We Sue, We Win (the first round)
On May 14, in what the chairman said was the longest meeting in the history of the Chicago Park District, its board of commissioners voted to cancel its contract with the Latin School of Chicago. As part of a settlement with Protect Our Parks (your humble servants), the Park District also agreed to halt all construction on the soccer facility until a hearing can be held before the Chicago Plan Commission,
and to grant the General Superintendent, Tim Mitchell (profile – PDF file), the authority to complete the artificial turf facility. If such a field is ever built, the Latin School would stand in line like everyone else. Also, the city will pay Protect Our Parks $40,000, which represents just a portion of our legal fees. This settlement did not cover all our costs by a long shot and we’re not done fighting. Donate to our legal fund now.
Under the terms of the original contract between the Park District and the Latin School, if the contract is canceled, the Park District must pay the Latin School back for its construction costs. The Park District also voted to do that, with a cap of $2 million. This project should never have been started in the first place. When the community had a chance to debate a similar construction project for the same site in 2002, there were petition drives, public meetings, extensive newspaper coverage, a citizen’s committee was formed and money was raised – the result was a loud and clear “NO!” to an artificial turf, special use sports facility on the meadow. So, now we have a construction project that was started as a result of a secret deal – one that the courts have repudiated. We think the field should revert to a grassy field – that’s what the community wanted in 2002. That’s what it was before the illegal construction project started. What do you think should happen now?
LISTEN & READ- Download a copy of the termination agreement between the Park District and the Latin School
- Download a copy of the settlement.
- Hear Mr. Simon and CPD General Counsel, Maria Guadalupe Garcia, read out the terms of the settlement. (all sound files are in WAV format)
- Hear the commissioners take a formal roll call vote on the settlement.
- Hear Board President Chico’s comments directed at Protect Our Parks, refuting claims of any back room deal, affirming the need for Astroturf, declaring commitment to finishing the field, defending the honor of Commissioner Koldyke and pledging to ‘take into account’ whatever the Chicago Plan Commission recommends.
- Hear General Superintendent Tim Mitchell’s comments directed (we think) at Protect Our Parks where he says that three days notice of any meeting is adequate, that ‘You are never, ever, ever going to get Tim Mitchell to say that he doesn’t want kids in the parks in organized sports,’ that Latin School has been using Montrose Park for decades – so where have been all that time, that the construction of the field is consistant with the Lincoln Park Framework Plan, and that Friends of the Parks was at the Board board meeting where the Latin School deal was approved.
2 Responses to “We Sue, We Win (the first round)”
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May 21st, 2008 at 05:46 AM Regarding your question: "What do you think should happen now?" You (we) must act to stop construction of the field. The park should be preserved for open space, not development of any sort. Although the Park District's version of the field would likely be less obtrusive than the Latin School's version (no corporate advertising, probably less paving of the surrounding area, hopefully no lights and elaborate fences, etc.) it would still give that area of the park a cramped urban look. In addition the location does not give convenient access to the city's population of soccer players. It only robs Park District funds from potential soccer fields in other city locations. The Lincoln Park location only made sense when the field was going to be the private domain of the Latin School. Also, you need a strategy to help defeat Vi Daley in the next election. That strategy must avoid inadvertently helping Vi by dividing the anti-Vi vote among multiple candidates.
May 21st, 2008 at 10:45 AM The opponents of the field project always seemed to have multiple agendas, all of which are evidenced in Bill's post above. Some opponents were driven by dislike of Latin. They effectively used the argument that this was a "sweetheart deal" for the school. But included in the group that didn't want Latin involved in the field project were many people who actually did want an athletic field at this site, as long as it was available to other schools and other groups at any time. (The name "Committee to Keep Lincoln Park Public" indicated a focus on stopping a public-private deal rather than a focus on stopping construction of the field itself. The petition and e-mails that were circulated were all about Latin's involvement in the project.) A second agenda of some field project opponents was a preference for open space versus an athletic field in this location. If your goal was to remove Latin's deal with the Park District, you've already won your battle, but if you want the site returned to its original grassy state, the fight is obviously not over. In fact, I think the odds will be even tougher going forward. The Park District will go through all the hoops this time around, including the Plan Commission and public hearings, so arguments about poor process may not work in the manner that they did last time. A third agenda was to build a case to unseat Vi Daley. It's interesting to think through the possibilities of how various outcomes of the field project might affect the next aldermanic election, but I doubt it's a good idea to make decisions about important projects with the goal of defeating the incumbent in a future election. I think everyone's opinion is valid, and I don't want to disparage anybody, but since you asked what should happen now, I will give my one vote to supporting the completion of the field for the use of the general public. The Committee to Keep Lincoln Park Public succeeded in keeping Lincoln Park public. The next leg of this fight falls to folks with a different agenda. Good luck to all, however this turns out.