FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 10, 2021 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 Environmental and community groups call on IEPA to deny additional permits for that site Chicago – Local community groups and environmental organizations learned on December 10, 2021, that the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency approved the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ permit application to extend operations for another year of a waste dump by the Lake Michigan shoreline on the Southeast Side of Chicago. The dump holds dredged materials from the Calumet River that pose a threat of toxic pollution of Lake Michigan and could harm the community, which is already overburdened with environmental pollutants. Contaminants identified in the sediment from the dredged waters include mercury, PCBs, arsenic, barium, cadmium, manganese, chromium, copper, lead, and more.
The Confined Disposal Facility, created in 1984, was supposed to be sealed and turned over to the Chicago Park District in 2022 to become a public park for Southeast Side neighbors to enjoy. In addition to the permit granted today, the Army Corps is seeking to expand the CDF by building a new larger, dredge dump facility on and around the existing site. Today’s permit will be thoroughly reviewed and next steps are being evaluated. Amalia NietoGomez, Executive Director, Alliance of the SouthEast (ASE): “This is the third environmental issue this week that affects the Southeast Side—an EJ community. I find this quite disturbing that the CDF was approved especially given concerns at the public meeting about water quality and whether the berm walls were compromised due to wave action caused by climate change.” Juanita Irizarry, Executive Director, Friends of the Parks: “After participating in a subpar Illinois EPA-led public input process over the summer, Friends of the Parks is not surprised that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was granted a permit extension to operate the Confined Disposal Facility. It is clear that the health and well-being of Southeast Side community residents are not being prioritized. We remain determined to resist any efforts to drag out the closure of the CDF and its conversion to a park as promised.” Kiana Courtney, Staff Attorney, Environmental Law & Policy Center: “We were disappointed that Illinois EPA granted a permit extension to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a waste dump sitting in Lake Michigan in a community already overburdened with environmental pollution. While we understand the permit was modified based on public comments, we are still reviewing the full impact of those modifications. ELPC is determined to work with our partners to advocate for Illinois EPA to deny additional permits for this site to protect the health of nearby community residents and Lake Michigan.” Tags:
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Friends of the Parks statement regarding the Supreme Court rejection of Protect Our Parks’ petition |
August 18, 2021 |
As the DuSable Park Coalition nears the actualization of DuSable Park, Coalition holds commemoration of Chicago’s founder,
Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, on August 21st near the date of his death
Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, on August 21st near the date of his death
CHICAGO: In anticipation of the construction of DuSable Park, the DuSable Park Coalition will host its annual memorial ceremony marking the death of Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, at 401 North Michigan Avenue, August 21, 2021, from 11:00am – 12pm, with tours of the Founder’s Trail to follow directly after the ceremony.
What: Every year the DuSable Park Coalition gathers at the bust of DuSable to host the Annual Commemoration and Wreath Laying Ceremony near the date of DuSable’s death. Faheem Majeed’s Floating Museum featuring the inflatable structure, “Founders,” will be erected at the DuSable Harbor for the event. The Founder’s Trail will end at DuSable Harbor, where the Floating Museum will be displayed, along with drummers from the Sixty Fourth Street Beach Drummers. Starla Thompson, Potawatomi, and Chicago born educator and activist, will perform at DuSable Harbor at 6pm and will be on site during the ceremony.
Who: The current active members of the DuSable Park Coalition includes: DuSable Heritage Association, Friends of the Parks, Harold Washington Legacy Committee, DuSable Park Advisory Council, Bronzeville Children’s Museum, Friends of DuSable, Streeterville Organization of Active Residents (SOAR), American Indian Center-Chicago, DuSable Museum of African American History.
Why: For decades Friends of the Parks has coordinated the DuSable Park Coalition to hold together Mayor Harold Washington’s vision of dedicating the parcel of land at the confluence of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan for DuSable Park. Over thirty years later, the parcel still sits vacant. The DuSable Park Coalition gathers each year to bring recognition for DuSable and his wife Kitihawa with a dream of one day gathering at DuSable Park to host the commemoration. This year, the Coalition inched closer to that dream with commitments from Mayor Lori Lightfoot to provide $25 million in funding along with statues to memorialize DuSable and Kitihawa. This announcement of funding by the mayor is in addition to last year’s $5 million Open Space Impact Fees (OSIF) commitment that passed City Council and a $10 million commitment from Related Midwest. We are especially proud that the Coalition’s annual event has inspired Mayor Lightfoot to express her intent to honor DuSable every summer with a festival in August. While the Coalition feels progress has been made, the DuSable Park Advisory Council (DPAC) is still a homeless lakeshore PAC and is eager to get started on framework and design plans for the park. Over 30 years is too long to wait while other park district investments have been prioritized and completed.
When: Saturday, August 21, 2021 – there will be both in-person and virtual components:
In-Person Program:
11:00 am The "Wreath Laying Ceremony"
12:20 pm "The Founder's Trail Tour," brought to us by the DuSable Heritage Association
1:15 pm The Sixty Fourth Street Beach Drummers
Performance at Founders Inflatable Near DuSable Harbor
6:00 pm Floating Museum presents TRANSLATOR featuring Starla Thompson (Potawatomi and Chumash) and Lional 'Brother El' Freeman
Zoom Platform Presentation:
11:00 am The "Wreath Laying Ceremony" (Live)
12:20 pm Panel Discussion | Black Chicago Past and Present
1:15 pm DHA Presents: "The Founder's Trail Tour Video"
1:40 pm DHA Presents: "The History of Advocacy: DuSable Park Video"
Where: 401 N. Michigan Avenue by the Apple Store and the stairs to the Chicago River. The Founder’s Trail Tours will start immediately after the ceremony and will end at the DuSable Harbor.
Quotes from Coalition Leaders:
“Friends of the Parks has been proud to hold space over the years for such an important project which honors Mayor Harold Washington’s intention of memorializing Chicago’s first non-native settler, a Black man of Haitian descent, with a park in his name,” said Juanita Irizarry. “Through the years we have watched as other parks are constructed and prioritized while the parcel for DuSable sat vacant. We’re very excited by the recent commitment from Mayor Lori Lightfoot to provide funding and statues for the park and look forward to sharing the vision cast by various community members, boosters, and advocates over the years to bring recognition to Jean Baptiste Point DuSable and his wife Kitihawa.”
“The DuSable Park Coalition is honored to present this year’s commemoration on the heels of announcements from Mayor Lightfoot which promises to provide $25 million in funding along with several statues honoring DuSable and his wife Kitihawa,” said DuSable Park Coalition President, Dr. Serge JC Pierre-Louis. “The commemoration is always a special moment, but this year will be particularly impactful. As someone who has been at the table for decades, it is rewarding to see the recent spotlight on Jean Baptiste Point DuSable and that he and Kitihawa are receiving recognition.”
