Friends Of The Parks Sue To Keep Lucas Museum Off Lakefront
This artist rendering shows the future Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. (Lucas Museum)
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CHICAGO (CBS) – A parks advocacy group has filed a federal lawsuit against the city, seeking to block plans to keep filmmaker George Lucas’ proposed museum off the lakefront.
The city has chosen a parcel of land south of Soldier Field as the home for the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, but the Friends of the Parks claimed in its lawsuit that the city does not have the authority to transfer that land to a private entity.
The lawsuit names the city and the Chicago Park District as defendants.
The city has offered to lease the site to the museum for $1 a year, and Lucas has offered to pay for the entire cost of building and operating the museum.
However, the lawsuit alleges, because landfill from Lake Michigan was used to build the lakefront park where the city wants to the museum to be built, it is public property that cannot be turned over to a private operator.
“Under the public trust doctrine recognized in both federal and state courts, such trust 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,” Friends of the Parks wrote in their lawsuit.
The lawsuit makes no mention of the city’s 1973 Lakefront Protection Ordinance, which prohibits any further private development along the lakefront. Friends of the Parks unsuccessfully tried to block the 2003 renovation of Soldier Field, citing the Lakefront Protection Ordinance.
The group said they do not oppose building the Lucas Museum in Chicago, they just want it in a different location, such as the vacant site of the old Michael Reese Hospital, which would still be near the lake, but not on park property.
“Defendants will interfere with and impair right of … Illinois citizens to use and enjoy property held in trust by the State of Illinois as a natural resource and pristine physical environment and as a free and open space for access to and use and enjoyment of navigation, fishing, boating, and commerce on Lake Michigan,” the lawsuit alleged. “Plaintiffs and other Illinois citizens will suffer an irreparable injury to their beneficial interest in the property.”
The Friends of the Parks have asked a federal judge to prohibit the city and park district from transferring control of the proposed museum site to the Lucas Museum, or from approving construction of the museum building on lakefront park property.
The group was scheduled to discuss their lawsuit Thursday at City Hall.
