One hundred and twelve years is a long life for anyone.
And South Works' closing today after more than a century ofservice to the city and the nation will be mourned by a lot ofChicagoans for much more than its longevity.
The structural steel mill at 3430 E. 87th St. enabled itsworkers to buy homes, send their children to college, and enjoy amiddle-class life.
During World War II, the steel mill employed 20,000 workers,symbolizing Chicago's industrial might.
But South Works slowly began to lose its muscle. By January,it employed only 650 workers and USX Corp. announced that it wasclosing the plant, which covers 585 acres of lakefront property.
The grand old man of steel no longer could compete withultra-modern, non-union mini-mills that made structural steel muchless expensively than South Works.
Before deciding to shut the factory, USX and Local 65 of theUnited Steel Workers of America tried to find someone willing toinvest $140 million to modernize the plant.
They found no takers.
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