Over the decades, the DuSable Park Coalition has included and collaborated with representatives from several local organizations and elected officials including Alderman Brendan Reilly, American Indian Center, Art Institute of Chicago, Bronzeville Children’s Museum, Chicago History Museum, Chicago River Rowing and Paddling Center, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Congressman Danny Davis, DuSable Heritage Association, DuSable Museum of African American History, Floating Museum, Friends of DuSable, Friends of the Parks, Haitian Consulate of Chicago, Streeterville Organization of Active Residents and the Sustainable Englewood Initiative. The group revitalized its efforts to galvanize support for and to encourage the Chicago Park District to move ahead with construction of DuSable Park, under the leadership of Friends of the Parks starting five years ago. Friends of the Parks also catalyzed the formation of the DuSable Park Advisory Council in 2018 to help ensure continuity and public input when the Chicago Park District revisits the 2006 DuSable Park Framework plan as this park project moves toward fruition.
Friends of the Parks (FOTP) is an Illinois not-for-profit organization founded in 1975. Our mission is to inspire, equip, and mobilize a diverse Chicago to ensure an equitable park system for a healthy Chicago. Friends of the Parks envisions a well-balanced Chicago Park system, protected by Chicagoans, for Chicagoans, to advance the individual community, public, ecological, and economic health and well-being of our city.
COVID-19 DISCLAIMER: We promote and urge all participants to practice COVID-19 safety measures at all times. Due to the Delta variant uptick in COVID-19 cases, we strongly suggest face coverings and proper PPE be worn during your participation.
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What: Every year the DuSable Park Coalition gathers at the bust of DuSable to host the Annual Commemoration and Wreath Laying Ceremony near the date of DuSable’s death. Faheem Majeed’s Floating Museum featuring the inflatable structure, “Founders,” will be erected at the DuSable Harbor for the event. The Founder’s Trail will end at DuSable Harbor, where the Floating Museum will be displayed, along with drummers from the Sixty Fourth Street Beach Drummers. Starla Thompson, Potawatomi, and Chicago born educator and activist, will perform at DuSable Harbor at 6pm and will be on site during the ceremony.
Who: The current active members of the DuSable Park Coalition includes: DuSable Heritage Association, Friends of the Parks, Harold Washington Legacy Committee, DuSable Park Advisory Council, Bronzeville Children’s Museum, Friends of DuSable, Streeterville Organization of Active Residents (SOAR), American Indian Center-Chicago, DuSable Museum of African American History.
Why: For decades Friends of the Parks has coordinated the DuSable Park Coalition to hold together Mayor Harold Washington’s vision of dedicating the parcel of land at the confluence of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan for DuSable Park. Over thirty years later, the parcel still sits vacant. The DuSable Park Coalition gathers each year to bring recognition for DuSable and his wife Kitihawa with a dream of one day gathering at DuSable Park to host the commemoration. This year, the Coalition inched closer to that dream with commitments from Mayor Lori Lightfoot to provide $25 million in funding along with statues to memorialize DuSable and Kitihawa. This announcement of funding by the mayor is in addition to last year’s $5 million Open Space Impact Fees (OSIF) commitment that passed City Council and a $10 million commitment from Related Midwest. We are especially proud that the Coalition’s annual event has inspired Mayor Lightfoot to express her intent to honor DuSable every summer with a festival in August. While the Coalition feels progress has been made, the DuSable Park Advisory Council (DPAC) is still a homeless lakeshore PAC and is eager to get started on framework and design plans for the park. Over 30 years is too long to wait while other park district investments have been prioritized and completed.
When: Saturday, August 21, 2021 – there will be both in-person and virtual components:
In-Person Program:
11:00 am The "Wreath Laying Ceremony"
12:20 pm "The Founder's Trail Tour," brought to us by the DuSable Heritage Association
1:15 pm The Sixty Fourth Street Beach Drummers
Performance at Founders Inflatable Near DuSable Harbor
6:00 pm Floating Museum presents TRANSLATOR featuring Starla Thompson (Potawatomi and Chumash) and Lional 'Brother El' Freeman
Zoom Platform Presentation:
11:00 am The "Wreath Laying Ceremony" (Live)
12:20 pm Panel Discussion | Black Chicago Past and Present
1:15 pm DHA Presents: "The Founder's Trail Tour Video"
1:40 pm DHA Presents: "The History of Advocacy: DuSable Park Video"
Where: 401 N. Michigan Avenue by the Apple Store and the stairs to the Chicago River. The Founder’s Trail Tours will start immediately after the ceremony and will end at the DuSable Harbor.
- All in-person activities will be live streamed via Friends of the Parks' Facebook Live here.
- Zoom Information: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82116265951, Meeting ID: 821 1626 5951
Quotes from Coalition Leaders:
“Friends of the Parks has been proud to hold space over the years for such an important project which honors Mayor Harold Washington’s intention of memorializing Chicago’s first non-native settler, a Black man of Haitian descent, with a park in his name,” said Juanita Irizarry. “Through the years we have watched as other parks are constructed and prioritized while the parcel for DuSable sat vacant. We’re very excited by the recent commitment from Mayor Lori Lightfoot to provide funding and statues for the park and look forward to sharing the vision cast by various community members, boosters, and advocates over the years to bring recognition to Jean Baptiste Point DuSable and his wife Kitihawa.”
“The DuSable Park Coalition is honored to present this year’s commemoration on the heels of announcements from Mayor Lightfoot which promises to provide $25 million in funding along with several statues honoring DuSable and his wife Kitihawa,” said DuSable Park Coalition President, Dr. Serge JC Pierre-Louis. “The commemoration is always a special moment, but this year will be particularly impactful. As someone who has been at the table for decades, it is rewarding to see the recent spotlight on Jean Baptiste Point DuSable and that he and Kitihawa are receiving recognition.”
Over the decades, the DuSable Park Coalition has included and collaborated with representatives from several local organizations and elected officials including Alderman Brendan Reilly, American Indian Center, Art Institute of Chicago, Bronzeville Children’s Museum, Chicago History Museum, Chicago River Rowing and Paddling Center, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Congressman Danny Davis, DuSable Heritage Association, DuSable Museum of African American History, Floating Museum, Friends of DuSable, Friends of the Parks, Haitian Consulate of Chicago, Streeterville Organization of Active Residents and the Sustainable Englewood Initiative. The group revitalized its efforts to galvanize support for and to encourage the Chicago Park District to move ahead with construction of DuSable Park, under the leadership of Friends of the Parks starting five years ago. Friends of the Parks also catalyzed the formation of the DuSable Park Advisory Council in 2018 to help ensure continuity and public input when the Chicago Park District revisits the 2006 DuSable Park Framework plan as this park project moves toward fruition.
Friends of the Parks (FOTP) is an Illinois not-for-profit organization founded in 1975. Our mission is to inspire, equip, and mobilize a diverse Chicago to ensure an equitable park system for a healthy Chicago. Friends of the Parks envisions a well-balanced Chicago Park system, protected by Chicagoans, for Chicagoans, to advance the individual community, public, ecological, and economic health and well-being of our city.
COVID-19 DISCLAIMER: We promote and urge all participants to practice COVID-19 safety measures at all times. Due to the Delta variant uptick in COVID-19 cases, we strongly suggest face coverings and proper PPE be worn during your participation.
