{"id":65,"date":"2015-01-14T22:52:11","date_gmt":"2015-01-15T04:52:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/justus\/?p=65"},"modified":"2015-01-22T19:49:59","modified_gmt":"2015-01-23T01:49:59","slug":"at-south-side-meeting-disputes-erupt-over-obama-library","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/at-south-side-meeting-disputes-erupt-over-obama-library\/","title":{"rendered":"At South Side meeting, disputes erupt over Obama library"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Emily Hoerner<\/p>\n

Nearly 1,000 community leaders and residents gathered in Hyde Park for a public meeting Tuesday night, where tensions flared over using roughly 20 acres of Chicago Park District land for the Barack Obama Presidential Library.<\/a><\/p>\n

The two sites, Washington Park <\/a>and Jackson Park<\/a>, proposed by the University of Chicago belong to the Chicago Park District. If the Barack Obama Foundation chooses either bid, the land would have to be acquired by the city.<\/p>\n

\"Washington<\/a>
Washington Park and Jackson Park are two Chicago sites being proposed for Obama’s library. (Image from the University of Chicago)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hyde Park resident the Rev. Dr. Leon Finney said he doesn\u2019t believe the project is a \u201cland grab\u201d that would harm the parks. The South Side neighborhoods he grew up in are in dire need of help that the library could provide, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need an economic stimulus to overcome the poverty, the slum,\u201d said Finney, the pastor of Metropolitan Apostolic Community Church.<\/p>\n

The library and museum could bring 3,300 construction jobs, 800,000 annual visitors and bring in $220 million annually, according to University of Chicago projections announced at the meeting.<\/p>\n

When Little Rock, Arkansas, opened the William J. Clinton Presidential Center<\/a> in 2004, Little Rock Chamber of Commerce President Jay Chesshir said the library \u201ctransformed\u201d what was once a brownfield, warehouse zone in the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe went through a time there in Little Rock when everyone moved out,\u201d Chesshir said. \u201cThe presidential center announcement gave people reasons to look back within for opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Promises of improving the economic situation in Chicago\u2019s South Side was a common theme among those who took to the microphone to share their thoughts.<\/p>\n

Shanice McDonald, a Woodlawn resident, said she doesn\u2019t care whether the library is in a park or not, as long as it comes to the South Side.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s really absurd that they don\u2019t even want it to come just because it\u2019s on park district land,\u201d McDonald said.<\/p>\n

\"Crowd<\/a>
The crowd had strong reactions to public statements regarding the University of Chicago’s presidential library bid. (Emily Hoerner\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But fervor for preserving the parks could also be heard loudly at the meeting.<\/p>\n

Cassandra Francis, president of Friends of the Parks, an organization that gained recognition after filing a federal lawsuit<\/a> against plans for the George Lucas\u2019 museum on Chicago\u2019s lakefront, said Chicagoans deserve their open space.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe erosion of this park land and confiscation of this park land sets a dangerous precedent,\u201d Francis said after the meeting.<\/p>\n

Mayoral candidates Bob Fioretti and Jesus \u201cChuy\u201d Garcia, who oppose the use of the park district land, spoke at the event.<\/p>\n

Attendee Bobbie Townsend said she hopes the library won\u2019t use park space because she thinks there are other South Side neighborhoods, like Altgeld Gardens, that need the library. She said she is wary of the economic promises of improvement, believing permanent jobs at the library won\u2019t go to community residents anyway, eventually gentrifying the area.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The University of Chicago] is trying to make Bronzeville beige instead of brown,\u201d Townsend said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Emily Hoerner Nearly 1,000 community leaders and residents gathered in Hyde Park for a public meeting Tuesday night, where tensions flared over using roughly 20 acres of Chicago Park District land for the Barack Obama Presidential Library. The two sites, Washington Park and Jackson Park, proposed by the University of Chicago belong to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":4305,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,1],"tags":[211],"class_list":["post-65","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-public-affairs","category-uncategorized","tag-featured"],"yoast_head":"\nAt South Side meeting, disputes erupt over Obama library - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/at-south-side-meeting-disputes-erupt-over-obama-library\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"At South Side meeting, disputes erupt over Obama library - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Emily Hoerner Nearly 1,000 community leaders and residents gathered in Hyde Park for a public meeting Tuesday night, where tensions flared over using roughly 20 acres of Chicago Park District land for the Barack Obama Presidential Library. 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