Fighting City Hall

I guess it can be done.

Last year there was talk of extending Lake Shore Drive north to Evanston and creating a park out of the entire Rogers Park stretch of lakefront, including a marina at Loyola University. My congresswoman, Jan Schakowsky, got a million dollars in US Department of Transportation funds for a feasibility study on the highway extension, and some architects were asked to come up with conceptual designs.

This was not met with much enthusiasm from neighborhood residents. They drafted a referendum opposing the development plans and were able to get it put on the 49th ward ballots in the November 2004 elections. The referendum passed by a 7-1 margin, but that didn't kill the project.

The idea of developing the lakefront was favored by Mayor Daley and by Jan Schakowsky (as reported by the Morse Hellhole blogger), and when people in high places get an idea to do something, it often happens, regardless of what their constituents think. Despite the referendum results, the Chicago Park District presented plans last month for "Edgewater Harbor."

The Park District held a public meeting on Thursday at Loyola Park (it was advertised at the Rogers Park Conservancy website -- urbsinhorto.org). I had band practice and couldn't attend, but the Chicago Tribune reported on it in yesterday's paper:

Chicago Park District officials said Thursday they were dropping proposals for a harbor in Rogers Park.

The Park District made the decision halfway through a public meeting that packed 300 people into the gymnasium of the Loyola Park fieldhouse.

It was a big victory for the will of the people.