As a Chicagoan, I can confidently assert that no locals would touch (or miss) that stupid thing. The parade of tourists that think it's great however? They'll be drinking that shit lol
The bean is a sculpture whose "reflective surface was inspired by liquid mercury" (Source). This post implies it's actually made of mercury and has now melted. The linked webpage says it's made of steel, but as we all know, it takes a lot of heat to melt steel beans.
Chicagoam here. The bean is just a stupid tourist attraction. If you want to see real outdoor art in the city, go find the Picasso. It's like a story and a half tall, you can't miss it.