City To Offer Its Plans To The Public

Aero-News has learned that Wednesday, March 1, is the date of the first public discussion of the Chicago Park District's plans for Northerly Island. The event is part of a weekly lunch lecture series conducted by the Chicago Architecture Foundation.

The free event will be held from 12:15 pm until 1 pm, at The John Buck Company Lecture Hall Gallery in downtown Chicago. Arnold Randall, Director of Planning & Development, Chicago Park District, will present the Park District's plans in a lecture entitled "Northerly Island: Planning Chicago’s Next Great Open Space"

Of course, Northerly Island once was home to a lovely little airport called Meigs Field (above) -- until -- cough-- Mayor Richard Daley ordered bulldozers to rip its runways to shreds under the cover of darkness in March 2003 (below, right).

"We encourage all nearby Meigs supporters to attend to show support for our Parks and Planes proposal, combining a new lakefront park with an aviation museum and operating Meigs Field," the Friends of Meigs stated in a news release.

The lecture will be the first time the city has put its plans for the former Meigs Field up for public discussion since the final "public planning session" in March 2005 -- during which approximately 2/3 of the participants walked out in protest of the city's plans.

Participants are encouraged to bring a bag lunch for Wednesday's event. Aero-News also suggests appropriate headache and heartburn medication.

FMI: Read About Parks And Planes