Friends of the Parks deals Lucas Museum site potential death blow

Mayor Rahm Emanuel's Hail Mary plan to keep movie mogul George Lucas' museum in Chicago suffered a potential death blow Tuesday when Friends of the Parks declared its opposition to the McCormick Place site and threatened another lawsuit.

"Mr. Lucas and the city only wanted a lakefront site, and we do not believe that is acceptable. We don't think it's appropriate to exchange building on lakefront land for other things - even if it's park land. It's inappropriate to build on public trust land," said Juanita Irizarry, executive director of Friends of the Parks.

"Mr. Lucas may leave. That is ultimately his decision. But there are many other viable sites. Chicagoans should not be held hostage to one man's desires. The public trust must be protected and we will continue to fight for our lakefront to remain open, free and clear."

The Chicago Sun-Times reported exclusively in mid-April that Emanuel has shifted his focus from Soldier Field's south parking lot to the site of McCormick Place East to avoid a protracted legal battle over the Soldier Field site and satisfy Lucas' demand to get moving on the legacy project.

The mayor's original plan to give Lucas 17 acres of lakefront land near Soldier Field has been embroiled in a Friends of the Parks lawsuit kept alive by a federal judge who sympathizes with the group's central argument: that a 99-year lease "effectively surrenders control" of prime lakefront property to a museum that is "not for the benefit of the public," but would "promote private and/or commercial interests."

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