Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley, LPCI board member Joseph Antunovich (Antunovich Assoc. Architects), and LPCI President David Bahlman. (photo left to right) David Bahlman and Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool.

	For Additional Information Go to Focus: Cook County Hospital
	LPCI’s Response to Cook County Board PDF
	LPCI'’s April 2003 Letter to the Editor on Cook County Hospital PDF

Multimedia   Cooked: An Inner City Nursing Memoir by Carol Karels Lutchen Arcania Press; ISBN: 0976771403   Author Carol Karels Lutchen tells the story of a suburban teen who enrolls in Cook County School of Nursing in the early seventies. This 2005 Book of the Year by the American Journal of Nursing also advocates for preservation of old Cook County Hospital.