Greetings all,

A lot has been happening since our last Update. Here are the highlights.

New restrictions on Wooded Island?

New signs went up on Wooded Island just as it was finally reopened to the public. (See photo at www.facebook.com/jacksonparkwatch ) The signs list a host of new rules including:

* no fishing in the lagoons;
* no dogs on Wooded Island;
* stay on the pathways;
* no climbing on the rocks;
* don’t touch the sculpture.

We are asking JPAC to discuss these new rules at its December meeting: Who made these up, when and why? What about community input? What happened to the promise, repeatedly voiced by Louise McCurry and others, that the GLFER project would make fishing better than ever? (After all, GLFER stands for Great Lakes Fishery and Ecosystem Restoration.) And what!, no dogs on Wooded Island????  Interested community members might want to be there at 7 p.m., Monday, 12/12, at the Jackson Park Field House, 64^th and Stony Island. There is ample street parking close by.

In addition to asking JPAC to protest these restrictions to the Park District, JPW coordinators Brenda Nelms and Margaret Schmid will take the issue to the Park District Commissioners at their monthly board meeting on December 14.

Sky Landing installation prompts more FOIAs

Some people love Yoko Ono’s Sky Landing, some not so much. Regardless, the unanswered questions surrounding how a celebrity and a private entity could get permission to install a permanent sculpture in a public park without any public involvement – not even a vote by the Park District Board! – continue to raise a host of red flags. Will we wake up one day to find bulldozers at work on the pavilion that Project 120 so desperately wants?

In a continued drive to forestall such a terrible transformation of Jackson Park, JPW has submitted a new and expanded round of Freedom of Information Act requests with assistance from attorneys at a top firm specializing in public interest law. The new FOIA requests focus on three areas: (1) terms for the installation of Sky Landing; (2) development of Project 120’s plans for the Phoenix Pavilion and of a Revised Framework Plan for Jackson Park; (3) circumstances surrounding the Memorandum of Understanding of July 2014. We will keep everyone posted.

Not-for-profit organization?

As JPW work becomes more intense and we begin to incur some significant costs, JPW coordinators Brenda and Margaret have considered forming a not-for-profit organization and soliciting contributions to allow JPW work to continue. Here, too, we will keep you posted. At this point we cannot accept any contributions due to the absence of an appropriate organizational structure.

Comprehensive planning for Jackson Park – a new initiative

JPW coordinators Brenda and Margaret have been invited to participate in an initiative led by Dr. Byron Brazier of the Apostolic Church of God to develop a single, comprehensive new plan for Jackson Park, encompassing the Obama Library and addressing its impact across the entire park.  At the first meeting, Dr. Brazier outlined a complex multi-step process to promote small group discussion and then engagement with the park’s full community. We are intrigued and hope the initiative will prove productive. At a minimum, it is another forum to advance JPW interests in community input, transparency, and preservation of as much of the Park as possible for local uses and local users.

Brenda Nelms and Margaret Schmid
Coordinators
Jackson Park Watch
http://jacksonparkwatch.org
Like us on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/jacksonparkwatch

(To unsubscribe from this g-list, simply send “unsubscribe” to jacksonparkwatch@gmail.com.)

Greetings all,

Yoko Ono’s sculpture “unveiled”

As JPW Update readers most certainly know, the Project 120/Yoko Ono “Sky Landing” sculpture was officially dedicated at a lavish invitation-only event on Wooded Island Monday Oct. 17; interested community members were actually turned away at the check-in point. JPW had been invited and Margaret attended (Brenda was away).  She reports that about 300 other people were there, the vast majority not local.  There was a long list of speakers, including Alderman Leslie Hairston, and of course Park District CEO Mike Kelly, the Mayor, Project 120 Bob Karr, and Yoko Ono herself, who gave brief comments.  No one from either the University or the Obama Foundation spoke or was acknowledged.  The program included an elaborate modern dance performance, live original music, and song.  It was quite a show.  But it is quite remarkable that this has occurred:  a private entity has been able to have a major permanent piece of art installed in a prominent location in a major historical Chicago public park without any notice to the public, without any public participation, and without leaving a trace in the public record.  Stealth privatization?

