May 2, 2008 12:43 pm US/Central
Work Stops On Latin School Soccer Field
Opponents Of Field On Lincoln Park Land Claim Victory
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
Work has stopped on a controversial soccer field in Lincoln Park that is being constructed primarily for use by the nearby Latin School.
The field is a collaboration between the private school and the Chicago Park District. Both organizations entered into an agreement in late 2006 to have the field constructed for $2 million.
Opponents have filed a lawsuit, saying the project amounts to a land grab.
The school put up most of the cash for the project, and would have first dibs on its use. The demonstrators say the school shouldn't be able to buy up public land for its own use at any price, and then restrict others from using it most afternoons and weekends.
A week ago, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Dorothy Kinnaird ruled that construction on the soccer field could continue, but she expressed great concern about whether the Park District followed public notice rules before beginning construction last year.
Thus, she prevented any lighting, scoreboard, goalposts, benches or signage from being installed in the north meadow of the south field at Lincoln Park. She granted a request that the work be halted until she can properly assess whether all public notice and lakefront protection rules were followed.
The judge has now reportedly ordered in addition that the installation of artificial turf must stop until a public hearing later this month.
With the work now stopped, opponents of the project have claimed victory.
Construction began in November and is about 56 percent complete, with a targeted completion date of May 26, Kinnaird said last week.
The STNG Wire contributed to this report.
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