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Army Corps of Engineers Operating CDF Pollution Dump on the 10th Ward Lakefront Without a Permit
6/29/2021
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, June 29, 2021 | CONTACT: Abigail Johnston Friends of the Parks Policy and Communications Associate (312) 857-2757 ext. 4 [email protected] |
Army Corps of Engineers Operating CDF Pollution Dump on the 10th Ward Lakefront Without a Permit
CHICAGO – Friends of the Parks (FOTP) has confirmed that the Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps) is operating the Confined Disposal Facility (CDF) pollution dump without a valid Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IL EPA) water pollution control permit. The Army Corps’ previous National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit expired on May 31, 2021.
The CDF pollution dump sits on the shore of Lake Michigan at the confluence of the Calumet River, in between Calumet and Steelworkers Park. It was supposed to be capped and turned into parkland after its intended closure in 2022, but now the Army Corps' most recent proposal would expand the CDF 25-feet vertically, and extend its life for decades in Chicago’s 10th Ward, an Environmental Justice community.
FOTP has unveiled information via Freedom of Information Act requests, which show that the CDF is already leaching PCBs, mercury, arsenic, and lead into the water supply. Furthermore, toxins set out to dry after being dredged from the bottom of the river, can become airborne and contribute to air pollution in the neighborhood.
“To learn that the Illinois EPA is allowing the Army Corps to operate the CDF for weeks now, without an active water pollution control permit in the 10th Ward, an Environmental Justice community, is deeply concerning. This community is already overburdened with pollution and environmental battles, so the Army Corps' lack of transparency and urgency to ensure that the CDF pollution dump is operating legally and safely, is troubling and should sound the alarms for intervention from our public officials,” said Juanita Irizarry, executive director of Friends of the Parks. “The lakefront is no place for a pollution dump, especially this lakefront facing serious lakefront erosion. Just last summer we saw the water rise to the top of the step of the Calumet Beach House. We would like to see the Army Corps follow protocol, but we’d also like to see them go back to the drawing board, and come up with a more suitable solution outside the 10th Ward or any EJ community.”
For decades, the Army Corps has continued to dump toxic dredge in this facility, which was originally intended to last for just 10 years. The Illinois General Assembly’s legislative intent at the outset was for the land to be turned over to the Chicago Park District, for the construction of a new park for the Southeast Side community after 10 years of operation. Currently, the land is owned by the park district, but they are complying with the City’s plans via the Chicago Department of Transportation’s commitment to participate as a cost share partner, and keep the CDF operating at that site for at least two more decades.
Friends of the Parks is a 45-year old non-profit park advocacy organization whose mission is to “inspire, equip, and mobilize a diverse Chicago to ensure an equitable park system for a healthy Chicago.”
The CDF pollution dump sits on the shore of Lake Michigan at the confluence of the Calumet River, in between Calumet and Steelworkers Park. It was supposed to be capped and turned into parkland after its intended closure in 2022, but now the Army Corps' most recent proposal would expand the CDF 25-feet vertically, and extend its life for decades in Chicago’s 10th Ward, an Environmental Justice community.
FOTP has unveiled information via Freedom of Information Act requests, which show that the CDF is already leaching PCBs, mercury, arsenic, and lead into the water supply. Furthermore, toxins set out to dry after being dredged from the bottom of the river, can become airborne and contribute to air pollution in the neighborhood.
“To learn that the Illinois EPA is allowing the Army Corps to operate the CDF for weeks now, without an active water pollution control permit in the 10th Ward, an Environmental Justice community, is deeply concerning. This community is already overburdened with pollution and environmental battles, so the Army Corps' lack of transparency and urgency to ensure that the CDF pollution dump is operating legally and safely, is troubling and should sound the alarms for intervention from our public officials,” said Juanita Irizarry, executive director of Friends of the Parks. “The lakefront is no place for a pollution dump, especially this lakefront facing serious lakefront erosion. Just last summer we saw the water rise to the top of the step of the Calumet Beach House. We would like to see the Army Corps follow protocol, but we’d also like to see them go back to the drawing board, and come up with a more suitable solution outside the 10th Ward or any EJ community.”
For decades, the Army Corps has continued to dump toxic dredge in this facility, which was originally intended to last for just 10 years. The Illinois General Assembly’s legislative intent at the outset was for the land to be turned over to the Chicago Park District, for the construction of a new park for the Southeast Side community after 10 years of operation. Currently, the land is owned by the park district, but they are complying with the City’s plans via the Chicago Department of Transportation’s commitment to participate as a cost share partner, and keep the CDF operating at that site for at least two more decades.
Friends of the Parks is a 45-year old non-profit park advocacy organization whose mission is to “inspire, equip, and mobilize a diverse Chicago to ensure an equitable park system for a healthy Chicago.”
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, June 23, 2021 | Contact: Abigail Johnston Friends of the Parks Policy and Communications Associate (312) 857-2757 ext. 4 [email protected] |
Friends of the Parks' Statement on DuSable Park and Recognition for Jean Baptiste Point DuSable and his wife, Kitihawa
As support staff to the 30-plus year collective DuSable Park Coalition struggle to actualize DuSable Park, Friends of the Parks is most delighted that this public debate has greatly heightened the profile of Chicago’s first non-native settler, Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, a Black Haitian man, and his wife, Kitihawa, of the Pottawotami tribe. As a parks organization, we have no formal position on the proposal to change the name of Lake Shore Drive to DuSable Drive. But whatever forms it may take, we believe that a tribute to the role of these people of color and the tribe that helped make possible the permanent settlement that became Chicago is long overdue.
Also long overdue is the recognition of and consultation with the activists and neighbors who have labored for years as DuSable Park boosters. These include leaders of the Haitian community; champions of the legacy of Chicago’s first African-American mayor, Harold Washington; representatives of
Chicago’s Native American community; Streeterville residents and businesses; and various local museums. They have led advocacy, tracked progress, met with developers and aldermen, helped design a DuSable Park Framework Plan, led an annual commemoration and tour, and cast the vision for the DuSable Heritage Corridor as a key educational and tourist destination that is now being articulated as the mayor’s vision. It has been Friends of the Parks’ honor to help support this coalition behind the scenes over the years, so we know that it is these community leaders that have laid the foundation for what is now coming into wider view.
“Regardless of the outcome of City officials’ maneuvers and whether there is any seriousness to the proposal to rename Millennium Park for DuSable, what has been missing from the recent proposals has been the inclusion of the community groups that for decades have centered the effort to bring to fruition the late Mayor Harold Washington’s intent to establish DuSable Park,” said Juanita Irizarry, executive director of Friends of the Parks. “While other efforts to honor DuSable can be complementary, there already is a strong sense of community ownership organized around a Chicago Park District owned-parcel named DuSable Park—a strategically located site at the confluence of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan where pollution clean-up recently has been completed en route to the development of the long-promised park near the site of DuSable’s settlement.”
In line with our annual tradition that is part of advocating for DuSable Park, we and our fellow members of the DuSable Park Coalition are in the midst of planning for the DuSable Commemoration and Wreathing Ceremony which remembers the August day that Jean Baptiste Point DuSable died. Over the years, the commemoration has taken on even more meaning, serving as a reminder as to how long it has been since Harold Washington dedicated the still-undeveloped DuSable Park.
