More Bleats from the Sheep

An editorial berating the alderman who supported Daley's tax increase.

"Our guess is that the mayor's next effort to humiliate the aldermen will involve the attempt by the Chicago Children's Museum to relocate to Grant Park. Many aldermen don't want to vote on the museum project, some because they want to protect Grant Park and some because they know what else is at stake.

Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) opposes the museum project, which is in his ward. If the other aldermen abandon him and vote to permit it, they'll do so knowing that Daley, who has supported the museum's attempted land grab, can do whatever he wants in their neighborhoods. They'll have voluntarily surrendered to the mayor their prerogative to direct development in their wards. This will be the controlling precedent -- despite cooed reassurances that this grab is somehow unique.

Maybe the museum folks will step away from their fixation on Grant Park. Maybe the mayor will offer them any of several alternate sites in wards longing for new development and not so burdened with traffic congestion.

Or maybe the Chicago City Sheep will beg Daley to tell them his wishes -- and anxiously bleat their approval."

More bleats from the sheep -- chicagotribune.com (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-1115edit2nov15,0,6221298.story)

Bob O'Neill, President of both the Grant Park Conservancy and the Grant Park Advisory Council revealed at a Monday evening meeting at Daley Bicentennial, that all of Grant Park from Columbus to the Cancer Survival Park's Western wall and from Randolph to Monroe would be leveled in order to complete necessary repairs to the garage below. The meeting was designed to discuss what the citizens would like to see become of Grant Park. Apparently, however, the decision was already made. It was revealed that over 400 parking spaces, directly below the current dilapidated Daley Bicentennial Field House, were not leased out with the rest of the parking structure. This was done in anticipation of the Chicago Children's Museum taking over that entire northern end of Grant Park. Unless the Children's Museum is permitted to be built there, this rapidly increasing neighborhood would not get a replacement field house. Mr. O'Neill kept referring to the future of Grant Park as an attraction and destination, yet was very evasive as to what that actually meant. I think I speak for the majority of Chicagoans in saying that Grant Park is in and of itself a beautiful attraction and destination. We need this space to stay open, free and clear as upheld by the Supreme Court in four seperate decisions. This is a despicable land grab that is holding not just the neighborhood, but the entire city, hostage to the whims of a few philantropists and the Children's Museum. Where do Mayor Daley and Bob O'Neill get off thinking they can decide to do as they will with the city's park?!

Is that really true? It doesn't change things, but it's very sad if our people in office put that in the deal to Morgan Stanley and already anticipated the invasion of Grant Park/Daley Bi by some institution or other commercial purpose?

Not that it matters now, but I remember the lease being discussed by Natarus before he lost office - did he know about this aspect?

Eric