April 23--A proposal has surfaced at the state Capitol aimed to ensure that Chicago has the legal authority to build a Barack Obama presidential library on parkland should the city be awarded the coveted project.
The bill, set for a late Wednesday afternoon hearing, also would lend support to Mayor Rahm Emanuel's effort to bring George Lucas' museum to the lakefront by changing state law to make it clear that the city can construct museums on public parkland, "including parks located on formerly submerged lands."
The measure is aimed at "sending a message to the library foundation that we want you to choose Chicago," said Sen. Kwame Raoul, a Democrat who holds Obama's former state Senate seat.
The legislation comes a day after Cassandra Francis, president of the Friends of the Parks group that is fighting plans for the Obama library and Lucas museum on the lakefront, announced she was stepping down.
In November, the group filed a lawsuit seeking to block an Emanuel-backed plan to build the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art on land between Soldier Field and McCormick Place. A judge ruled last month that the lawsuit could move forward in federal court.
The lawsuit contends the proposed site south of Soldier Field violates the public trust. The suit argues that the Park District and the city do not have the power to authorize the project without previous approval from the Illinois General Assembly because the museum would be built on land that remains a protected waterway -- it was part of Lake Michigan until being filled in during the 1920s -- and should be preserved as natural open space.
The Park District and the city say they do not need state approval for the plans and argue that the museum will provide important public benefits.
A judge ruled March 12 that the lawsuit against the Park District and the city of Chicago can proceed. The next court date in the case has not yet been set.
Friends of the Parks also has threatened to sue if Obama decides to build his library and museum on public parkland the city has offered for the project. Emanuel and Chicago aldermen have supported a proposal by the University of Chicago to build the library in either Washington Park or Jackson Park if the university is chosen to host the presidential library.
The president is expected to make an announcement on his library location in the coming weeks.