Wooded Island reopened

Wooded Island was reopened to the public the following Saturday Oct. 22, and there were quite a number of visitors both Saturday and Sunday.  The fencing remains up around the lagoon and the planting are very clearly both immature and incomplete. Apparently the Island itself will remain open even as the rest of the US Army Corps “GLFER” environmental restoration project continues.  At the moment, the Island south of Osaka Garden has been weed-whacked and tidied up, perhaps for the Yoko Ono event and subsequent opening to the public, and has lots of open space. Brenda and Margaret encourage everyone to go and check it all out, and to share any comments with the Park District’s “contact us” mailbox http://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/contact or by writing Park District Superintendent and CEO Mike Kelly at the Chicago Park District, 541 N. Fairbanks Ct., Chicago 60611.

Mike Kelly responds – at last, but only partially

For several months, JPW has spoken during the “People in the Parks” forum that is part of the monthly meetings of the Park District Board, raising questions about Sky Landing, focusing on the seemingly mysterious process by which the Sky Landing sculpture installation was authorized, who paid for it, who owned it, and the like.  JPW presentations (two minutes only, as per Park District protocol) have been greeted with total silence until this past Wednesday (10/18), not even a “thank you for your interest.” But this past Wednesday Mike Kelly actually responded, at least in part, saying that the Sky Landing sculpture was donated by Yoko Ono and Project 120 and that while the Park District owns it, it will not pay for maintenance.  So at last we have confirmation of the actual source of the sculpture, information that all of our prior questions and FOIA requests had not to date been able to uncover.

We continue to look for the secret “paper” (or now digital) trail of the decisions that documented the donation and authorized the installation of the statue. It is inconceivable that there were no agreements, no matter how shielded from public view, and we need to uncover them.  Most significantly, at this point the precedent that appears to have been established is that a private entity – Project 120 in this instance – with sufficient funds can be given control of a part of a Chicago park and can install a project of its choosing in its own private part of that park.  This smells much like a back door form of privatization, and we fear the consequences: will we wake up one day to find that construction of Project 120’s proposed pavilion has begun?

Brenda Nelms and Margaret Schmid

Jackson Park Watch

http://jacksonparkwatch.org

Like us on our Facebook page.

Greetings all,

Yoko Ono sculpture update

Unanswered questions remain concerning how a private entity (Project 120) could have erected a permanent sculpture on Wooded Island immediately adjacent to the Paul Douglas Nature Sanctuary. Nonetheless, the sculpture is there, and you can see a preview on www.facebook.com/jacksonparkwatch. The official “unveiling” is scheduled for Oct. 17, and will include an event on Wooded Island itself as well as an evening gathering at the Stony Island Arts Bank. We’ll share information as we know more.

Keeping in Touch

As previously noted, JPW coordinators are staying in touch with many individuals and groups that are focusing on planning for Jackson Park in the wake of the Obama Library siting.

Brenda and Margaret recently participated in several FOTP-convened discussions considering the increasingly frequent usage of Chicago’s public parks for private, for-profit activities. The many examples from parks across the city paint a distressing pattern of privatization and appropriation of public space to the exclusion of local residents and regular park users.

We also attended meetings organized by the coalition working to secure a Community Benefits Agreement with the Obama Presidential Foundation , the City and the University. The initiative has embraced as one of its Development Principles a commitment that directly aligns with JPW’s priorities:   to sustain, increase, upgrade and maximize green open space for local uses and local users.

Both the FOTP discussions and the CBA initiative highlight concerns that are central to JPW’s participants and indicate that these concerns are widely shared. The challenge is to move from discussion to actual solutions. In this effort, JPW will continue to push for Park District transparency and inclusive community engagement as essential elements in planning for Jackson Park.

Dog park comparison amazingly revealing

You may have noted the “Dogged determination” article on the front page of the 10/4/16 Tribune chronicling the major obstacles that the Park District has erected in the way of South Siders wanting to have dog parks south of 18^th Street. (Here is the link to the article as it appeared online — http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-chicago-dog-parks-south-side-met-20161003-story.html). This is yet another example of disparities between park facilities on the north and south sides. It also offers a fascinating comparison between the obstacles facing regular Chicagoans wanting amenities in their parks and the special treatment afforded Project 120 as it installed the permanent Yoko Ono sculpture on Wooded Island in Jackson Park. Take a look below!

