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Melody Mercado on Muck Rack

Melody Mercado

Verified
(She/Her)
Chicago
As seen in: Block Club Chicago, Apple Podcasts, MSN, USA Today, Yahoo News, WBBM-TV (Chicago, IL), Flipboard, Yahoo, Des Moines Register, The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY), Crain's Chicago Business and
Covers:  Politics, Business, Development, and everything in between.
Covering the Loop for @BlockClubCHI • Past @DMRegister @who13news @DePaulJOUR MA • Former D1 athlete • Boricua 🇵🇷• melody@blockclubchi.org

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Melody Mercado’s Biography

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Reporter at Block Club Chicago covering Downtown and West Loop neighborhoods.

Melody Mercado’s Journalist Portfolio

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Grant Park Vendors Ready To Quit After Competing With Unlicensed Sellers, Special Events All Summ...

Grant Park Vendors Ready To Quit After Competing With Unlicensed Sellers, Special Events All Summ...

A summer of NASCAR and Lollapalooza closures, rising rents and competition from unlicensed vendors has some G…

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Chicago Fans Feel Forced To Pay To Enter Free Street Fests - And Some Organizers Are Flouting Cit...

Chicago Fans Feel Forced To Pay To Enter Free Street Fests - And Some Organizers Are Flouting Cit...

Star Events sold tickets online to free street festivals without telling attendees a donation is optional. An…

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Tomorrow X Together's Lollapalooza Set Shows Power Of K-Pop In Chicago

Tomorrow X Together's Lollapalooza Set Shows Power Of K-Pop In Chicago

Chicago is a K-pop town. Fans are proud to show up for their idols, which has put the city on the map as a mu…

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Stuck In Traffic? Join The Club. Traffic Is Terrible Everywhere Thanks To Construction, Other Fac...

Stuck In Traffic? Join The Club. Traffic Is Terrible Everywhere Thanks To Construction, Other Fac...

With construction underway on four major roadways, commuters are reporting two-hour travels each way to work.

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Former Prosecutor, Navy Officer Bill Conway Readies For His Latest Career Pivot As 34th Ward Alde...

Former Prosecutor, Navy Officer Bill Conway Readies For His Latest Career Pivot As 34th Ward Alde...

The son of a billionaire, Conway thought he was done with politics after losing the 2020 Cook County state's …

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Who Wanted To Move Taste Of Chicago From Grant Park? Park District Hides Details In Public Record...

Who Wanted To Move Taste Of Chicago From Grant Park? Park District Hides Details In Public Record...

Block Club sought to find out who made key decisions about Taste, but nearly all of the 121 pages of emails w…

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Articles

Here’s What To See Downtown During Open House Chicago

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By Melody Mercado Verified
| Block Club Chicago Verified
DOWNTOWN — Dozens of the most striking Downtown buildings will open their doors for this weekend’s Open House Chicago. Open House, organized by the Chicago Architecture Center, is this weekend, showcasing more than 200 sites in 28 neighborhoods across the city. New on the Downtown tour this year: The Broadway In Chicago’s Cadillac Palace Theatre, which is only open on Saturday. Also new is Farmzero, an urban farm in the Loop that’s only open on Sunday.
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Controversial West Loop Bar Habibti Won’t Reopen After Suspected Arsons

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By Melody Mercado Verified
| Block Club Chicago Verified
WEST LOOP — Habibti, a West Loop bar and restaurant that drew the ire of its neighbors and local alderperson, has surrendered its location to its landlord and also gave up its business license following a suspected arson that forced the business to close last month. The permanent closure marks the end of a tumultuous battle between the local alderman, residents, the landlord and restaurant owner Fadi Akileh, who was accused of running an unlicensed nightclub.
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Chicago Aldermen Want More Power To Crack Down On ‘Problem Bars’

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By Melody Mercado Verified
| Block Club Chicago Verified
CITY HALL — Bars and other licensed businesses tied to repeated violence or nuisance complaints could face stricter regulations under a proposed ordinance that would give city officials more authority to require security changes and deny or revoke licenses. The ordinance stems from concerns raised by several aldermen over what they describe as “problem bars” in their wards.
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Interview

What does it mean to be a journalist?

Being a journalist means that it is your civic duty to protect the public's right to self-govern themselves.

When's the best time to pitch you?

Mornings and late evenings. I tend to be very busy starting at 1pm-5pm.