"The Last Four Miles": An Open Lakefront in Chicago's Future?

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Jun 9, 2009 8:30PM

The lakefront at Chicago that's open to the public stretches for 26 miles. But one group - Friends of the Park - wants to see that stretched just a bit further, citing Daniel Burnham: “The Lakefront by right belongs to the people - not a foot of its shores should be appropriated to the exclusion of the people." The group unveiled a plan this morning that would see the four miles still considered private property developed and opened up to the general public. The plan is called The Last Four Miles and features a detailed plan on how the still-private areas of lakefront would be developed. The downside? A hefty price tag: the group estimates the work would cost somewhere between $350 million and $450 million. And, regardless of the cost, not everyone is on board with the plan. Mike Truppa, a spokesman for Friends of the Parks, told the Sun-Times, “There’s some dissent. There’s a small group of homeowners in high-rise condos who use the lakefront as their private beaches...mainly in Rogers Park and Edgewater." If completed, the lakefront paths would stretch from the Illinois/Indiana border to the south all the way to Evanston on the north. The Tribune also has a detailed run-down of some of the proposed development plans.