A comparison that speaks volumes:

CPD requirements for (regular) Chicagoans to establish a dog park in a Chicago park

vs.

CPD requirements for the private, not-for-profit Project 120 to erect a permanent sculpture by Yoko Ono on Wooded Island in historic Jackson Park adjacent to a nature sanctuary

Brenda Nelms and Margaret Schmid
Jackson Park Watch
http://jacksonparkwatch.org
Like us on our Facebook page. www.facebook.com/jacksonparkwatch.

Greetings all,

Change of date for FOTP presentation on the Obama Libraryzz

Friends of the Parks’ Fall Netsch Lecture, to focus on the Obama Presidential Library, has been rescheduled to Thursday, September 29, at 12 noon at the Chicago Cultural Center.   This is a free event, and we encourage you to attend if possible. Pre-registration is encouraged and will be available soon on the FOTP website ( https://fotp.org/ ), but is not required.

Yoko Ono sculpture going up soon; the outside fence may soon come down

We know that not everyone is a Facebook fan, but nonetheless we encourage you to take a look at our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/jacksonparkwatch, where you will find a picture of preparations for installation of the Yoko Ono Sky Landing sculpture. The old asphalt path along the west edge of the Osaka Japanese Garden has been taken out and will be replaced with sod. As the picture on Facebook shows, the area between the earthen mounds has been dug up and twelve concrete bases have been put in, one for each of the twelve tall, polished-metal “petals” that will be erected starting September 12.

In related news, we understand that the cyclone fence enclosing not only the Wooded Island but the entire lagoon will be taken down in the next weeks, but that a temporary fence will be erected around the Yoko Ono sculpture to protect it, presumably from visitors. We have also been told by Park District personnel with responsibilities for the project that in the foreseeable future the current fence around the Osaka Japanese Garden will come down and a new fence enclosing the Garden and sculpture will be built “to integrate the sculpture into the Garden.” We also understand that in the future there will be only one entrance into the new “modern” Garden. Based on past announcements by Project 120’s Bob Karr, we assume there will be a ceremony to officially unveil the Yoko Ono sculpture and hope that it will be open to the public.

As more information becomes available, we will let everyone know.

Brenda Nelms and Margaret Schmid
Coordinators
Jackson Park Watch
http://jacksonparkwatch.org
Like us on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/jacksonparkwatch

Greetings all,

It has been a busy two weeks since the announcement that the Obama Presidential Center would be sited in Jackson Park. That busy-ness is reflected in the length of this Update. Bear with us.

Now what?

It’s a new ball game, as folks like to say. Project 120 is no longer the biggest elephant in the room. Now we have OPC.

To adapt to this new reality, Brenda and Margaret propose expanding JPW’s guiding principles and goals building on what JPW has represented and accomplished to date. We present a first draft below. BUT – we need feedback, critical comments and alternative suggestions, so that we can be sure that as JPW goes forward it is indeed reflecting community concerns.

1. Continue to insist that a transparent process with inclusive community engagement is essential as plans for the OPC and its impact on Jackson Park are develope

1. Maximize preservation of existing green space and trees for play, picnics, sports, and other local uses by local park users

1. Ensure replacement of the track/athletic field within easy walking distance of the Hyde Park Academy High School with an equally high quality (or better) facility without using any additional park acreage and without any disruption in access by students or other community use

1. Continue to oppose Project 120’s pavilion/music venue proposal; support new buildings in the park only if part of the OPC; otherwise, work to renew and then maintain existing buildings

Please give us feedback at jacksonparkwatch@gmail.com. JPW can only be effective if we represent significant community voices!

