[nomarandlee]

Originally Posted by Halsted & Villagio

Various forum members appear to be taking way too much joy in this decision for my liking. The bottom line is putting up roadblocks to one of the most important developments to ever occur on the Southside is asinine. .

Nobody is taking joy here. I think everyone here wants to see the library built and all the more in quick fashion. I think most would love to see it on the south side for a variety of reasons.

Frankly what I consider assinine is that some expect projects they are personally in favor of to be rubber-stamped for expediency or because they want to poo-poo any legitimate real concerns about graft, public process, and tax expenditures. The $200 million to reorient streets is no small subsidy.

Recognize that any joy you are feeling right now comes across as extremely short sighted and yes, partisan and is likely rooted in the "us" versus "them" mentality that is at the very heart of the problem with Chicago today. That "us" versus "them" mentality is deeply rooted within Chicago/rooted in racism (for some)... that mentality has led to racial redlining, disinvestment and the ridiculous segregation we still see today... and it is that very mentality that has stoked fires/raised resentment and hostilities, and yes, spurred violence.

I hate to be presumptuous but I think it far to say that on this forum that almost everyone here would much rather see an Obama Library on the south side than say a Trump Library. You are frankly way out of freaking bounds to claim that hesitation or objections to the Jackson Park locations are due to partisan let alone racial hostility. There are very valid reasons to be skeptical of setting the precedent of appropriating the heart of one of our few major public parks to the powerful well-connected, no matter how well liked that entity is in polls or by the majority.

The choice -- keep an old run down park that is rarely used by Whites... a park that has already been changed and modified many times over... out of some archaic notion of preserving that which is already UNpreserved.

The park could use some love of course but since when is pouring cement and steel been confused with green space. The two are natural anthemic to each other. Don't tell us you are burning the village to save it and don't tell us you are improving the park by cutting into and making it a non-park.

And what demographic lives by or uses it is not really what the issue is or should be. You can try to make it about race if you want to dirty the issue up and polarize it away from principles and precedent but there completely valid reasons to be for/against the OBL in Jackson Park that aren't the least bit race related.