This year’s event will take place on Saturday, August 21. Building on last year’s enhanced program with a new collaboration with the Magnificent Mile Association and the Native American Chamber of Commerce, this year promises to be the biggest celebration yet. The full program is still in formation, but confirmed speakers include: Paul Montes, President of the DuSable Park Advisory Council; Faheem Majeed, Founder of the Floating Museum, and; Serge Pierre-Louis, Chair of the DuSable Park Coalition.
Friends of the Parks is a 45-year old non-profit park advocacy organization whose mission is to “inspire, equip, and mobilize a diverse Chicago to ensure an equitable park system for a healthy Chicago.”
Also long overdue is the recognition of and consultation with the activists and neighbors who have labored for years as DuSable Park boosters. These include leaders of the Haitian community; champions of the legacy of Chicago’s first African-American mayor, Harold Washington; representatives of
Chicago’s Native American community; Streeterville residents and businesses; and various local museums. They have led advocacy, tracked progress, met with developers and aldermen, helped design a DuSable Park Framework Plan, led an annual commemoration and tour, and cast the vision for the DuSable Heritage Corridor as a key educational and tourist destination that is now being articulated as the mayor’s vision. It has been Friends of the Parks’ honor to help support this coalition behind the scenes over the years, so we know that it is these community leaders that have laid the foundation for what is now coming into wider view.
“Regardless of the outcome of City officials’ maneuvers and whether there is any seriousness to the proposal to rename Millennium Park for DuSable, what has been missing from the recent proposals has been the inclusion of the community groups that for decades have centered the effort to bring to fruition the late Mayor Harold Washington’s intent to establish DuSable Park,” said Juanita Irizarry, executive director of Friends of the Parks. “While other efforts to honor DuSable can be complementary, there already is a strong sense of community ownership organized around a Chicago Park District owned-parcel named DuSable Park—a strategically located site at the confluence of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan where pollution clean-up recently has been completed en route to the development of the long-promised park near the site of DuSable’s settlement.”
In line with our annual tradition that is part of advocating for DuSable Park, we and our fellow members of the DuSable Park Coalition are in the midst of planning for the DuSable Commemoration and Wreathing Ceremony which remembers the August day that Jean Baptiste Point DuSable died. Over the years, the commemoration has taken on even more meaning, serving as a reminder as to how long it has been since Harold Washington dedicated the still-undeveloped DuSable Park.
This year’s event will take place on Saturday, August 21. Building on last year’s enhanced program with a new collaboration with the Magnificent Mile Association and the Native American Chamber of Commerce, this year promises to be the biggest celebration yet. The full program is still in formation, but confirmed speakers include: Paul Montes, President of the DuSable Park Advisory Council; Faheem Majeed, Founder of the Floating Museum, and; Serge Pierre-Louis, Chair of the DuSable Park Coalition.
Friends of the Parks is a 45-year old non-profit park advocacy organization whose mission is to “inspire, equip, and mobilize a diverse Chicago to ensure an equitable park system for a healthy Chicago.”
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In anticipation of the construction of DuSable Park, The DuSable Coalition will host its annual memorial ceremony marking the death of Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable, at 401 North Michigan Avenue, August 29th, 2020 from 11:30 am – 12pm. This year’s event has special significance as it takes place on the actual day of DuSable’s death which occurred on August 29, 1818.
There will be a brief, socially distanced ceremony, with remarks from local leaders and dignitaries. Due to COVID-19 and current health conditions, this will be attended by local leaders and dignitaries by invite only. The wreath-laying will take place at the bust of DuSable located on the west side of Michigan Avenue by the Apple Store and the stairs to the Chicago River and will be streamed on Zoom and Facebook Live. This year the Coalition is collaborating with the Magnificent Mile Association in highlighting the centennial celebration of the DuSable Bridge. Faheem Majeed’s Floating Museum featuring the inflatable structure, “Founders,” will be erected at the DuSable Harbor over the weekend.
“This is a significant year for the DuSable Coalition,” said former DuSable Heritage Association President, Dr. Serge J. Pierre-Louis. “The annual commemoration is a special moment to honor the contributions of the DuSable Family and with the recent movement on DuSable Park we are excited that DuSable’s history will be that much more celebrated in Chicago.”
The DuSable Coalition has advocated for the creation of DuSable Park in recognition of Chicago’s first non-native settler, Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable and his wife, Kitihawa, a Potawatomie woman. The construction of DuSable Park, currently an undeveloped parcel, at the confluence of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan, has been in the making since 1987 when Mayor Harold Washington designated the land for DuSable Park. Plans to develop it gained some momentum under Mayor Richard M. Daley, and some initial remediation was completed. Thirty years later, we are still waiting.
Friends of the Parks urged the Chicago Park District to start the necessary first step by beginning thorium remediation on the contaminated parcel, which commenced in 2017 with US Environmental Protection Agency funds from a successful lawsuit against the former owner of the parcel. In July 2020, construction on capping the land and seeding was completed.
There has also been forward movement to further the construction of DuSable Park in the form of a reaffirmation of a $10 million commitment from Related Midwest in conjunction with approvals of their real estate development at 400 N. Lake Shore Drive. In July, Mayor Lori Lightfoot introduced an ordinance to provide an additional $5 million commitment in Open Space Impact Fees (OSIF) for DuSable Park, and that ordinance passed the Committee on Special Events, Cultural Affairs and Recreation last week on Thursday, August 20, 2020.
“Chicago, like many cities across the nation, is at a moment in history in which we must authentically examine the ways we have contributed to the injustices that Black lives experience daily,” said Juanita Irizarry, Executive Director of Friends of the Parks. “At a time when there are calls for statues and parks to be removed or renamed, we must prioritize our investments in monuments that honor more diverse contributions to our city and society. The construction of DuSable Park is one that is decades-long overdue without much legitimate explanation for its prolonged delay considering all the other downtown park investments that have taken priority over this spot—a prominent one which marks the entrance from Lake Michigan into the Chicago River and the new Riverwalk.”
Over the decades, the DuSable Park Coalition has included and collaborated with representatives from several local organizations and elected officials including Alderman Brendan Reilly, American Indian Center, Art Institute of Chicago, Bronzeville Children’s Museum, Chicago History Museum, Chicago River Rowing and Paddling Center, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Congressman Danny Davis, DuSable Heritage Association, DuSable Museum of African American History, Floating Museum, Friends of DuSable, Friends of the Parks, Haitian Consulate of Chicago, Streeterville Organization of Active Residents and the Sustainable Englewood Initiative. The group revitalized its efforts to galvanize support for and to encourage the Chicago Park District to move ahead with construction of DuSable Park, under the leadership of Friends of the Parks starting five years ago. Friends of the Parks also catalyzed the formation of the DuSable Park Advisory Council in 2018 to help ensure continuity and public input when the Chicago Park District revisits the 2006 DuSable Park Framework plan as this park project moves toward fruition.
Friends of the Parks (FOTP) is an Illinois not-for-profit organization founded in 1975. Our mission is to inspire, equip, and mobilize a diverse Chicago to ensure an equitable park system for a healthy Chicago. We advance our programmatic, educational, and advocacy work with the support of our members, donors and volunteers, and through our community, environmental, and government partnerships.