Talking anew to the Park District’s Board of Commissioners about OPC and Yoko Ono

Margaret and Brenda presented an early statement of JPW’s expanded position to the CPD Commissioners during the “People in the Parks” segment of the August 10 monthly meeting. Noting that a new era had begun for Jackson Park with the announcement of the Obama Presidential Center location, we asked that Project 120’s proposals be set aside and the conversation about planning begin anew with a holistic view of Jackson Park with a particular attention to the needs and wishes of regular users:

Much of the public discussion to date has focused on the role of the Obama Center as a tourist destination, an anchor for a south museum campus that will spur economic development. Amid the hope and frenzy generated by that vision, Jackson Park Watch asks that the Park District, the Obama Foundation, and other responsible parties not lose sight of the importance of Jackson Park as a park — a place to enjoy nature, to play, to gather with family and friends; a place with a community of users who live in the surrounding neighborhoods and whose voices should be heard as the future of Jackson Park is discussed. We urge you, Mr. Kelly and Commissioners, to remember that your primary commitment is not to tourists nor to developers nor to politicians, but to the children and families who use the park on a regular basis and depend on it for recreation and renewal.

We also revisited a topic presented at the June and July meetings – the terms of the Yoko Ono installation on the Wooded Island. As with the Obama Center, “Sky Landing” is no longer a possibility but an emerging reality – construction for the installation began this week and we have just been told that the fence may come down next month to allow for the Sky Landing unveiling– but many questions are still unanswered:

We know that this past Monday work on the concrete base for the Yoko Ono sculpture began on Wooded Island. We know that that base will be clad in marble. We know that the sculpture itself will be installed in about three weeks. We know that plans to remove the existing walkway along the west side of the Osaka Japanese Garden and to reconfigure the fence around the Garden to include the Yoko Ono piece are now being made. These developments add to the questions we have raised in the past and make them more urgent. Who will own the sculpture? Who is paying for it and for its installation? Who will maintain it? At whose expense? What are the plans for the new space that will be created? How will they impact the adjacent nature sanctuary? And how do you intend to manage access to the celebrity art work given that the area remains surrounded by fencing and that, even if that fencing were to be removed, neither parking nor restrooms are readily available? This is a public park. This is public space. The public deserves to know.

 You can find the complete statements at http://jacksonparkwatch.org under ‘key documents.”

A good letter to the Editor

JPW participant Eric Ginsburg wrote a terrific letter “Less is more for Jackson Park” to the Hyde Park Herald, published August 10. You can find it at: http://hpherald.com/letters-to-the-editor/

Community benefits?

Much has been said and written about community benefits since the announcement that the OPC will be located in Jackson Park. Obama Foundation president Martin Nesbitt raised at least a few eyebrows with his claim that there is no need for any community benefits agreements since the Obama Library is in itself a benefit to the community.

That aside, believing as JPW does that the Park is itself a massive benefit to the community and that maintaining as much open parkland as possible for community users is essential, JPW coordinators Brenda and Margaret participated in a community benefit coalition meeting on Wednesday, August 10. We proposed that preserving open space in Jackson Park for local uses by local users should be among the community benefits that the coalition puts forward. While there were many priority items under consideration, the idea of preserving park space for local users was sympathetically received. JPW coordinators will continue to participate in such meetings and will report back.

Brenda Nelms and Margaret Schmid
Coordinators
Jackson Park Watch

Greetings all,

Breaking news

The Tribune and Sun-Times are both reporting today that the Obama Presidential Center will be located in Jackson Park. In response to these reports, we sent the following message to Michael Strautmanis, vice-president of civic engagement of the Obama Foundation, with whom we met last week (see below):

“If indeed the Obama Presidential Center is to be located in Jackson Park as reports indicate, as coordinators of Jackson Park Watch we wish to welcome the Obama Center to Jackson Park. In keeping with President Obama’s personal commitment to community engagement and history of community involvement, we ask that the Obama Foundation convene a community engagement process to create a common vision for the future of the Obama Presidential Center in our great park, and also ask that all pending plans for changes in the park be set aside in favor of the outcomes of this vital community process.”

Meetings around town

Margaret and Brenda met recently with the leaders of the Friends of the Parks and of Openlands  to discuss shared concerns for the preservation and enhancement of the city’s parks, including in particular JPW concerns about Project 120 proposals.  Such periodic conversations are wonderful opportunities for JPW to bring these organizations up to date on the latest developments in our efforts to promote community input in planning for Jackson Park and to learn from similar issues and efforts in other parks around Chicago.  We greatly appreciate their wise counsel and words of encouragement.

