State Lawmakers Try To Clear The Way For Obama Library, Lucas Museum
Updated 04/23/15 - 2:32 p.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Hoping to lift any possible legal hurdles to building either Barack Obama's presidential library or filmmaker George Lucas' proposed museum on park property, Illinois lawmakers swiftly approved legislation to make sure the Emanuel administration has the authority critics claim it lacks.
A measure sought by the Emanuel administration was fast-tracked through Springfield in an effort to reinforce that the city of Chicago and Chicago Park District are allowed to build the Barack Obama Presidential Library in Washington Park or Jackson Park on the South Side, and to locate the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art along the lakefront, just south of Soldier Field.
The legislation got its first committee vote Thursday morning, and by early afternoon, both the House and Senate had passed it. The Senate approved the proposal by a 39-13 vote Thursday afternoon. Not long after, the House passed the bill with a 94-16 vote, sending the measure to Gov. Bruce Rauner.
"It's to take one more uncertainty off the table, so that the decision to … create the Obama Library here – for that matter, any other museum – can be done, and it would certainly be in the public interest to do so," Senate President John Cullerton said.
The Friends of the Parks have filed a lawsuit against the proposed Lucas museum, claiming the city does not have the authority to transfer the proposed museum site to a private entity. The land where Lucas wants to build the museum was once part of Lake Michigan, until landfill was used to create a lakefront park in the 1920s.
The park advocacy group also has threatened to file a lawsuit against the city if park land is used for the University of Chicago's proposal to host the Obama library. They have said there are plenty of places the Obama Library could be built in Chicago, without selectively amputating part of an existing park. They also have claimed placing the Obama Library in a public park would set a dangerous precedent for transferring park land to private control.
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The city, however, has passed an ordinance that would require any park space used for the library be replaced by an equal size of new park land elsewhere.
Cullerton said state lawmakers wanted to reassure the Barack Obama Foundation that the city has the authority to use park land for the Obama Library.
"I would like to remove any legal hurdle to that decision to be made to have this presidential library in Chicago. We want to make sure that there's no legal reason available for them to decide to not come to Chicago," he said.
Cullerton said Chicago is the appropriate place for the Obama library, and he's determined to do whatever he can to help bring it here.
The measure also is intended to address any legal concerns about the Lucas Museum, as it would specifically allow the city to build a presidential library or museum in any public park, "including parks located on formerly submerged land."
Mayor Rahm Emanuel applauded state lawmakers for approving the legislation.
"I commend the Illinois General Assembly for making it clear that they agree with Chicago's position that presidential libraries and other museums enhance park land for the benefit of the public," Emanuel said in a written statement. "The Obama Presidential Library and Lucas Museum of Narrative Art would not only benefit residents and visitors for generations to come, these institutions would provide incredible economic, cultural and educational opportunities to the city and state."
The Obama Foundation told the Chicago Tribune the legislation is a "welcome development" in the University of Chicago's bid to host the Obama Library. The foundation is expected to announce its choice of location for the library within a matter of weeks.
