Judge To City: Leave Proposed Lucas Museum Site Alone (For Now)
By Chuck Sudo in News on Nov 25, 2014 5:30PM
(Image courtesy Lucas Museum of Narrative Art)
A federal judge brought up the recent past of development on the lakefront when he ordered the city to not alter the proposed site for the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in any way while a lawsuit to prevent its construction between Soldier Field and McCormick Place works its way through the courts.
U.S. District Judge John Darrah ordered the city to stand pat after city attorneys could not promise the parking lots currently on the proposed site would not be ripped up in the middle of the night, similar to how former Mayor Richard M. Daley ordered the demolition of Meigs Field's airstrips under cover of darkness on March 30, 2003.
The advocacy group Friends of the Parks sued the city two weeks ago to prevent the Lucas Museum from being built on the lakefront, arguing the proposed site violates public trust doctrine and the state of Illinois, as the sole trustee, has final say over how the lakefront should be developed.