Obama Presidential Center & Jackson Park
Press Releases:
- Press Release: Friends of the Parks statement regarding the Supreme Court rejection of Protect Our Parks’ petition to stop construction of Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park - 8/20/2021
- Press Release: Friends of the Parks Statement Upon the Passage by City Council of the Obama Presidential Center Ordinance, October 31, 2018
- Press Release: Statement on behalf of FOTP on OPC Court Case, October 24, 2018
- Press Release Friends of the Parks press release OPC Midway parking garage October 2017
- Press Release: Statement of Friends of the Parks on Obama Presidential Center Model Unveiling – 5/3/2017
- Press Release: Excited for the Library to come to Chicago, but Disappointed it will be on Park Property – 5/12/2015
- TIME Magazine: Barack Obama Is Beloved in Chicago. But Activists Are Divided Over His Future Presidential Center - 7/19/2018
- Hyde Park Herald: Obama Foundation presents modified OPC design plan
- Curbed Chicago: Obama Foundation will build its own parking garage for presidential center
- DNAInfo: Obama Foundation Revises Plan, Will Build Presidential Center Garage Itself
- Hyde Park Herald: Obama Library CBA Coalition hosts Forum in South Shore
- Chicago Sun-Times Editorial: Southside golf course plan full of holes
- CBS Local: Head Of Friends Of The Park Thinks Obama Library Plans Are Moving Too Quickly For Input
- Crain’s Opinion: Redefine Lake Shore Drive? Here are some questions. Big ones.
- Chicago Reader: What We Know About the Future of Jackson Park
- Chicago Sun-Times: Debate over South Shore Nature Sanctuary heats up
- Chicago Tribune: Will Tiger Woods golf course displace South Shore Nature Sanctuary?
- Hyde Park Herald: Residents show up in large number for Jackson, South Shore parks meeting
- Chicago Tribune: Obama center’s landscape architect plans playground and performance lawn
- Mike Nowak Show: The Obama Library: Baby Steps for Transparency
- DNAInfo: Public Meetings On Obama Library, South Shore Golf Course Start Wednesday
- Southside Weekly: Greener Pastures: What the history of Jackson Park tells us about its uncertain future
- Curbed Chicago: Obama Foundation: Presidential center’s economic impact could be worth billions
- Chicago Now: Obama library site still a disappointment
- Chicago Tribune: Obamas unveil design of presidential center in Chicago
- Chicago Tribune: In Jackson Park, private money begins to reshape a public jewel
- DNAInfo: Obama Library May Threaten Parks’ Historic Place Status, Activists Worry
- Arch Paper: How the Obama Library and wHY’s Plan Will Revive Chicago’s Jackson Park
- Editorial: Taking Parkland for Presidential Library is not the Only Choice – 2/12/2015
- Chicago Tribune Editorial: Obama must veto Chicago parkland for legacy library
North Branch Industrial Corridor
Media Hits:
- Chicago Tribune: Commentary: Why are Chicago parks so packed? COVID-19, climate change reveal city’s need for more green space - 8/21/2020
- DNAInfo: 15-Acre Park Must Be Part Of North Branch Corridor, Petition Demands
- Our Urban Times: Is the North Branch Industrial Corridor Ordinance another done deal?: What’s the rush? What is this? Who cares?
- DNAInfo: In Rush To Help North Branch Developers, City Ignoring Community: Neighbors
- Chicago Sun-Times: Massive Chicago redevelopment plan better make room for parks
- DNAInfo: New Parks A Must For North Branch Corridor, Aldermen, Community Groups Say
Last Four Miles Initiative
News Release/Letters:
- Press Release: Groups Disappointed Illinois EPA Approved Permit for Army Corps of Engineers to Extend Dump on Southeast Side that Threatens Community and Lake Michigan with Toxic Materials - 12/10/2021
- Press Release: Army Corps of Engineers Operating CDF Pollution Dump on the 10th Ward Lakefront Without a Permit - 6/29/2021
- Chicago Tribune Letter: We invite EPA chief to see the battles we are fighting in Chicago for environmental justice; read the full letter to Michael Regan here - February 2021
- Chicago Sun-Times OpEd: Give the Southeast Side a cleaner alternative to piling up waste from dredging - 12/27/2021
- Block Club Chicago: State Says South Lakefront Dump Site Can Operate For Another Year As Army Corps Pursues Decades-Long Expansion - 12/14/2021
- Block Club Chicago: Lakefront Dump Site Opposed By Park Advocates, Southeast Siders Hasn’t Had A Valid Pollution Permit Since May 31 - 6/30/2021
- Chicago Tribune: Residents fight Army Corps plan to expand sludge tank at the mouth of the Calumet River instead of building a park - 3/24/2021
- Chicago Tribune: Fiercely proud of their home, residents of the Southeast Side — long a toxic dumping ground — are rising up against polluters - 3/24/2021
- WTTW: Community Groups Vow to Fight Plan for ‘Mountain of Dredge’ on Chicago’s Southeast Side - 10/27/2020
- Block Club Chicago: South Siders Gaining Steam In Effort To Protect Lakefront Homes From Erosion - 10/2/2020
- Chicago Reader: Residents in southeast Chicago aren’t giving up - 9/2/2020
- Chicago Reporter: What’s next for the Army Corps’ lakefront dump? - 8/21/2020
