Burke Calls for Hearing on Adler Planetarium Admission HIkes

By Chuck Sudo in News on Jun 7, 2011 9:30PM

Photo by Flickr user rjseg1.

The Adler Planetarium's plans to increase admission fees by two dollars across the board has drawn the attention of Ald. Ed Burke. The 14th Ward Alderman said that the request should open to public hearings, rather than a simple vote tomorrow from the Chicago Park District Board of Directors.

You see, Burke's thinking of the children.

"Here we have summer coming, when kids don't have jobs and need a place to go, and the Adler museum is proposing to raise admission for children by 40 percent. It just seems to me to be a rather uncaring attitude, seeing as how they sit on taxpayer-owned land and receive subsidies from the government to conduct their affairs.

"Don't we think the public ought to have at least two days to digest this?" Burke said.

Having just reminded ourselves of all the things with which City Council voted in lockstep with Richard Daley, we ask, why start now?

27th Ward Ald. Walter Burnett, who chairs the Special Events committee that has jurisdiction over Park District matters, said he would consider Burke's requeest.