Emanuel unleashes frustrations about Friends of the Parks

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Monday unleashed his frustrations about Friends of the Parks' ever-changing position on movie mogul George Lucas' lakefront museum and urged the group to "stop negotiating with themselves."

"In my view, Friends of the Parks has been all over the place negotiating among themselves and I can't make a deal" with an organization at odds with itself, the mayor said.

"Stop negotiating inside your board - making up differences. Because George Lucas, right now - while the clock is ticking and the sand is running through the clock - the fact is, George Lucas is now in discussions with other cities on the West Coast," he said. "And you could cost Chicago a significant educational and economic opportunity."

Friends of the Parks Executive Director Juanita Irizarry and Board Chair Lauren Moltz could not be reached for comment.

In a memo to its board members last week, Irizarry outlined a list of demands in exchange for the group's support for Emanuel's backup plan to build the $743 million Lucas museum on the site of the demolished, above ground portion of McCormick Place East.

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