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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Berlin Sans FB","sans-serif";color:#663300'>(ILbird readers =- this is FYI only – take the discussions to BCNnet.)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Berlin Sans FB","sans-serif";color:#663300'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Berlin Sans FB","sans-serif";color:#663300'>(THERE IS A CALL TO ACTION BELOW.)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Berlin Sans FB","sans-serif";color:#663300'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Berlin Sans FB","sans-serif";color:#663300'>This is an update for those who might be interested in the re-do of the northeast section of Chicago’s Grant Park – the section known as Daley Bicentennial Park. (It is what is between Millennium Park and the lake.) This project is being driven by the need to repair the Grant Park Garage, which requires removing everything off the top including the trees. (The fate of the trees has been the subject of much debate for several years. The Grant Park Conservancy director is a passionate advocate for bird-friendly habitat.) <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Berlin Sans FB","sans-serif";color:#663300'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Berlin Sans FB","sans-serif";color:#663300'>Please note: the repairs are not voluntary. Without the massive repair work the garage would have to be closed for safety. The materials used to build underground garages deteriorate after 50 years. One of the driving reasons behind the City’s “sale” of the garages was the need to spend hundreds of millions of dollars for repairs; it is now the responsibility of the new owner. (Ditto for the repairs 50 years from now.)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Berlin Sans FB","sans-serif";color:#663300'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Berlin Sans FB","sans-serif";color:#663300'>The Chicago Park District continues to own the soil (and thus park) above the garage. The new park plan has been finalized. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Berlin Sans FB","sans-serif";color:#663300'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Berlin Sans FB","sans-serif";color:#663300'>The Park District has just gone thru a multi-year public hearing process to receive input for use by the landscape developers hired because they are known for doing great things with not much money. (In this case, not much = about $30mil. Don’t tell the Occupiers.) Their goal was to build a park for the nearby community that would also impress visitors with its creativity and beauty.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Berlin Sans FB","sans-serif";color:#663300'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Berlin Sans FB","sans-serif";color:#663300'>The end result is an area largely filled with grass and a much wider diversity of tree species (including pines, which are in short supply in Grant Park). The area will be very contoured with small hills offering views of the lake, etc. The main people amenities are a rock climbing wall, a small skateboard park, a playground and an ice skating ribbon (AKA walkway in summer). A decade from now the structures will be hidden by the new tree growth.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Berlin Sans FB","sans-serif";color:#663300'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Berlin Sans FB","sans-serif";color:#663300'>[If you saw the article in the paper about the hockey players who have finally gone public about their illegal use of the Daley-Bi ice skating rink in the middle of the night: Those people are being encouraged to talk to the Millennium Park managers about legally using that rink all night.)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Berlin Sans FB","sans-serif";color:#663300'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Berlin Sans FB","sans-serif";color:#663300'>Here is the CALL TO ACTION:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Berlin Sans FB","sans-serif";color:#663300'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Berlin Sans FB","sans-serif";color:#663300'>It is the Park District’s official plan to PAVE OVER Peanut Park for tennis courts. Peanut Park is the far northeastern section that you see at the bend in Lake Shore Drive. (The Columbia Yacht Club is on the east side of the Drive at that point.) This area has been the site of many great bird sightings by ILbird contributors over the years. It is not clear that even the tennis players are happy about this. Everyone in that neighborhood speaks in favor of keeping Peanut Park a nature sanctuary.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Berlin Sans FB","sans-serif";color:#663300'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Berlin Sans FB","sans-serif";color:#663300'>Meanwhile, the aforementioned GP Conservancy director is actively working with the developers of the LakeShore East area to use some vacant land there for tennis courts. The spot is the least desirable for future development and thus, it could be decades before any residences are built. Using it for tennis courts would be a great win-win.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Berlin Sans FB","sans-serif";color:#663300'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Berlin Sans FB","sans-serif";color:#663300'>CALL TO ACTION: If you know anyone who lives on East Randolph or in the LakeShore East neighborhood, ask them to email their alderman about keeping Peanut Park as it is. (No need to contact the Park District; they already know how people feel. They need to hear it from Alderman Brendan Reilly.)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Berlin Sans FB","sans-serif";color:#663300'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Berlin Sans FB","sans-serif";color:#663300'>Randi Doeker<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Berlin Sans FB","sans-serif";color:#663300'>Chicago<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Berlin Sans FB","sans-serif";color:#663300'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Berlin Sans FB","sans-serif";color:#663300'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Berlin Sans FB","sans-serif";color:#663300'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Berlin Sans FB","sans-serif";color:#663300'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Berlin Sans FB","sans-serif";color:#663300'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Berlin Sans FB","sans-serif";color:#663300'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div></body></html>