It was Halloween when the Chicago City Council gave final approval to the deal that will allow the Obama Presidential Center to be built in Jackson Park, and it’ll be Valentine’s Day when a federal district court judge hears oral arguments on a lawsuit trying to bring that deal to a halt.
POP suggests that other south-side locations would be less disruptive and costly (taxpayers will be on the hook for road reroutes and other infrastructure expenses that the city has estimated at $175 million), and would bring greater benefit to local residents and businesses.
According to the Jackson Park Watch and Preservation Chicago brief, four of the 11 members of Museums in the Park took over existing buildings (the Museum of Science and Industry, the DuSable Museum, and the National Museums of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture and Mexican Art); three were built on the site of prior buildings (the Art Institute, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum); and four were built outside of existing parkland (the Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, Adler Planetarium, and Chicago History Museum).
