Zoning Committee Approves Children's Museum Plan

By Margaret Lyons in News on Jun 5, 2008 11:02PM

The City Council's Zoning Committee approved the Children's Museum's move to Grant Park today by a 6-3 vote after six hours of testimony. Next up, the whole City Council votes on the plan next Wednesday, and Mayor Daley says he has all the votes he needs to get the plan approved.

From the Sun-Times:

Prior to [today's] final vote, [42nd Ward Alderman Brendan] Reilly tried to get the Zoning Committee to put off a decision, citing "glaring errors not typically tolerated" in the written notice given to nearby residents. He also accused the museum of changing the boundaries of the project without revising that notice.

When those parliamentary maneuvers failed, Reilly once again appealed to a Children’s Museum with what he called "tunnel vision" to consider alternatives, such as Northerly Island.

"We could avoid an ugly City Council showdown that forces aldermen to effectively choose between their prerogative and a project supported by the mayor. … We could avert a drawn out legal battle," Reilly said.

There are 15 aldermen on the committee, so why did only 9 of them vote? [Trib, S-T]