Friends Of The Parks Leader Cassandra Francis Steps Down

By Margaret Paulson in News on Apr 22, 2015 1:50PM

A rendering of the proposed Lucas Museum, a project Friends of the Park have vehemently opposed. (Image courtesy Lucas Museum of Narrative Art)

Friends of the Parks president Cassandra Francis announced late yesterday that she is stepping down after only a one-year stint with the organization.

Francis made the announcement in an emailed statement:

"I'm moving on from Friends of the Parks, but I plan to stay closely connected to the cause of protecting Chicago's irreplaceable public parks and open spaces which make it a great city. I will continue to focus on open space, environmental and real estate issues both in Chicago and abroad.”

Francis, a certified urban planner, was the former head of planning for the Olympic Village when Chicago was making its 2016 Olympics bid. She also previously was a senior-level Transportation and Development Planner for Metra. Before Francis led Friends of the Parks, the position belonged to preservationist Erma Tranter, who held the post for 33 years.

Friends of the Parks, a preservation and advocacy group for the parks and public land in Chicago, has been in the news lately as an outspoken foe against the proposed locations of The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art and the Obama Presidential Library.

FOTP filed a lawsuit against the City of Chicago and Chicago Park District for its plans to lease 17 acres of lakefront property near Museum Campus to the Lucas Museum. The lawsuit, filed in mid-November last year alleges that the museum location violates the state’s Public Trust Doctrine, which says “property recovered from the waters of Lake Michigan should be set aside and preserved as a natural resource and open space equally available to Illinois citizens for their use and enjoyment and for access to navigation, fishing and commerce on Lake Michigan.” Because the Lucas Museum is private, it can’t be equally accessible.

Additionally, back in February, Francis and FOTP warned the Obama administration in a letter that, while the organization strongly supports the Obama Presidential Library in Chicago, it will seek legal action if the Barack Obama Foundation chooses the University of Chicago location on the South Side. The University of Chicago made the proposal, even though the university didn’t currently own the land they were proposing for the site. However, Mayor Emanuel and the City Council voted to turn over 20 acres of the parkland to the university if its bid was chosen.

Though Francis and FOTP have a lot of support regarding the Lucas Museum lawsuit, that same support is not expected regarding the Obama Library. Residents seem to support the proposed library, as does Mayor Emanuel, who told Francis and FOTP:

“See this as an opportunity for the city in which you’re a part of and you love. We will work with you on issues as it relates to parks and park land. We’ve done it even before this. … We all collectively added 750 acres in the last four years. We can make this a win-win situation.”

Sun-Times columnist Michael Sneed is suggesting that the sudden resignation from Francis might sealed the deal in bringing the Obama Library to Chicago. One of her top sources is claiming that the mayor's office is saying the library is now a definite go. Another anonymous source, this time with Friends of the Parks, said that Francis resigned because of a negative annual review due to her inability to work well with a number of key people in board leadership roles, choosing to leave her post before her and the group could work through these issues.