And the folk bringing the lawsuit arenât at all motivated by racist bigotry. No, not at all.
Iâll bet the deplorables just love the idea of an Obama lawsuit, while missing the point entirelyâŚ
Another being an attorney I may not understand this clearly but it would seem to me there is or isnât such a law⌠why would it take months of discovery?
They are treading cautiously because of the proposed Lucaâs Museum that was slated for a lakefront location on public parkland. While the Obama Center is also on public parkland, it is not on the lakefront, so likely not subject to the Public Trust doctrine that quashed Lucaâs.
Protect Our Parks appears to have started as an attempt to protect Lincoln Park from an elite private school. They also seem to trying to protect a park in Indiana from private use. As much as the deplorables love this, it may actually be motivated by do-goodery and not by racist bigotry. Others may know more than me.
Jackson Park seems like a logical place for the center. It is near the University of Chicago which would be good for researcher. It is also near poor black areas which would be good for community outreach. However, it would be sad to cannibalize the park for a big presidential center. I have no good answers here.
As much as the deplorables love this, it may actually be motivated by do-goodery and not by racist bigotry.
As I remember from a year or so ago, the complaint was gentrification, and pushing out the âpoorsâ.
Seems to me this is a question of law, so I wonder why there is a jury trial? Shouldnât this be an issue for summary judgment?
A friend of mine used to have a photo of him with Harry Truman. He and some friends were driving across the country in the '60s, and stopped in at the Truman Library, a modest structure in Independence, MO. And there was Harry working away on his memoirs and happy to say hello. Presidential libraries have become huge and gargantuan, like the presidency. Unnecessarily so. I have always been a great fan of Obama (stumped for him in the snows of New Hampshire in 2007-08), but I also have sympathy for the views of the plaintiffs here. Do we need another huge monument to one man? Not really.
In its lawsuit, an environmental group called Protect Our Parks contends that the center shouldnât be built in Jackson Park on the South Side because the transfer of parkland to a private entity violates state law. The city says there is no such violation.
Well, either there is or there isnât a violation of the law. So yes, letâs by all means waste a bunch of time processing this, and in the end, thereâll be another, different roadblock.
Does anyone have a link to where in this large park the Obama Center is to be built? All I can find is âfronting Stony Island Avenueâ. Frequently these suits happen because someoneâs beloved existing facility is to be removed. One of the reasons the Lucas museum went down in flames is that it would have eliminated a favorite Chicago Bears tailgating spot.
So would you prefer it if the first African American President was the first president in recent memory without a presidential library?
The Obama Center is to be built on the strip of land between Cornell Drive and Stony Island just south of Midway Plaisance. Currently there is a football field with surrounding track at this location. The field is primarily used by a public high school located a few hundred yards south on the opposite side of Stony Island. The original proposal was for this football field to be relocated to a position directly across the street from the school. It appears that this aspect of the project has already begun, as there is currently major construction underway at that location. Additionally the below ground utilities in the area have recently been upgraded.
Trust me. These plaintiffs are hypocrites. They file a suit about the Obama Center located along a seedy roadway, yet they say nothing about this private venture located right on the water front:
And the sign says: NIMBY at work
The new location of the football field takes out a baseball field and little league diamond, unless theyâve been incorporated into the new football field somehow. Hardly seems worth the time and cost of a suit.
What do those things have to do with one another?
Are you suggesting the private yacht club is situated in the same public park as the proposed site?
Nah. But I think we could find something more modest, maybe in DC. Barackâs color has nothing to do with it. Itâs a matter of good sense. Letâs face it, Regan and the Bushâs donât really deserve libraries.
Obviously, you know more than I do.
Yes, There are several private yacht clubs in Jackson Park