March 04--The Chicago Cubs were hoping for a warm winter. Mayor Rahm Emanuel was hoping he'd be re-elected without a runoff. Both were disappointed.
And now both are scrambling.
The Cubs' home opener is April 5. The Chicago runoff election is April 7.
What does one have to do with the other? The long-awaited Wrigley Field renovation project is so far behind that the Cubs want the city to allow construction to continue 24/7. The last thing Emanuel needs is for the stadium's neighbors to lie awake at night in the weeks leading up to the election, cursing the noise -- and the mayor.
That might explain why Emanuel was quick to point out Tuesday that city code limits construction to between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. -- as if he couldn't bend the rules if he wanted to. He also sounded a bit annoyed that the request was relayed through reporters who had toured the construction zone Monday.
It might seem that Emanuel has little to worry about in the friendly confines of the 44th Ward, which includes the ballpark. In the Feb. 24 primary, he collected 64 percent of the vote there; his runoff opponent, Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, got 27 percent.
Wrigleyville residents are accustomed to round-the-clock commotion, with a bustling bar and restaurant scene and the CTA Red Line roaring back and forth all day and night. A little banging from the bleacher area might not be a big deal to many of them.
But others are already out of sorts about the daily disruptions associated with the project: parking headaches, big trucks, dust, congestion -- and an explosion in the local rat population that may or may not be attributable to the demolition of the old bleachers. Those neighbors are in no mood to make further concessions to the wealthy Ricketts family, which owns the Cubs.
"They just keep coming back for more, and now is enough," said Jim Spencer, president of East Lake View Neighbors.
The Cubs blame the construction delays on cold weather, especially in November and February. But if Emanuel were to grant them permission to work overnight to make up the lost days, he'd open himself yet again to claims that he's focused on helping "the 1 percent." That's a Garcia talking point that resonates far outside the 44th Ward.
Never mind that the mayor's negotiating team persuaded the Cubs' owners to invest $500 million of their own money to renovate the stadium and redevelop the surrounding parcels. Emanuel deserves huge credit for that. Instead, he gets blamed for the rats.
How far behind is the Wrigley makeover? In January, the Cubs said the new bleachers wouldn't be ready until May; now, the right field bleachers are on track to open in June. The left and center field bleachers are on track to open May 11, but some of the left field bathrooms won't be ready, and the left field concourse will be open, but not complete.
So fans who attend those early games can expect long walks to the bathroom, long waits in line, lots of dust and detours and ongoing construction even during the games. (Also, it will probably be cold. Should that surprise anyone?)
And this is only stage one. The Cubs' supposed four-year construction timetable already promises to outlast whichever candidate is elected mayor on April 7. You read it here first: Four more years.
