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Originally Posted by JK47
Yeah because I'm sure he wants to spend ten or twenty years trying to get that off the ground while dealing with a myriad of intransigent landlords and speculators looking to make a tidy fortune.
You've set the bar so low for "transformative" and "visionary" actions that I'm not even sure you know what those words mean. It would be a ridiculously difficult process that would waste a good deal of cash and capital that could have been put to better use by funding programming that would benefit the community. Whether it is located in a park across the street or in the middle of a block is immaterial.
Indeed, if he HAD opted to try to acquire several acres of land I'm sure you would have complained about that too since that process would invariably lead to negative outcomes for some local owners as well. Land acquisitions like that rarely go without a hitch and often people nearby don't appreciate the drastic change in their built environment.
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What are you talking about? The other sites (primarily the one just directly west of Washington Park) already had land banked and ready to be donated. Any cost would have been minimal.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Roboto
I disagree that its egotistical. It was simply the path of least resistance, if anything. At the same time, I think the location is actually pretty reasonable, and Im pretty sure most involved throughout the decision process thought so as well.
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Best to judge the merits of an action if you somehow remove the names involved. Would you say it wasn't egotistical if the current President proposed to have his library there? Of course, we all (rightly) would. Just because we (or even the surrounding community) feel indifferent or positive about Obama doesn't change the rather egotistical arrogance of insistence of the location. If you mean path of least resistance because pols reward other power pols while circumventing standard public policy than you are right.
I'm not sure what the ole backslap for reasonability is for. That he did ask for twice the plot size or didn't ask for the same plot in Grant Park?