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There will be a brief, socially distanced ceremony, with remarks from local leaders and dignitaries. Due to COVID-19 and current health conditions, this will be attended by local leaders and dignitaries by invite only. The wreath-laying will take place at the bust of DuSable located on the west side of Michigan Avenue by the Apple Store and the stairs to the Chicago River and will be streamed on Zoom and Facebook Live. This year the Coalition is collaborating with the Magnificent Mile Association in highlighting the centennial celebration of the DuSable Bridge. Faheem Majeed’s Floating Museum featuring the inflatable structure, “Founders,” will be erected at the DuSable Harbor over the weekend.
“This is a significant year for the DuSable Coalition,” said former DuSable Heritage Association President, Dr. Serge J. Pierre-Louis. “The annual commemoration is a special moment to honor the contributions of the DuSable Family and with the recent movement on DuSable Park we are excited that DuSable’s history will be that much more celebrated in Chicago.”
The DuSable Coalition has advocated for the creation of DuSable Park in recognition of Chicago’s first non-native settler, Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable and his wife, Kitihawa, a Potawatomie woman. The construction of DuSable Park, currently an undeveloped parcel, at the confluence of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan, has been in the making since 1987 when Mayor Harold Washington designated the land for DuSable Park. Plans to develop it gained some momentum under Mayor Richard M. Daley, and some initial remediation was completed. Thirty years later, we are still waiting.
Friends of the Parks urged the Chicago Park District to start the necessary first step by beginning thorium remediation on the contaminated parcel, which commenced in 2017 with US Environmental Protection Agency funds from a successful lawsuit against the former owner of the parcel. In July 2020, construction on capping the land and seeding was completed.
There has also been forward movement to further the construction of DuSable Park in the form of a reaffirmation of a $10 million commitment from Related Midwest in conjunction with approvals of their real estate development at 400 N. Lake Shore Drive. In July, Mayor Lori Lightfoot introduced an ordinance to provide an additional $5 million commitment in Open Space Impact Fees (OSIF) for DuSable Park, and that ordinance passed the Committee on Special Events, Cultural Affairs and Recreation last week on Thursday, August 20, 2020.
“Chicago, like many cities across the nation, is at a moment in history in which we must authentically examine the ways we have contributed to the injustices that Black lives experience daily,” said Juanita Irizarry, Executive Director of Friends of the Parks. “At a time when there are calls for statues and parks to be removed or renamed, we must prioritize our investments in monuments that honor more diverse contributions to our city and society. The construction of DuSable Park is one that is decades-long overdue without much legitimate explanation for its prolonged delay considering all the other downtown park investments that have taken priority over this spot—a prominent one which marks the entrance from Lake Michigan into the Chicago River and the new Riverwalk.”
Over the decades, the DuSable Park Coalition has included and collaborated with representatives from several local organizations and elected officials including Alderman Brendan Reilly, American Indian Center, Art Institute of Chicago, Bronzeville Children’s Museum, Chicago History Museum, Chicago River Rowing and Paddling Center, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Congressman Danny Davis, DuSable Heritage Association, DuSable Museum of African American History, Floating Museum, Friends of DuSable, Friends of the Parks, Haitian Consulate of Chicago, Streeterville Organization of Active Residents and the Sustainable Englewood Initiative. The group revitalized its efforts to galvanize support for and to encourage the Chicago Park District to move ahead with construction of DuSable Park, under the leadership of Friends of the Parks starting five years ago. Friends of the Parks also catalyzed the formation of the DuSable Park Advisory Council in 2018 to help ensure continuity and public input when the Chicago Park District revisits the 2006 DuSable Park Framework plan as this park project moves toward fruition.
Friends of the Parks (FOTP) is an Illinois not-for-profit organization founded in 1975. Our mission is to inspire, equip, and mobilize a diverse Chicago to ensure an equitable park system for a healthy Chicago. We advance our programmatic, educational, and advocacy work with the support of our members, donors and volunteers, and through our community, environmental, and government partnerships.
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Public Pressure Ensures Movement Toward a “Park Positive” Outcome for Jackson Park
Friends of the Parks maintains our firm belief that the Obama Presidential Center should not be built in a park. While we welcome it to Chicago and particularly the South Side with which the Obamas have such deep connections, we have consistently called for it to be located on the 11 acres of vacant land across the street from Washington Park. We have long said that if it must be in a park, we will advocate for a “park positive” outcome, which includes the replacement of all green space taken up by the OPC and the recreational amenities that are displaced.
“Despite the manufactured fears that the Obama Foundation would pick up and leave Chicago if pressured, the details in today’s ordinances demonstrate the importance of public scrutiny and continued conversations to push toward the best possible outcomes for Chicagoans in the midst of what otherwise is a done deal,” said Friends of the Parks Executive Director Juanita Irizarry. “The limits to private events are key. We have registered with the Obama Foundation our concerns that such uses, along with possible heightened security when President Obama is present, might threaten to interfere with keeping this public land open to the masses. We are convinced that these and other elements of the usage agreements are direct responses to our insistence that if they are going to call the OPC campus a public park, there must be mechanisms in place to ensure that it truly remain open to the public. We will keep the pressure on until we hear acceptable and rock solid answers to other operational questions we have posed in the vein of making sure it functions just like a public park.”
“There is still a lot of work to do. We don’t yet have a commitment from the Obama Foundation to pay for a new baseball field to replace the one that has to move to accommodate the plans for the OPC,” said Friends of the Parks Board Chair Lauren Moltz. “And we will not rest until a new location for it is found that does not take up existing green space. As a resident of Hyde Park, I find the National Park Service’s preliminary recommendation that a replacement baseball field be located on the Midway Plaisance to be impractical. A new baseball facility on vacant land near Jackson Park is in order and would go much further to convince Chicagoans that the Obama Foundation is living up to its promise to replace the parkland it usurps.”
“Additionally, the Section 106 and NEPA review processes must be completed appropriately before any of this can become real. We have admonished the Obama Foundation to live up to the highest standards of these federal review processes rather than trying to skirt some steps to move the process more quickly, as seemed to be happening in earlier stages,” said Friends of the Parks Board ViceChair Fred Bates. “Though we are not a party to the lawsuit, discovery materials from the Protect Our Parks legal action have brought to light various examples of lack of transparency and failure to be forthright, thus reinforcing our concerns. To no one’s surprise, there are elements of this process that have been masquerading as true public process. And the Obama Foundation has wanted the public to believe that they were not pulling all of the strings behind the scenes. It behooves the Obama Foundation, the City, and the Chicago Park District to be straightforward and honest with Chicago moving forward.”