Margaret and Brenda also met last week with representatives of the Obama Foundation – Michael Strautmanis (VP of Civic Engagement) and Roark Frankel (Director of Planning and Construction) – to acquaint them with JPW’s role in promoting community engagement and transparency in planning for Jackson Park and to share community concerns about Project 120 proposals.  While they did not reveal the site for the Obama Presidential Center (surprise, surprise), they did affirm their commitment to including the full South Side community in planning for the Center, wherever it is located.  We look forward to working with them as their plans evolve.

Taking community views to the Park District Commissioners

Knowing that the Park District’s seven appointed commissioners can’t be aware of all that is happening in all of the city parks, Brenda and Margaret have become regulars at the monthly meetings of the Board of Commissioners.  At the July 13 meeting, we used the “People in the Parks” spot on the agenda to share community concerns about Project 120s’ proposed pavilion/music venue and to underscore the need for Project 120 to develop a proposal for a revised, downsized, relocated pavilion without a music venue feature.  We also raised questions about the reasonableness of Project 120’s plan to install Yoko Ono’s “Sky Landing” on Wooded Island this fall when the island may be fenced off entirely, and when, even if the fence were down, the closure of the Darrow Bridge means that Wooded Island has no access to parking or public restrooms.  Look under the “Key Documents” section on the JPW website (http://jacksonparkwatch.org) to see the complete statements to the Commissioners.

Welcome developments in The Trib

The Chicago Tribune seems to have become a forum for discussion of questions relating to the proper usage of public parks. This is a development to applaud!

Following the article on opposition to proposed music venues in Jackson, Douglas and Montrose Parks (www.chicagotribune.com/newslocal/breaking/ct-parks-music-venue-jackson-douglas-montrose-met-20160704-story.html) and the editorial on “Parks and the sweet sound of silence,” (www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-music-in-the-parks-edit-0715-md-20160714.story.html) the Tribune also published last week a follow-up letter by birder Nancy Tikalsky, “Chicago’s parks are for nature — not noise.”

(You can read it at  http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/letters/ct-chicago-s-parks-are-for-nature-8212-not-noise-20160721-story.html.)

We know that many other JPW participants submitted letters to the Tribune that were not printed due to space constraints or the pressures of breaking news.  We are very grateful for those efforts, which even though unpublished were important indicators to the editorial staff of  interest in the issue.  In the future, to be sure to get our messages out there, we may want to both send letters to the editor via e-mail and also (for those who are digital subscribers to the Trib) add to the ‘Comments” section following any park-related article.

JPW participants may also be interested in Sunday’s column by Blair Kamin, urging Mayor Emanuel to transform the lakefront site once proposed for the Lucas Museum into a proper park space, green and accessible, without either an intrusive structure or the current sprawling parking lot.

(http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/ct-lakefront-parking-lot-kamin-met-0724-20160722-column.html )

What’s new on the JPW website?

You may want to check out additions and improvements to the JPW website.  We’ve redone the opening page to better reflect community views on Project 120 proposals.  We’ve improved the Key Documents page, adding a section with the statements to the monthly meetings of the Park District Board of Commissioners.  And we’ve added the recent Tribune pieces.  Take a look for yourself, and then share with friends who haven’t yet signed on to the JPW g-mail list.

Brenda Nelms and Margaret Schmid
Jackson Park Watch
http://jacksonparkwatch.org
Like us on our Facebook page.

(To unsubscribe from this g-list, simply send “unsubscribe” to jacksonparkwatch@gmail.com.)

Greetings all,

Another positive development

It was good news last week when Alderman Leslie Hairston announced that she plans to use a community engagement process to further review of the plans for Jackson Park currently being advanced by Project 120.  In another positive development for the community, the Chicago Tribune published a major article on Tuesday, noting the controversies about proposals for music venues in Jackson Park and several other city parks.  The article mentioned Jackson Park Watch and included a lengthy statement by Margaret outlining concerns about the need for and appropriateness of Project 120’s proposed pavilion.  Of equal importance the article highlighted a significant public policy issue:  are our public parks meant to be free and open for the public, or should they be seen as tourist attractions or commercial ventures that can generate revenue for the Park District and the city?

