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May 10, 2008 7:29 am US/Central
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Park District May Drop Latin School Soccer Field
CHICAGO (STNG) ―
Under pressure by a neighborhood group, the Chicago Park District is poised to drop a controversial plan that allowed the Latin School to build a soccer field in Lincoln Park in exchange for prime playing time.
Park District spokeswoman Jessica Maxey-Faulkner Friday night confirmed that a measure canceling the contract with the Latin School is on next week's Park District Board agenda.
Another source said the district will end up covering the cost of the $2 million field near 1800 N. Cannon.
The field was over half completed when a neighborhood organization filed suit last week. Cook County Judge Dorothy Kinnaird allowed construction to continue but not the installation of lights, scoreboards, goal posts or benches.
Calling the Latin School "an elite, private, well-connected school,'' Kinnaird said the park district agreement was developed in a "secrecy" that did not allow for adequate public input.
A neighborhood organization, Protect Our Parks, had called the arrangement "a theft of public land.''
But Parks Supt. Timothy Mitchell and other officials had praised Latin School as a "partner" whose $2 million financial contribution benefitted the entire community. Latin School would have had use of the field only about 20 percent of the time.
Attorneys for the two sides were in court Friday and asked to meet with the judge Thursday, a day after the district board meets.
(Source: Sun-Times News Group Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2006. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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