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Daley Doesn't Want To 'Ram Through' Museum Vote

Showdown Vote On Children's Museum Proposal For Grant Park Not To Happen Until June 5

CHICAGO (STNG) ― Mayor Daley said Tuesday he asked a City Council committee to put off until June 5 a showdown vote on his plan to build a $100 million Children's Museum in Grant Park because too many aldermen were out of town, and he wanted to give every one of them a chance to be heard.

"If I rammed it through, you would say, 'Daley rams it through.' … You would run that headline: 'He ran it through.' Some people were away. They couldn't vote. They're voting no or they're voting aye. And you would run a big headline: 'Daley rammed it through. He wants his way,'" the mayor said.

"This is not my way."

Last week, the Grant Park plan was approved by the Daley-controlled Chicago Plan Commission setting the stage for a City Council showdown on the treasured council tradition of deferring to the local alderman on zoning issues.

On Tuesday, residents of high-rises surrounding the site returned to the Council chambers to do battle against the Grant Park plan once again, joined by their rebel rookie Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd), who opposes the project.

But the anticipated showdown fizzled.

At the mayor's behest, Zoning Committee Chairman William Banks (36th) put off the vote until June 5, citing sparse attendance. As many as 22 aldermen -- including several Zoning Committee members -- are at a shopping center convention in Las Vegas this week.

Banks denied that the 16-day delay was a sign of weakness. On an issue that's headed straight for the courts, Banks said he simply wants to have a majority of the 14 committee members present for the vote.

"This is not an issue of having the votes. It's an issue of having the bodies," Banks said. "The mayor clearly has the votes. I believe he has 29 or 30" of the 26 votes he needs in the full Council.

Peggy Figiel, co-founder of Save Grant Park, countered, "The museum and the mayor have been saying they have the votes. But this makes it clear that, perhaps, they do not have the votes and that they are not as confident as they said they are."

Banks also insisted that aldermanic prerogative does not apply on an issue that involves a showcase park on Chicago's front doorstep.

(Source: Sun-Times News Group Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2008. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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