This question has been at the center of controversies throughout the history of our city, with notable conflicts over proposals to erect buildings in public parks along the lakefront.  Many of us know of Montgomery Ward’s long, lonely, and successful struggle to prevent construction in Grant Park.  The fight over building the Lucas museum on the lakefront is the most recent example.  Community voices calling to keep Jackson Park free of an out-sized visitors center/music venue and to preserve large numbers of healthy trees slated for destruction to create a “Great Lawn” echo many of these themes and assert the need for transparency and community input in Park District planning.

(Read the article at http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-parks-music-venue-jackson-douglas-montrose-met-20160704-story.html.)

JPAC monthly meeting, Monday, 7/11

Note special location:   Iowa Building (on 56^th Street, across from Montgomery Place)    —-6:30 p.m., Picnic (potluck);  7:00 p.m., Business Meeting

At its June meeting, the Jackson Park Advisory Council considered a proposal to amend its bylaws regarding the definition of voting members.  Concerns were voiced about the imprecise wording of the amendment, and there was also a suggestion for an alternative proposal.  JPAC officials decided to bring a revised proposal to the July meeting.  Here are the variations, as we understand them:

• Current rule:  A member may vote if s/he is attending at least the second meeting in the preceding 12-month period.
• Change proposed by JPAC board:  A member may vote if s/he is attending at least the fourth meeting in the preceding 12-month period.
• Alternative proposal from the floor:  A member may vote after having attended two meetings in the preceding 12 months (i.e., may vote at the third meeting).

If this is an issue on which you wish to weigh in and you are qualified under the current rule, please come to meeting so that your vote for or against can be counted.  We will be there.

Brenda Nelms and Margaret Schmid
Jackson Park Watch
http://jacksonparkwatch.org
Like us on our Facebook page.

(To unsubscribe from this g-list, simply send “unsubscribe” to jacksonparkwatch@gmail.com.)

Greetings all,

Alderman Hairston favors community engagement process as next step for Jackson Park 

Just one month ago many of us attended the meeting Alderman Hairston convened at La Rabida to discuss the future of Jackson Park.  As those who were there recall, it was an overflow crowd, full of people with many questions, all supportive of the Park.

At her monthly ward meeting on Tuesday, June 28, the Alderman reported on that May 31 meeting.  Recounting that she had called the meeting to offer clarity and defuse misperceptions, she noted the differing opinions that had been voiced, but that all who were there showed their concern for the Park.  Continuing on, Hairston said she is now putting together a plan in conjunction with the Park District for next steps.  Reflecting the voices of many in the community, she said she would like to create a community engagement process to further explore what the community wants to see in the Park in the future.  Jackson Park Watch has offered to work with her office to help make this a reality.

Worth a thousand words

Local architect Jim San has created a graphic juxtaposing the rendering of the pavilion that Project 120 wants to put on the parking lot at the north end of Jackson Park with Olmsted’s drawing of the same area.  Jim says “My only comment is that the old saying ‘a picture’s worth a thousand words’ is true.  Olmsted’s drawing is a document that directly conveys his intentions and it must be properly understood.”

(Look for Jim’s highly informative graphic under “worth a thousand words” at the end of the Key Documents portion of this website)

And an appreciation for Olmsted’s vision for theWooded Island

Eric Ginsburg’s recent letter to the Hyde Park Herald also addresses Olmsted’s intentions and recognizes the continuing relevance of Olmsted’s focus on natural spaces.  You can read it at:

http://hpherald.com/2016/06/29/there-is-no-need-to-mar-the-middle-of-jackson-park-with-another-intrusive-artificial-object/

Brenda Nelms and Margaret Schmid
Jackson Park Watch
http://jacksonparkwatch.org
Like us on our Facebook page.

(To unsubscribe from this g-list, simply send “unsubscribe” to jacksonparkwatch@gmail.com.)

Greetings All!

This Update includes information about the status of the Darrow Bridge restoration and answers some questions about the dimensions of Project 120’s proposed pavilion as described at the May 31 meeting. We report on Monday night’s JPAC meeting, and to recommend a few things you might find of interest.

