Lightfoot urged to embrace $19B One Central development

Mayor Lori Lightfoot was urged Friday to drop her reservations regarding a $19 billion development over railroad tracks west of Soldier Field with blockbuster potential to grow a shrinking Chicago.

Two days after Lightfoot essentially read the riot act to developers of the massive project known as "One Central," Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce CEO Jack Lavin rose to the defense of Wisconsin developer Bob Dunn.

Dunn isn't running roughshod over elected officials and the neighboring residents they represent, he's embarking on a lengthy process of community engagement, Lavin said.

The Wisconsin developer better known for his stadium projects didn't go to Springfield "under cover of darkness" to slip authorization for a $3.8 billion transit hub serving the One Central project into the state capital bill, Lavin said.

Dunn simply took advantage of a once-in-a-decade opportunity provided by the capital bill to qualify for a federal program that could provide up to $1 billion in low-interest financing for the project, Lavin said.

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