Mayor Rahm Emanuel maintained Wednesday that support is building for his plan to demolish McCormick Place East to make way for movie mogul George Lucas’ museum and a giant green roof with 12 new acres of lakefront park space.
“Religious, civic and community leaders. All of the museum presidents, chambers of commerce, organized labor and the building trades as well as the hotels. They all know that all of the changes we’re talking about would be a major boon culturally, economically and job-wise,” the mayor told the Chicago Sun-Times.
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Emanuel said there are “a lot of conversations happening across a broad section” of the community, including Friends of the Parks, whose lawsuit challenging Emanuel’s original museum site near Soldier Field forced the mayor to call an audible.
On Wednesday, Friends of the Park issued a statement more open-minded and encouraging to City Hall than the one the group released last week, when the Sun-Times lifted the veil on Emanuel’s new plan to keep the Lucas museum in Chicago.
“We are pleased that the mayor and the city recently opened the door to Friends of the Parks for more direct conversation about the Lucas Museum,” Friends of the Parks Executive Director Juanita Irizarry was quoted as saying in an emailed statement.
“Our intent, as it always has been, is to protect, preserve and promote parks and to ensure that everyone has the best possible access to lakefront land, while encouraging the city to find the right spot for the Lucas Museum,” she added. “We continue to seek more information and clarification as we engage in discussions with the city.
In a text message to the Sun-Times, Irizarry said she would have “nothing more to say at the moment.”
Deputy Mayor Steve Koch was equally tight-lipped. He’s negotiating with Friends of the Parks in hopes of persuading them to agree in advance not to file a lawsuit against the new site.
“They’re working on it and we’re waiting to see how they respond. They’re going through their process. I don’t see any reason to go beyond that. I don’t see how it helps us to talk about what we’re doing with them,” Koch said.
“Religious, civic and community leaders. All of the museum presidents, chambers of commerce, organized labor and the building trades as well as the hotels. They all know that all of the changes we’re talking about would be a major boon culturally, economically and job-wise,” the mayor told the Chicago Sun-Times.
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Emanuel said there are “a lot of conversations happening across a broad section” of the community, including Friends of the Parks, whose lawsuit challenging Emanuel’s original museum site near Soldier Field forced the mayor to call an audible.
On Wednesday, Friends of the Park issued a statement more open-minded and encouraging to City Hall than the one the group released last week, when the Sun-Times lifted the veil on Emanuel’s new plan to keep the Lucas museum in Chicago.
“We are pleased that the mayor and the city recently opened the door to Friends of the Parks for more direct conversation about the Lucas Museum,” Friends of the Parks Executive Director Juanita Irizarry was quoted as saying in an emailed statement.
“Our intent, as it always has been, is to protect, preserve and promote parks and to ensure that everyone has the best possible access to lakefront land, while encouraging the city to find the right spot for the Lucas Museum,” she added. “We continue to seek more information and clarification as we engage in discussions with the city.
In a text message to the Sun-Times, Irizarry said she would have “nothing more to say at the moment.”
Deputy Mayor Steve Koch was equally tight-lipped. He’s negotiating with Friends of the Parks in hopes of persuading them to agree in advance not to file a lawsuit against the new site.
“They’re working on it and we’re waiting to see how they respond. They’re going through their process. I don’t see any reason to go beyond that. I don’t see how it helps us to talk about what we’re doing with them,” Koch said.
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