Next Steps on Darrow Bridge Restoration

We met on June 9 with Luis Benitez and Tanera Adams, the Chicago Department of Transportation staff who are managing the restoration of the Clarence Darrow Bridge (known to CDOT as the Columbia Bridge). They confirmed that the restored bridge will be open only for pedestrians, bicyclists and emergency vehicles. Interestingly, they told us that now all new pedestrian bridges are designed to accommodate emergency vehicles.

They explained the scheduled for the restoration as follows:

1. As was announced in November 2015, CDOT has secured funding for the engineering study and design phases of the project, and has selected a consulting firm, Stanley Consultants. However, the work cannot actually begin until the legal department gives an okay with a “Notice To Proceed,” which has yet to happen.
2. Once the NTP is given, Phase I (the engineering study phase) will begin. It will take 1 to 2 years with at least one opportunity for community input. The CDOT staff will notify JPW of the opportunities for community input, and we will publicize them widely.
3. Phase II, the design phase, will follow, with additional opportunities for community input.
4. Then of course, at long last, will come Phase III, the actual construction, which CDOT anticipates would begin, at the earliest, in spring 2019.

The good news is that there will be opportunities for community input, which JPW will know about and will publicize. The bad news is that we are talking about multiple years. This prompts questions about the wisdom of proceeding with other initiatives as long as the Darrow Bridge is closed.

How big was that?

At the May 31 meeting, Park District staff said that the footprint of the pavilion proposed by Project 120, said to be 15,000 square feet, was only as big as 2.5 tennis courts. This prompted some expressions of disbelief and a variety of calculations. We asked the Park District for clarification, and were told that the tennis court analogy was based on these assumptions:

• Project 120’s proposed pavilion would be two levels, with 8,500 sq. ft. on the top level and 6,500 sq. ft. in a below-grade basement.
• The tennis court measurement included open space surrounding the court in addition to the playing area proper.
• The estimate of the size of the footprint excluded the area under the proposed wide eaves and the redone “music court,” with trees removed, where there would be seating for the outdoor music performances.

All in all, this way of describing the size of the proposed pavilion grossly underestimates the scale of the facility and its impact on the park. Clearly, a downsized, relocated pavilion is in order.

JPAC June 13 meeting

The JPAC meeting began with a lengthy power-point presentation of what JPAC has done and plans to do. Brenda and Margaret hope that they accomplish all they have described, past and present! Thanks to the other JPW stalwarts who were there as well. It was a looooong meeting.

Eventually the agenda moved to the proposal to amend the bylaws regarding the requirements for voting. Questions were raised as to the exact meaning of the proposed amendment. Various concerns and alternatives were presented. In the end, JPAC officials decided to bring a revised proposal to the next meeting, without clarity as to what that proposal might be.

You may be interested

We’ve updated our website to reflect the May 31 meeting, the fact that Project 120’s proposal for traffic across the Darrow Bridge has been taken off the table, and to reflect concerns about Yoko Ono’s “Skylanding” piece. You can take a look at http://jacksonparkwatch.org.

You may also want to read the presentation JPW made to the June 8 meeting of the Park District Board of Commissioners. It is available on our website on the newly revised “documents” page.

Finally, a report: the JPW open letter to Alderman Hairston was published in the Hyde Park Herald. You can read it at http://hpherald.com/2016/06/15/thanks-to-alderman-hairston/.

Brenda Nelms and Margaret Schmid
Jackson Park Watch
http://jacksonparkwatch.org
Like us on our Facebook page.

Greetings all!

This Update is devoted in the main to follow-up on the very successful May 31 meeting that so many of you participated in. Thanks to all of you who were there along with so many others from the community.

On behalf of JPW, we have sent an open letter to Alderman Hairston with a copy to the Hyde Park Herald Letters to the Editors, thanking her for convening and leading the meeting (see below). We encourage any of you who want to share your own comments about the meeting to communicate directly with Alderman Hairston (ward05@cityofchicago.org) and/or with the Herald (Letters@hpherald.com ).

