Local universities that recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a holiday (i.e., the university is closed):

City Colleges of Chicago
University of Chicago
University of Illinois Chicago
Illinois Institute of Technology
The John Marshall Law School
Loyola University Chicago
Roosevelt University

All of these universities still have personal holidays awarded to faculty and staff.

Local universities that don't recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a holiday (i.e., the university is open):
Depaul University
Northwestern University

The original rationale for "A Day On, Not a Day Off": service to communities (not being at work as many employers try to sell it):
www.mlkday.gov/about/overview/index.asp