Additionally, in the spirit of being a “good neighbor,” to use the words of the Obama Foundation, Friends of the Parks has encouraged them to pay for a new field house in Jackson Park. It would be unseemly for the OPC to create a new recreational building on its own campus while the Park District’s facility across the street remains run down. Similarly, we have called upon the Obama Foundation to raise money to pay for all of the new recreational spaces envisioned in the Chicago Park District’s new South Lakefront Framework Plan. The Obama Foundation’s desire to locate in Jackson Park catalyzed a park visioning process which created huge expectation in the community. But what most people don’t understand is that most of the elements envisioned in the new Jackson Park and South Shore plan have no money attached to them. It behooves the Obama Foundation to ensure that the community doesn’t have to wait decades for the realization of new pickle ball courts, an official dog park, tennis courts, lawn bowling area, etc. that are supposedly coming in exchange for letting the Obama Foundation build on public land. And, many neighbors remain unhappy about the changes to the nature sanctuary that would be imposed based on the latest golf course design, not the least of which is the part where one would risk getting hit with a golf ball while walking a section of the nature sanctuary path. Though the Obama Foundation has tried to claim that the golf course is not part of the OPC campus or project, it has been made clear that President Obama personally called Tiger Woods to ask him to design the new golf course and that the concept was part of the University of Chicago bid. All of the components of the new South Framework Lakefront Plan and the proposed OPC are inextricably linked. We have communicated to the Obama Foundation that they still need to make sure that the nature sanctuary situation is made right.
Friends of the Parks is a 43 year old organization that inspires, equips, and mobilizes a diverse Chicago to ensure an equitable park system for a healthy Chicago.
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“Despite the manufactured fears that the Obama Foundation would pick up and leave Chicago if pressured, the details in today’s ordinances demonstrate the importance of public scrutiny and continued conversations to push toward the best possible outcomes for Chicagoans in the midst of what otherwise is a done deal,” said Friends of the Parks Executive Director Juanita Irizarry. “The limits to private events are key. We have registered with the Obama Foundation our concerns that such uses, along with possible heightened security when President Obama is present, might threaten to interfere with keeping this public land open to the masses. We are convinced that these and other elements of the usage agreements are direct responses to our insistence that if they are going to call the OPC campus a public park, there must be mechanisms in place to ensure that it truly remain open to the public. We will keep the pressure on until we hear acceptable and rock solid answers to other operational questions we have posed in the vein of making sure it functions just like a public park.”
“There is still a lot of work to do. We don’t yet have a commitment from the Obama Foundation to pay for a new baseball field to replace the one that has to move to accommodate the plans for the OPC,” said Friends of the Parks Board Chair Lauren Moltz. “And we will not rest until a new location for it is found that does not take up existing green space. As a resident of Hyde Park, I find the National Park Service’s preliminary recommendation that a replacement baseball field be located on the Midway Plaisance to be impractical. A new baseball facility on vacant land near Jackson Park is in order and would go much further to convince Chicagoans that the Obama Foundation is living up to its promise to replace the parkland it usurps.”
“Additionally, the Section 106 and NEPA review processes must be completed appropriately before any of this can become real. We have admonished the Obama Foundation to live up to the highest standards of these federal review processes rather than trying to skirt some steps to move the process more quickly, as seemed to be happening in earlier stages,” said Friends of the Parks Board ViceChair Fred Bates. “Though we are not a party to the lawsuit, discovery materials from the Protect Our Parks legal action have brought to light various examples of lack of transparency and failure to be forthright, thus reinforcing our concerns. To no one’s surprise, there are elements of this process that have been masquerading as true public process. And the Obama Foundation has wanted the public to believe that they were not pulling all of the strings behind the scenes. It behooves the Obama Foundation, the City, and the Chicago Park District to be straightforward and honest with Chicago moving forward.”
Additionally, in the spirit of being a “good neighbor,” to use the words of the Obama Foundation, Friends of the Parks has encouraged them to pay for a new field house in Jackson Park. It would be unseemly for the OPC to create a new recreational building on its own campus while the Park District’s facility across the street remains run down. Similarly, we have called upon the Obama Foundation to raise money to pay for all of the new recreational spaces envisioned in the Chicago Park District’s new South Lakefront Framework Plan. The Obama Foundation’s desire to locate in Jackson Park catalyzed a park visioning process which created huge expectation in the community. But what most people don’t understand is that most of the elements envisioned in the new Jackson Park and South Shore plan have no money attached to them. It behooves the Obama Foundation to ensure that the community doesn’t have to wait decades for the realization of new pickle ball courts, an official dog park, tennis courts, lawn bowling area, etc. that are supposedly coming in exchange for letting the Obama Foundation build on public land. And, many neighbors remain unhappy about the changes to the nature sanctuary that would be imposed based on the latest golf course design, not the least of which is the part where one would risk getting hit with a golf ball while walking a section of the nature sanctuary path. Though the Obama Foundation has tried to claim that the golf course is not part of the OPC campus or project, it has been made clear that President Obama personally called Tiger Woods to ask him to design the new golf course and that the concept was part of the University of Chicago bid. All of the components of the new South Framework Lakefront Plan and the proposed OPC are inextricably linked. We have communicated to the Obama Foundation that they still need to make sure that the nature sanctuary situation is made right.
Friends of the Parks is a 43 year old organization that inspires, equips, and mobilizes a diverse Chicago to ensure an equitable park system for a healthy Chicago.
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Statement on behalf of Friends of the Parks’ Board Chair Lauren Moltz on the Latest Results of the Obama Presidential Center Court Case
“Friends of the Parks has long welcomed the Obama Presidential Center to the south side of Chicago to honor the leadership and legacy of President Barack Obama. This project offers Chicago the opportunity to serve as a standard bearer and inspiration for the values and integrity that we prize in our former President, such as his judicious, respectful and inclusive approach to the political process. Because of the chosen location of the Obama Presidential Center, and Jackson Park’s historic significance, we must allow the entirety of the Section 106 process to run its course for which we, along with many others, are a consulting party. While Friends of the Parks is not a participant in the Protect Our Parks lawsuit, in the spirit through which the OPC wants to engage democratic processes, the legal challenge will be decided in the courts. ”
Friends of the Parks is a forty-three year old nonprofit whose mission is to inspire, equip, and mobilize a diverse Chicago to ensure an equitable park system for a healthy Chicago.
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Friends of the Parks is a forty-three year old nonprofit whose mission is to inspire, equip, and mobilize a diverse Chicago to ensure an equitable park system for a healthy Chicago.
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Friends of the Parks Steps Up the Fight for Green Space in Jackson Park in Light of the Obama Foundation’s Proposed Above-Ground Parking Garage on the Historic Midway Plaisance
Formalizes Alliances with South Side Residents on Community-based Campaigns
Formalizes Alliances with South Side Residents on Community-based Campaigns
With the proposals for the Obama Presidential Center poised to move forward toward the city’s Plan Commission yet this year, Friends of the Parks will oppose the Obama Foundation’s proposal to build an aboveground parking garage on the eastern edge of the Midway Plaisance. Friends of the Parks will support a new community-based effort which last week launched the “Save the Midway” campaign. It includes a petition drive and other organizing activities to challenge the construction of an above-ground garage on this key element of Frederick Law Olmsted’s highly-revered South Parks system linking Jackson Park to Washington Park, part of Chicago’s green boulevard system and an area that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Since the beginning, Friends of the Parks has welcomed the Obama Presidential Center to Chicago but has vociferously maintained that it should not be in a park, suggesting that it be located instead on vacant land across the street from Washington Park. Friends of the Parks has strongly spoken out for the need for comprehensive park planning which takes into consideration community views and ensures an integrated approach in the spirit of Olmsted’s vision that “every part must be planned subordinate to and dependent on every other part.” We have appreciated the Obama Foundation’s role in ensuring the initiation of the South Lakefront Framework Plan process by the Chicago Park District and in engaging our organization and others in discussions about various elements of the Obama Presidential Center.
