Editing Willis Tower (section)

== Naming rights ==
[[File:Willis Tower.jpg|thumb|upright|West facade and entrance]]
Sears sold the tower in 1994 and vacated it by 1995, but retained naming rights through 2003. The new owners were rebuffed in renaming deals with [[CDW]] Corp in 2005 and the U.S. Olympic Committee in 2008. British insurance broker Willis Group Holdings leased more than {{convert|140000|sqft|m2}} of space on three floors in 2009. A Willis spokesman said the naming rights were obtained as part of the negotiations at no cost to Willis<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-talk-willis-towerjul16,0,4222230.story|date=July 16, 2009|title=Sears Tower Now Willis|work=Chicago Tribune|access-date=July 16, 2009|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120703141848/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2009-07-16/news/0907160161_1_sears-tower-hush-changed|archive-date=July 3, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> and the building was renamed the Willis Tower on July 16, 2009.<ref name=podmolik>{{cite news|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-talk-willis-towerjul16,0,4222230.story|title=Sears Tower name change: Building today officially becomes Willis Tower|first=Mary Ellen|last=Podmolik|date=July 16, 2009|work=Chicago Tribune|access-date=July 16, 2009|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120703141848/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2009-07-16/news/0907160161_1_sears-tower-hush-changed|archive-date=July 3, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The naming rights are valid for 15 years, so it is possible that the building's name could change again as soon as 2024.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-talk-willis-towerjul16,0,4222230.story|title=Burns on Business, Willis Wants to be Part of Chicago by Way of Jersey|first=Greg|last=Burns|date=July 16, 2009|work=Chicago Tribune|access-date=July 16, 2009|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120703141848/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2009-07-16/news/0907160161_1_sears-tower-hush-changed|archive-date=July 3, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> The ''Chicago Tribune'' joked that the building's new name reminded them of the oft-repeated "What you talkin' 'bout, Willis?" catchphrase from the American television sitcom ''[[Diff'rent Strokes]]''<ref name=podmolik /> and considered the name-change ill-advised in "a city with a deep appreciation of tradition and a healthy ego, where some Chicagoans still mourn [[Marshall Field's#Federated acquisition, renaming and protest|the switch]] from [[Marshall Field's]] to [[Macy's]]".<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Podmolik|first1= Mary Ellen|year= 2009 |title= Sears Tower name change has few Chicago fans – Willis Tower may have trouble winning over public|journal=Chicago Tribune|issue= March 13, 2009|url= http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-fri-willis-tower-0313-mar13,0,1361480.story}}</ref> This feeling was confirmed in a July 16, 2009, CNN article in which some Chicago-area residents expressed reluctance to accept the Willis Tower name,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/16/sears.tower.renamed/index.html|title=Sears Tower Now Named Willis Tower|date=July 16, 2009|publisher=CNN|access-date=July 17, 2009}}</ref> and in an article that appeared in the October 2010 issue of [[Chicago (magazine)|''Chicago'']] magazine that ranked the building among Chicago's 40 most important, the author pointedly refused to acknowledge the name change and referred to the building as the "Sears Tower".<ref>{{cite journal|last1= Johnson|first1= Geoffrey|year= 2010|title= Top 40 Buildings in Chicago|journal= Chicago|issue= October 2010|url= http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/October-2010/Top-40-Buildings-in-Chicago/index.php?cparticle=4&siarticle=3|access-date= October 12, 2010|archive-date= December 24, 2018|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181224074342/https://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/October-2010/Top-40-Buildings-in-Chicago/index.php?cparticle=4&siarticle=3|url-status= dead}}</ref> [[Time (magazine)|''Time'' magazine]] called the name change one of the top 10 worst corporate name changes and pointed to negative press coverage by local news outlets and online petitions from angry residents.<ref>{{cite magazine| url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1914815_1914808_1914812,00.html| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100222031252/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1914815_1914808_1914812,00.html| url-status=dead| archive-date=February 22, 2010| title=Top 10 Worst Corporate Name Changes: It's the Sears Tower|last=Suddath| first=Claire| magazine=TIME| date=February 8, 2010|access-date=February 8, 2010}}</ref> The naming rights issue continued into 2013, when [[Eric Zorn]] noted in the ''Chicago Tribune'' that "We're stubborn about such things. This month marked four years since the former Sears Tower was re-christened Willis Tower, and the new name has yet to stick."<ref>{{cite journal|last1= Zorn|first1= Eric|year= 2013|title= Change of Subject – "Thillens Stadium" is no more|journal=Chicago Tribune|issue= June 24, 2013|url= http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-oped-0623-zorn-20130623,0,7213374.column|access-date= June 23, 2013|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130622095657/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-oped-0623-zorn-20130623,0,7213374.column|archive-date= June 22, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>