Sep 18, 2007 7:10 pm US/Central
Daley, Rookie Alderman At Odds Over Museum
CBS 2's Kristyn Hartman contributed to this report.
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
A rookie alderman has taken a bold step to stand against Mayor Richard M. Daley over the future of the Chicago Children's Museum.
As CBS 2's Joanie Lum reports, Daley declared this is a fight that concerns the entire city.
"I think everybody should be outraged, that children can't go to the museum to be educated, whether they are black, white, Hispanic or Asian," Daley said.
The Chicago Children's Museum moved to Navy Pier in 1995 and has outgrown its space. The board wants to build a 100-thousand square foot museum using the existing footprint of the Daley Bicentennial Plaza in Grant Park, near Millennium Park.
New East Side residents don't want the field house and the peaceful park playground turned into a busy tourist destination. Some have children, like Alli Summers.
"All the people who have children are against it. We know what it will do to the safety of the neighborhood, our children walking down the streets," Summer said.
Julie Gibson, a mother of a young child and a museum fan, agreed. "They have a beautiful location at Navy Pier. We have an amazing museum campus. There are countless places, and the fact that they are so arrogant to say, 'This is the only place that we can be,' again I don't understand it," she said.
Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) announced Tuesday he does not support the museum's move to Grant Park, which is in his ward, saying it would violate the city's mandate to keep the park open and clear for all.
Daley accused Reilly of being against children.
"I think it's a disgrace that a public official would say this is not a kids park, because we're all kids," Daley said.
"If you go to Grant Park, you'll see lots of kids there, we want the museum to succeed but the city's assets is Grant Park and we need to protect that," Reilly countered.
The Chicago Children's Museum released a statement saying,
"The events of today (Tuesday) do not change our plans to create an extraordinary museum for Chicago's children and families."
Traffic congestion is a concern for residents of this booming neighborhood. Daley said that school busses would load and unload on Randolph, below ground level, and he says the museum itself would be built mostly underground.
Daley indicated he would put this issue before the entire city council, ignoring the wishes of the alderman of the 42nd ward.
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