Michele Smith

The morning after an explosion that forced the shutdown of the Lincoln Park metal recycling plant, scrap metal collectors showed up looking to unload.

A Monday morning explosion sent a plume of smoke into the air and hazardous material response teams to the controversial metal-shredding plant.

Ald. Michele Smith (43rd) said she was proud of her constituents for speaking up, but she wasn't sure how the mayor would act: "We've been calling for this place to be shut down and moved for a long time."

The council will consist of neighborhood representatives, community leaders and others chosen by the mayor and Ald. Brian Hopkins.

Smith led opponent Derek Lindblom by nearly 10 points Tuesday night.

Both Smith and challenger Lindblom are well-financed, knowledgeable about the issues and poised to make the run-off election a tight one.

"We are taking what would normally be a five-minute rubber-stamp session and we are turning it into a five-hour ordeal of shame," Hideout owner Tim Tuten said.

With 89 percent of precincts reporting Tuesday night, Smith had 38 percent of the vote and Lindblom had 28 percent.

Lincoln Yards will do nothing to reduce economic or racial segregation in Chicago, Ald. Scott Waguespack said. “This will exacerbate the tale of two cities we are faced with."

Editorials in the Sun-Times, Tribune and Crain's Chicago Business called on Ald. Hopkins to slow down the approval process – but it's moving ahead.

“I never understood exactly how rigged the system is against newcomers," one candidate said. "It’s a shame. It’s old-school ward politics.”

In the crowded 43rd ward race, Ald. Michele Smith looks to keep her job amid the massive Lincoln Yards development — and an exiting mayor.

Sterling Bay initially considered the field of their proposed soccer stadium green space, which Ald. Hopkins called “unacceptable.”