In an effort to salvage the University of Chicago’s bid for an Obama Presidential Library, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago Park District will be hosting two public hearings to convey Chicago Park District-owned land to the City of Chicago. In the event the Obama Foundation selects the University of Chicago’s bid, the City will then negotiate with the Obama Foundation to convey the land to the Foundation. The first hearing will be Tuesday, Jan. 13, at 6:00 p.m. at Hyde Park High School, right across the street from one of the sites in Jackson Park that U of C has proposed for the library. The second hearing is set for Wednesday, Jan. 14, at 12:00 noon, at the Washington Park Fieldhouse, near another proposed site at Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Garfield Boulevard.
West Side residents are encouraged to attend the meetings and encourage Mayor Emanuel and the Department of Housing and Economic Development to also host public hearings on the UIC-North Lawndale bid for the Obama Presidential Library. The UIC-North Lawndale bid includes 2 proposed sites, including one on the UIC campus and one in North Lawndale. The proposed North Lawndale site is a 23-acre vacant, city-owned parcel located at Roosevelt and Kostner. Public hearings would be required to convey the city-owned parcel to the Obama Foundation in the event that UIC-North Lawndale is a successful bidder. Having the hearings now would put the UIC-North Lawndale bid on equal footing with the U of C bid. You may call the Mayor’s Office at 312-744-3300.