At an August invitation-only meeting at the Obama Foundation at which Friends of the Parks’ executive director was in attendance, the Foundation announced their plans for the above-ground parking structure on the Midway and pitched it as a hill that would disguise the garage as a park. But the images that were revealed at a subsequent Chicago Department of Transportation-hosted public meeting depicted a square, cement garage with a green roof. The proposed parking structure has since become a topic of significant debate.
Friends of the Parks adamantly rejects the Obama Foundation’s characterization of such as the addition of parkland and calls upon the Obama Presidential Center to revisit previous discussions about underground parking garage options. An above-ground garage further erodes existing green space.
“This would be a further reduction in park acreage and marks an unacceptable usurpation of parkland,” stated Friends of the Parks Board Chair Lauren Moltz, a Hyde Park resident. “As part of community meetings toward the development of the South Lakefront Framework Plan, community members have noted the need for additional parking to facilitate their access to various park amenities. The parking garage should be built underground and closer to these amenities so as to enhance rather than detract from the park.”
Also, while we are pleased that the Chicago Park District launched a planning process in response to our call for such and has recently also heeded our call to slow down the South Lakefront Framework Plan planning process, we are now concerned that the Obama Presidential Center is moving forward on a separate track and is expected to go before Plan Commission in November. Such a move is reminiscent of the piecemeal approach that we critiqued earlier in the process and threatens the ability of the community to consider and respond to all elements of the proposed revitalization plan as a whole.
To further promote an emphasis on the interrelatedness of the many issues that the Obama Presidential Center inspired revitalization proposals represent and to bolster efforts to protect green space, Friends of the Parks is formalizing its role with the South Side groups that comprise the Obama Library CBA (Community Benefits Agreement) Coalition. Having already provided some insight and capacity to the CBA Coalition regarding its sustainability pillar, Friends of the Parks is now joining as an “Ally” to further strengthen the call for the replacement of all green space taken up by the Obama Presidential Center and the replacement of all recreational facilities that are threatened with displacement by any and all Jackson Park revitalization proposals.
“Supporting the ‘Sustainability and Transportation’ platform of the CBA Coalition’s proposed Community Benefits Agreement is consistent with our mission and speaks to Friends of the Parks’ active engagement with many voices in the community impacted by the Obama Presidential Center,” said Juanita Irizarry, Executive Director of Friends of the Parks. “We continue to use our position to call for transparency around a host of park-related issues and the engagement of local voices in order to make good decisions concerning Jackson Park and South Shore Park ‘revitalization.’ We also call on the Obama Foundation to fully live up to its stated mission of promoting civic engagement in public conversations such as these.”
Finally, Friends of the Parks recently has formalized its relationship with Jackson Park Watch. Having previously welcomed this unincorporated park partner organization to its networking meetings and trainings, Friends of the Parks recently approved Jackson Park Watch’s application to operate under Friends of the Parks fiscal sponsorship. However, some of the details of this relationship have been reported erroneously in recent weeks. As one of 40-plus park partner organizations for which Friends of the Parks provides fiscal sponsorship, Jackson Park Watch functions under our 501(c)3 status so that they can raise tax-deductible donations. As with all of our fiscally-sponsored entities and in accordance with the law, Jackson Park Watch operates under the umbrella of the Friends of the Parks mission. They manage their own operations and strategies day-to-day, some of which may align directly with Friends of the Parks’ priorities and strategies and some of which may not. Jackson Park Watch’s current pursuit of potential legal strategies to address Obama Presidential Center related issues is neither directed by Friends of the Parks nor necessarily objectionable to Friends of the Parks.
Friends of the Parks is a forty-two year old non-profit parks advocacy group whose mission is to preserve, protect, improve, and promote the use of parks and open space in Chicago for the enjoyment of all residents and visitors. We advance our programmatic, educational, and advocacy work with the support of our members, donors and volunteers, and through our governmental, corporate, community, and environmental partnerships.
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Since the beginning, Friends of the Parks has welcomed the Obama Presidential Center to Chicago but has vociferously maintained that it should not be in a park, suggesting that it be located instead on vacant land across the street from Washington Park. Friends of the Parks has strongly spoken out for the need for comprehensive park planning which takes into consideration community views and ensures an integrated approach in the spirit of Olmsted’s vision that “every part must be planned subordinate to and dependent on every other part.” We have appreciated the Obama Foundation’s role in ensuring the initiation of the South Lakefront Framework Plan process by the Chicago Park District and in engaging our organization and others in discussions about various elements of the Obama Presidential Center.
At an August invitation-only meeting at the Obama Foundation at which Friends of the Parks’ executive director was in attendance, the Foundation announced their plans for the above-ground parking structure on the Midway and pitched it as a hill that would disguise the garage as a park. But the images that were revealed at a subsequent Chicago Department of Transportation-hosted public meeting depicted a square, cement garage with a green roof. The proposed parking structure has since become a topic of significant debate.
Friends of the Parks adamantly rejects the Obama Foundation’s characterization of such as the addition of parkland and calls upon the Obama Presidential Center to revisit previous discussions about underground parking garage options. An above-ground garage further erodes existing green space.
“This would be a further reduction in park acreage and marks an unacceptable usurpation of parkland,” stated Friends of the Parks Board Chair Lauren Moltz, a Hyde Park resident. “As part of community meetings toward the development of the South Lakefront Framework Plan, community members have noted the need for additional parking to facilitate their access to various park amenities. The parking garage should be built underground and closer to these amenities so as to enhance rather than detract from the park.”
Also, while we are pleased that the Chicago Park District launched a planning process in response to our call for such and has recently also heeded our call to slow down the South Lakefront Framework Plan planning process, we are now concerned that the Obama Presidential Center is moving forward on a separate track and is expected to go before Plan Commission in November. Such a move is reminiscent of the piecemeal approach that we critiqued earlier in the process and threatens the ability of the community to consider and respond to all elements of the proposed revitalization plan as a whole.
To further promote an emphasis on the interrelatedness of the many issues that the Obama Presidential Center inspired revitalization proposals represent and to bolster efforts to protect green space, Friends of the Parks is formalizing its role with the South Side groups that comprise the Obama Library CBA (Community Benefits Agreement) Coalition. Having already provided some insight and capacity to the CBA Coalition regarding its sustainability pillar, Friends of the Parks is now joining as an “Ally” to further strengthen the call for the replacement of all green space taken up by the Obama Presidential Center and the replacement of all recreational facilities that are threatened with displacement by any and all Jackson Park revitalization proposals.
“Supporting the ‘Sustainability and Transportation’ platform of the CBA Coalition’s proposed Community Benefits Agreement is consistent with our mission and speaks to Friends of the Parks’ active engagement with many voices in the community impacted by the Obama Presidential Center,” said Juanita Irizarry, Executive Director of Friends of the Parks. “We continue to use our position to call for transparency around a host of park-related issues and the engagement of local voices in order to make good decisions concerning Jackson Park and South Shore Park ‘revitalization.’ We also call on the Obama Foundation to fully live up to its stated mission of promoting civic engagement in public conversations such as these.”
