Congress Parkway will be renamed for civil rights icon Ida B. Wells to avoid a bitter battle with Italian-Americans triggered by the resurrected proposal to rename Balbo Drive. Compromise talks aimed at finding an appropriate street to rename Ida B. Wells Drive had come down to a choice between Congress Parkway and Wells Street with Wells having the edge because it would not inconvenience businesses and homeowners at all with a change of address.

Wells Street currently honors the memory of William Wells, an Army captain killed in the Battle of Fort Dearborn in 1812. But after huddling Tuesday with City Council champions of the Balbo renaming, Transportation Committee Chairman Anthony Beale (9th) said the three aldermen settled on Congress.