Committee on Special Events, Cultural Affairs and Recreation meeting, October 25, 2024
- When: Fri, Oct 25, 2024, 12:00 PM (Chicago time)
- Where: City Council Chamber, 2nd Floor, City Hall, 121 North LaSalle Street - Chicago, IL 60602
- Status: Scheduled & Published
- Committee: Committee on Special Events, Cultural Affairs and Recreation
- Video: https://vimeo.com/1022279066
- Transcript: full text (13,274 words, automatic captions)
Meeting notes
AI-written from the transcript. Speakers are inferred from cues in the recording, so treat names as estimates and check the video at the linked time.
The Committee on Special Events, Cultural Affairs and Recreation heard five public commenters, including residents raising safety and encampment concerns at Gompers Park and supporters of the Winsley Parkway garden expansion. The committee approved its September 2024 Rule 45 report and, after members questioned Sharon Bush on park safety and rule enforcement, workforce issues, fundraising and private partnerships, indoor program space, dog and child safety, permits and the Ogden Park field house, recommended her appointment to the Chicago Park District Board. The committee also recommended four open space impact fee expenditures presented by the Department of Planning and Development: turf fields at LaSalle II and Goethe elementary schools, expansion of the Winsley Parkway community garden, and a NeighborSpace open space at 947 West Cullerton Street. All items passed on voice votes.
Topics: Chicago Park District Board appointment, open space impact fees, Gompers Park safety, school turf fields, community gardens, park funding
Agenda items discussed
- 4:14 Public comment: discussed
- 21:42 September 2024 Rule 45 report: passed
- 22:15 Appointment of Sharon Bush as Commissioner of the Chicago Park District: passed
- 1:05:53 Open space impact fee expenditure for LaSalle II school turf field (O2024-0012491): passed
- 1:10:09 Open space impact fee expenditure to NeighborSpace for Winsley Parkway community garden: passed
- 1:14:46 Open space impact fee expenditure for Goethe Elementary School athletic facilities (O2024-0013124): passed
- 1:18:16 Open space impact fee expenditure to NeighborSpace for open space at 947 West Cullerton Street (O2024-0013125): passed
Alderpersons who spoke
- Nicholas Sposato (chair): Told attendees the Park District holds public meetings in different neighborhoods where they can raise concerns. (1:04:21)
- Samantha Nugent (alderperson): Asked the nominee to work with her community on enforcing park rules at Gompers Park. (27:02); Asked the nominee to visit the ward and said the Park District and administration need to work together on enforcement. (28:42)
- Michael D. Rodriguez (alderperson): Praised the nominee's foundation work and asked her views on workforce and labor relations at the Park District. (29:19)
- Bennett R. Lawson (alderperson): Said the nominee's grantmaking experience could help find new revenue and asked about her term on the Illinois Board of Higher Education. (31:29); Asked what CDOT's costs are for curb work at Winsley Parkway and said softening parkways is worth exploring. (1:13:09)
- Derrick G. Curtis (alderperson): Said parks in his ward have small indoor spaces that force summer program children to be sent elsewhere and asked for suggestions. (34:08)
- Scott Waguespack (alderperson): Asked how parks would replace TIF funding if all TIFs were dissolved. (35:42); Asked how the nominee would address off-leash dogs damaging parks and attacks on children. (36:22); Asked how she would address abuse and harassment of children and lifeguards in parks. (38:05)
- Monique L. Scott (alderperson): Urged the nominee to focus on high permit costs and on revitalizing aging parks, saying TIF is the city's main way to help parks. (40:49)
- William Conway (alderperson): Said he has struggled to get Park District engagement on privately funded improvements in his ward and asked about public-private partnerships. (44:10)
- Ronnie L. Mosley (alderperson): Said he served on a board with the nominee and that she has supported Black people, women and youth. (46:49)
- Ruth Cruz (alderperson): Asked the nominee for more specific plans and priorities for the Park District. (48:54)
- David H. Moore (alderperson): Said the Ogden Park field house in Englewood looks like a prison and urged the nominee to see it. (54:41); Said children are turned away from Ogden Park for lack of space and a new field house is needed. (56:47); Asked for an example of the largest amount of money the nominee has brought to a project. (58:29)
- Daniel La Spata (alderperson): Thanked school and parent leaders for the LaSalle II turf field project. (1:08:30); Thanked state and school leaders for the Goethe turf field, saying the current compacted soil is unusable. (1:16:59)
- Byron Sigcho-López (alderperson): Said the former polluted Cullerton site will become needed green space in a heavily polluted area and thanked partners. (1:20:51)
Exchanges between members
- 33:29 Curtis noted Scott had raised her hand before him.
- 56:47 Moore built on Curtis's point about parks turning children away for lack of space.
- 57:59 Moore said his question followed on points raised by Cruz and Lawson.
- 1:08:26 The chair invited La Spata to comment on the LaSalle II project.
- 1:20:45 The chair invited Sigcho-López to comment on the Cullerton project.