Thanks to Alderman Hairston!
An open letter to Alderman Leslie Hairston from Jackson Park Watch

Dear Alderman Hairston,

Jackson Park Watch wants to thank you for convening and leading the May 31 community meeting on the future of Jackson Park. The fact that over 170 residents from communities surrounding the park came out on a very wet and stormy night to listen to and question Park District CEO Michael Kelly and others indicates the depth and breadth of interest in and concern about the proposals for the future of our park that have been promoted by Project 120.

We congratulate you especially on a well-run meeting that, in spite of the overflow crowd, allowed participants to give voice to questions on a variety of issues representing many points of view — the history of Project 120, the role of the Park District, the scale and location of the proposed Phoenix Pavilion (including whether any new structure is needed at all), concern about loss of trees, green space and parking, as well as about the fates of the golf course and driving range, basketball court, and tennis courts, among them.

We are particularly pleased that the meeting provided the community with clarifications on some key concerns:

• Contrary to Project 120’s recent presentations, traffic over the restored Darrow Bridge will be limited to pedestrians, bicycles, and emergency vehicles only. There will not be a road for regular automobile traffic leading over the Bridge with parking along both sides.
• The pavilion proposal is a concept, not a done deal.   Because the idea of a road across the Bridge is off the table, there is a great opportunity to revisit not only the proposed location of this pavilion (on the current parking lot), but also its size and scope. A relocated, down-sized, simplified pavilion could far better align with community views.

We are grateful that you are committed to working with Mr. Kelly to develop a procedure and process for community input that will fully represent the Jackson Park community in all its diversity. The May 31 meeting was a great step toward that goal, and, once again we thank you.

Thanks to the Park District as well

As a second follow-up to the May 31 meeting, Margaret appeared at the monthly meeting of the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners to give a two- minute statement in the “People in the Parks” part of the meeting (and yes, it was timed!). The Park District generally videos these meetings, so the statement may eventually appear on video at https://chicagoparkdistrict.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx – scroll down to find the 6/8/16 meeting. Note that Brenda was out of town.

Here’s a summary of the JPW presentation. We also gave a hard copy of a longer version with more detail and relevant attachments to the individual commissioners and CEO Kelly.

1. We thanked CEO Mike Kelly and other staff for participating, for taking off the table the Project 120 proposal for a one-way road for regular automobile traffic across the Darrow Bridge with parking along each side, and for committing to further dialogue with the community in conjunction with Alderman Hairston.
2. We reported significant community concerns with Project 120’s proposed pavilion, including the loss of picnic and parking space, loss of trees, threats to birds, and noise. We observed that since the idea of a road across the Bridge with parking along both sides had been taken off the table, there was an excellent opportunity for a revised design of a downsized, relocated, simplified pavilion more in keeping with the wooded nature of the park and community concerns.
3. We noted that another opportunity to preserve trees and green space would be to redesign Project 120’s proposals for the Music Court and “Great Lawn” to limit the loss natural area.
4. We noted that it is very surprising that the Yoko Ono “SkyLanding” piece would be installed on Wooded Island at a time when, due to the closure of the Darrow Bridge, there would be no access to adequate parking or public restrooms. (In the expanded version, we also pointed to potential problems with the piece attracting graffiti and climbers, and questioned whether it would need to be fenced. A rendering of the piece is included in the Hyde Park Herald’s original online coverage of the May 31 meeting, see http://hpherald.com/2016/06/01/proposed-music-pavilion-the-focus-of-discussion-at-jackson-park-planning-meeting/.)

Finally, in conclusion we made two requests:

“We ask that the Park District work with Alderman Hairston to ensure a transparent and inclusive process for community review of a revised Project 120 proposal aligned with community concerns; and that the Park District delay the installation of the Sky Landing sculpture until the Darrow Bridge is reopened.”

JPAC meeting Monday 6/13
7 p.m., Jackson Park Field House, 6401 S. Stony Island Ave.

As you may recall, at its June meeting JPAC will consider a proposal to change its by-laws concerning the requirements for voting. Currently one can vote when attending a second meeting within the span of 12 months; the proposed revision would increase the attendance requirement to four meetings. If this proposed change is an issue on which you wish to weigh in and you are qualified under the current two-meeting rule, please come to meeting so that your vote for or against can be counted. We will be there.

Brenda Nelms and Margaret Schmid
Jackson Park Watch
http://jacksonparkwatch.org
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