CHICAGO _ The judge overseeing the federal lawsuit challenging the construction of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago's Jackson Park said Wednesday he does not expect the case to drag on as both sides seek a quick answer on whether the facility can be built.
"Lingering's not gonna happen," U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey told lawyers in the case at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse.
An environmental group known as Protect Our Parks has sued, arguing that the city and Chicago Park District should not build the Obama project in the park. Transferring parkland to a private entity such as the Obama Foundation is a violation of Park District code and state law, the plaintiffs contend.
Lawyers for the city and the Park District, the defendants in the suit, have answered that the project is not a violation of the law, and that the suit is misguided. They expect to file a motion to dismiss it after the City Council votes at the end of the month on a new ordinance governing the project.
Attorney Andrew Worseck told the judge the ordinance will affect how the case is argued, and the council should vote on it Oct. 31.
"Then that would be the appropriate time to file a dispositive motion," Worseck said.
Blakey told the two sides he recognizes Protect Our Parks wants to give the plan a quick "no," and the city wants the suit dismissed immediately. The Obama center could break ground next year if the way is cleared for construction.
Still, the judge said discovery should continue during the next few months, and he did not set a trial date in the hearing Wednesday. That will come at a planned case-management conference on Dec. 5, Blakey said.
