Chicago tumultuous 1968 Democratic National Convention, which featured physical confrontations both inside and outside the convention hall, with anti-war protesters, journalists and bystanders being beaten by police. Major construction projects, including the Sears Tower (now known as the Willis Tower, which in 1974 became the world's tallest building), University of Illinois at Chicago, McCormick Place, and O'Hare International Airport, were undertaken during Richard J. Daley's tenure. In 1979, Jane Byrne, the city's first female mayor, was elected. She was notable for temporarily moving into the crime-ridden Cabrini-Green housing project and for leading Chicago's school system out of a financial crisis. In
Sears, Roebuck & Company Mail Order Building (Los Angeles, California) Deco tower and "Sears" sign became a "beacon for Eastsiders returning home on area freeways," and has been described by the Los Angeles Conservancy as "one of the dominant visual icons of the Eastside" of Los Angeles. The distribution center was closed in January 1992, eliminating jobs for 585 full-time workers and 775 part-timers. The facility's general manager said at the time that the Boyle Heights center was the most expensive that Sears operated, partly because the facilities were "outdated." In 2004, developer MJW Investments announced it had acquired the building and would make it the centerpiece of a proposed