Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Arguing that the controversial Loop structure is Helmut Jahn’s definitive achievement, preservation advocates said Monday that the untimely death of the German architect “really does cement the argument that the Thompson Center should be preserved.”
Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who put the building up for sale last week, on Monday said the state lost “a great artistic genius,” but the James R. Thompson Center doesn’t fall under the category of great, artistic work.
“It’s not the greatest example of his work,” the governor said.
Jahn, 81, who designed the state government building at 100 W. Randolph and other notable structures in Chicago and around the world, died Saturday afternoon when he was struck by two vehicles while riding his bicycle in Campton Hills, near his home in far west suburban St. Charles.