Finally, Friends of the Parks recently has formalized its relationship with Jackson Park Watch. Having previously welcomed this unincorporated park partner organization to its networking meetings and trainings, Friends of the Parks recently approved Jackson Park Watch’s application to operate under Friends of the Parks fiscal sponsorship. However, some of the details of this relationship have been reported erroneously in recent weeks. As one of 40-plus park partner organizations for which Friends of the Parks provides fiscal sponsorship, Jackson Park Watch functions under our 501(c)3 status so that they can raise tax-deductible donations. As with all of our fiscally-sponsored entities and in accordance with the law, Jackson Park Watch operates under the umbrella of the Friends of the Parks mission. They manage their own operations and strategies day-to-day, some of which may align directly with Friends of the Parks’ priorities and strategies and some of which may not. Jackson Park Watch’s current pursuit of potential legal strategies to address Obama Presidential Center related issues is neither directed by Friends of the Parks nor necessarily objectionable to Friends of the Parks.
Friends of the Parks is a forty-two year old non-profit parks advocacy group whose mission is to preserve, protect, improve, and promote the use of parks and open space in Chicago for the enjoyment of all residents and visitors. We advance our programmatic, educational, and advocacy work with the support of our members, donors and volunteers, and through our governmental, corporate, community, and environmental partnerships.
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Urges Chicago Park District to Complete Remediation and Park Development in Timely Fashion
The DuSable Park Coalition will host its annual memorial ceremony marking the death of Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, Chicago’s first non-native settler, at 400 North Michigan Avenue, August 26, 2017 from 11:30 am – 1:00 pm. This year’s event has special significance as it will also celebrate the progress toward actualization of DuSable Park in the form environmental remediation of park site scheduled to begin this month.
There will be a wreath-laying, remarks from the Consul General of Haiti in Chicago, and a public celebration at the bust of DuSable now located on the west side of Michigan Avenue by the Wrigley Building and the stairs to the Chicago River. After the ceremony, the group will depart and walk over to 401 North Lake Shore Drive for a quick view of the DuSable Park site.
DuSable Park, an undeveloped, contaminated parcel at the confluence of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan, was dedicated in 1987 by Mayor Harold Washington to the first non-native settler of Chicago, Jean Baptiste Point DuSable. Plans to develop it gained some momentum under Mayor Richard M. Daley, and some initial remediation was completed, along with a park Framework Plan, developed with many stakeholders. Thirty years later, we are still waiting.
In 2016, Friends of the Parks became aware that a successful, national US EPA lawsuit against the former owner of the DuSable Park site would bring $3 million to Chicago for thorium remediation of the site, to begin this past fall. In July 2017, the Chicago Park District signed a contract to begin thorium remediation on the site. It was announced that this critical first step in the development of the park would begin in August.
“This is an important milestone and a marked first step toward appropriately honoring the founder of Chicago and his legacy,” said Juanita Irizarry, Executive Director of Friends of the Parks. “These developments represent a revived opportunity to complete the development of the long-awaited DuSable Park—a key site that is in view of the brand new Polk Bros. Park at Navy Pier. It should match the grandeur of the rest of the scene as tourists and boaters marvel at the Pier and our beautiful skyline at the confluence of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. The site also has great potential for connectivity with the exciting new Riverwalk and is a great opportunity to draw Chicagoans and tourists alike to learn more about the history of Chicago’s first non-native settler. Friends of the Parks will be leading the charge to ensure that finally happens.”
Over the years, the DuSable Park Coalition Committee has included representatives from several local organizations and elected officials including Alderman Brendan Reilly, American Indian Center, Bronzeville Children’s Museum, Chicago River Rowing and Paddling Center, Congressman Danny Davis, DuSable Heritage Association, DuSable Museum of African American History, Haitian Consulate of Chicago, Floating Museum, Friends of DuSable, Friends of the Parks, Streeterville Organization of Active Residents and the Sustainable Englewood Initiative. The group has relaunched its efforts to galvanize support for and to encourage the Chicago Park District to move ahead with construction of DuSable Park, under the leadership of Friends of the Parks.
Friends of the Parks is a forty-two year old nonprofit parks advocacy group whose mission is to preserve, protect, improve and promote the use of parks and open space in Chicago for the enjoyment of all residents and visitors. We advance our programmatic, educational, and advocacy work with the support of our members, donors and volunteers, and through our governmental, community and environmental partnerships.
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There will be a wreath-laying, remarks from the Consul General of Haiti in Chicago, and a public celebration at the bust of DuSable now located on the west side of Michigan Avenue by the Wrigley Building and the stairs to the Chicago River. After the ceremony, the group will depart and walk over to 401 North Lake Shore Drive for a quick view of the DuSable Park site.
DuSable Park, an undeveloped, contaminated parcel at the confluence of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan, was dedicated in 1987 by Mayor Harold Washington to the first non-native settler of Chicago, Jean Baptiste Point DuSable. Plans to develop it gained some momentum under Mayor Richard M. Daley, and some initial remediation was completed, along with a park Framework Plan, developed with many stakeholders. Thirty years later, we are still waiting.
In 2016, Friends of the Parks became aware that a successful, national US EPA lawsuit against the former owner of the DuSable Park site would bring $3 million to Chicago for thorium remediation of the site, to begin this past fall. In July 2017, the Chicago Park District signed a contract to begin thorium remediation on the site. It was announced that this critical first step in the development of the park would begin in August.
“This is an important milestone and a marked first step toward appropriately honoring the founder of Chicago and his legacy,” said Juanita Irizarry, Executive Director of Friends of the Parks. “These developments represent a revived opportunity to complete the development of the long-awaited DuSable Park—a key site that is in view of the brand new Polk Bros. Park at Navy Pier. It should match the grandeur of the rest of the scene as tourists and boaters marvel at the Pier and our beautiful skyline at the confluence of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. The site also has great potential for connectivity with the exciting new Riverwalk and is a great opportunity to draw Chicagoans and tourists alike to learn more about the history of Chicago’s first non-native settler. Friends of the Parks will be leading the charge to ensure that finally happens.”
Over the years, the DuSable Park Coalition Committee has included representatives from several local organizations and elected officials including Alderman Brendan Reilly, American Indian Center, Bronzeville Children’s Museum, Chicago River Rowing and Paddling Center, Congressman Danny Davis, DuSable Heritage Association, DuSable Museum of African American History, Haitian Consulate of Chicago, Floating Museum, Friends of DuSable, Friends of the Parks, Streeterville Organization of Active Residents and the Sustainable Englewood Initiative. The group has relaunched its efforts to galvanize support for and to encourage the Chicago Park District to move ahead with construction of DuSable Park, under the leadership of Friends of the Parks.
Friends of the Parks is a forty-two year old nonprofit parks advocacy group whose mission is to preserve, protect, improve and promote the use of parks and open space in Chicago for the enjoyment of all residents and visitors. We advance our programmatic, educational, and advocacy work with the support of our members, donors and volunteers, and through our governmental, community and environmental partnerships.
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