Yesterday, I learned that the body of Chicago Board of Education president Michael Scott was found near the Merchandise Mart.
What struck me most was that many of us here used to work near where the body was found. When I first heard about this, I assumed the body was found near a secluded spot where many folks used to go smoke.
But as it turns out, the incident took place a little farther north, near the Kinzie bridge.
Hearing about Scott’s death is a bit unsettling, particularly since I used to walk by where the spot where his body was found. Whenever I’d drive in to work, I’d park in a lot near the Blommer’s Chocolate factory, walk up Kinzie, and pass by the old bridge where he apparently committed suicide.
Hearing about this reminded me that the Chicago Teacher’s Union is located inside the Mart. Seeing images of TV News crews on the scene made me think of the media frenzy that took place several years back, in 2004, when the Chicago then president Deborah Lynch locked the doors of the Chicago Teacher’s Union, in an attempt to prevent incoming president Marilyn Steward from taking office.
Seeing an old building we used to work in (and used to know well) in this way? It’s a little spooky, a little sad.
So far it seems that the Medical Examiner has ruled Scott’s death a suicide. But I guess what’s most unnerving to me is that the incident happened near a place I used to frequent, and things sound a little questionable. The police are still investigating the incident.
