Opponents Given OK To Proceed With Challenge To Lucas Museum Plan

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Don't count construction starting anytime soon on the Lucas Museum, after a federal judge gave hope to activists hoping to keep the project off the lakefront.

The non-profit group Friends of the Parks has sued the city of Chicago, seeking to prevent "Star Wars" creator George Lucas' $400 million museum from being built on the Museum Campus.

Last year, the City Council approved plans to build the 300,000-square foot Lucas Museum of Narrative Art on the lakefront at the site of what is now a parking lot for Soldier Field.

Friends of the Parks has argued the museum plan violates public trust law, because it would be built on formerly submerged land that should be protected from private development, and preserved for public use. They have claimed the Lucas Museum deal approved by the city is an illegal giveaway of protected lakefront land.

The group has said it supports the museum itself, but not the location, and wants Lucas and Emanuel to consider alternatives, such as the vacant Michael Reese Hospital site.

The city had sought to dismiss the lawsuit filed by the Friends of the Parks, but U.S. District Judge John W. Darrah denied the city's motion on Thursday, and allowed the lawsuit to proceed, meaning construction of the museum almost certainly will be delayed. Museum officials had planned to begin construction this spring.

Friends of the Parks said they are thrilled they will have the opportunity to question officials at the city and the park district, and make their case the project should not be allowed on the lakefront.

"The effort to give away public lakefront land to build the Lucas Museum amounts to yet another cover up by the Emanuel administration--one in which the true motives behind this decision and the true costs to the public have not yet seen the light of day," said Juanita Irizarry, executive director of Friends of the Parks.

Darrah's ruling is largely a procedural victory for the plaintiffs, as he did not rule on the merits of their lawsuit, but only found their claims the project violates various constitutional and legal standards are plausible.

Last year, state lawmakers tried to lift any legal hurdles to the museum by passing legislation allowing the city to build a museum in any public park, "including parks located on formerly submerged land."

Friends of the Parks has argued the law approved last year should not open the door to building the Lucas Museum on the lakefront.

The project has been approved by the Chicago City Council, Plan Commission, and Park District.

The Park District approved a 99-year lease of the land to the museum for $10. The project would be privately funded, and city officials have said it would increase the amount of green space open to the public on the Museum Campus.

The plan for the 17-acre museum project includes nearly 5 acres of new green space to be divided into a garden, an eco-park, a dune field, and a so-called event prairie that would double as a tailgating area for Chicago Bears games.