Hey SAIC Kids- I'm a recent chicago ex-pat now in Oakland. If you are wanting to keep up with what is going on art wise in chicago check out badatsports.com. It's a weekly podcast by a bunch of SAiC grads and Chicago artists about the scene and what's going on. (I also report for them about happenings on the west coast.) In the past episodes, they have spent a lot of time talking about the rise and fall of the storefront galleries, etc. which seem to be a point of interest on these threads.