- Chicago Sun-Times Editorial Board: Seize the chance to bring new lakefront park to Chicago’s Southeast Side - 8/14/2020
- Block Club Chicago: Lakefront Dump Site Set For Decades-Long Expansion, Despite Pleas From Southeast Siders Already ‘Overwhelmed With Pollution’ - 7/24/2020
- Block Club Chicago: This Earth Day, Fight To Save The Southeast Side From Pollution, Advocates Urge: ‘This Neighborhood Is A Sacrifice Zone’ - 4/22/2020
- Hyde Park Herald: Netsch Lecture panelists decry rising lake levels, Southeast Side pollution - 2/26/2020
- The Chicago Reporter: South Chicago lakeshore dump raises environmental justice and climate crisis concerns - 2/7/2020
- CBS Chicago: Army Corps Of Engineers Wants To Expand Contaminated Sediment Dump Vertically; Calumet Park Neighbors And Park Advocates Not So Sure About It - 2/4/2020
- Chicago Tribune Letter: Give Chicago’s Southeast Side community what it deserves - 8/11/2017
- DNAInfo: Lakeside Development Dead After U.S. Steel and McCaffery Interests Split – 2/29/2016
- Crain’s: South Works developers McCaffery Interests and United States Steel split up – 2/29/2016
DuSable Park
Friends of the Parks’ Press Releases:
- Press Release: Friends of the Parks' Statement on DuSable Park and Recognition for Jean Baptiste Point DuSable and his wife, Kitihawa - 6/23/2021
- Press Release: In anticipation of construction of DuSable Park after years of waiting, Coalition holds celebration of Chicago’s founder, Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable on the day of his death, August 29
- Press Release: On the heels of planned remediation of DuSable Park, Coalition holds celebration of Chicago’s founder, Jean Baptiste Point DuSable
- Press Release: Event to Honor Founder of Chicago – 9/2/2015
- WTTW: DuSable Park Close to Becoming Reality, at Moment When Its Namesake Has Never Been More Relevant - 8/28/2020
- Chicago Sun-Times: Long-awaited lakefront park honoring DuSable makes strides - 8/21/2020
- Chicago Curbed: The long-delayed plan to rehab Chicago’s DuSable Park creeps forward: The City of Chicago has authorized a further cleanup of the lakefront peninsula’s contaminated soil - 7/20/2017
- Chicago Tribune: Park District signs contract for oft-delayed cleanup of DuSable Park on lakefront - 7/19/2017
- WTTW: Why a Historic Daniel Burnham Building Sits Empty on Chicago’s South Side – 3/7/2016
- NY Times: Tribute to Chicago Icon and Enigma – 2003
Lakefront access and preservation
Media Hits:
- Crain's: Lightfoot now holds all the cards on Chicago's big casino deal - 11/5/2021
- WBBM Newsradio: Group hopes parking lots would become green space if Bears exit Soldier Field - 9/29/2021
- NBC Chicago: After Bears' Arlington Racecourse Purchase, Experts Weigh in on Possible Future of Soldier Field - 9/29/2021
- Hyde Park Herald: Building Commission initiates major Morgan Shoal reconstruction project - 6/4/2021
Festival Framework
Media Hits:
Rails to Trails
Media Hits:
Other park Advocacy in the news
Media Hits:
- Chicago Sun-Times Editorial Board: Time to remake Chicago Park District in the wake of chief Mike Kelly’s ouster - 10/15/2021
- WBBM Newsradio: Some hope new female interim CEO can disband ‘old boys club’ at Chicago Park District - 10/14/2021
- WTTW: Amazon Delivery Lockers in Chicago Parks Create Controversy - 8/30/2021
- Block Club Chicago: Amazon Lockers Will Net Park District $137,600 At Most For First Year, Contract Shows - 8/22/2021
- Crain's: So how did those Amazon lockers land in Chicago parks, anyway? - 8/20/2021
- Block Club Chicago: Amazon Installs Huge Lockers On A Chicago Park’s Sidewalk, Confusing And Frustrating Neighbors 8/13/2021
- Grist: Biden’s big conservation plan must include cities - 5/13/2021
- Austin Weekly News: Garfield Park cleanup highlights under-investment, shortage of amenities - 4/30/2021
- WTTW: Alderman Calls for Equity in Metered Parking Along Lakefront - 3/24/2021
- Chicago Sun-Times: Lakefront ‘forever open, clear’ — and metered? Free parking ending in popular Montrose Harbor area - 3/18/2021
- Block Club Chicago: A Wealthy Family Planted Hedges On Park District Land To Make A Personal Front Yard, Inspector General Alleges - 6/30/2020
- Red Line Extension Could Run Through Parks Along Route - 2016
- Big Marsh Is a Hit With Local Cyclists, But It’s Still Challenging to Bike There - 2016
- Sun Times: South Side Residents Left Out of Park Decisions - 2016
- Hyde Park Herald: Bixler Playlot Frequenters Still Dissatisfied with Chicago Park District - 2016
- Salon: Shaping the Urban Brain: In Building Cities, Concern about Well-Being Can’t Take Backseat to Growth - 2016
Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
Friends of the Parks’ Press Releases:
- Press Release: Lucas Museum Departure Statement – 6/24/2016
- Press Release: Friends of the Parks Achieves Further Discovery Schedule – 2/17/2016
- Press Release: Friends of the Parks Prepares to File Statement Against City – 11/10/2015
- Press Release: Friends of the Parks Challenge of Lucas Museum Location Proceeds to Court – 3/12/2015|
