For most of its existence, the Illinois Medical District has been a massive — and not entirely friendly-looking — campus of large institutional buildings, crisscrossed by wide, greenless streets.

Functional, yes. But the 560-acre Near West Side district, which is home to a host of entities ranging from John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital and Rush University Medical Center to the FBI headquarters, too often felt big, cold and disconnected from the surrounding city.

But the district has been improving over the last decade or so with more green space and retail buildings. There’s even talk about the district working with the city and state to narrow the overly-wide commercial streets that crisscross the campus.

Another promising move was last month’s ceremonial groundbreaking of a state-funded $5

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