CPS begins demolition of Lincoln Playground
The demolition of Lincoln Elementary School�s playground began today, Friday, September 5, 2014, destroying 11 trees thus far and dismantling the playground equipment. Neighbors assume they will tear down the last three established -- nearly 15 year old Linden trees -- on Kemper shortly.
The City and CPS want everybody to think the debate over the Lincoln Annex is over. The public outcry over the Annex has surprised and embarrassed them. The mayor was told by WALE parents and the alderman that there were �only 6 opponents� and there was a lot more buy in than there really was.
They should be embarrassed at squandering $20 million, and they will be further embarrassed by this decision drags out, maybe into election season. They have not only wasted $20M adding capacity in a neighborhood awash in excess CPS seats (200 at Alcott, 300 at Mayer), but they have now spent $400,000 renting classrooms at DePaul 2 blocks away, when there are free and available seats 3 blocks away at Alcott, but the Lincoln LSC refused to co-locate, just as they refused to redistrict.
Other schools wish they could dictate to the BOE like Lincoln. Lincoln is also in negotiations to rent space at St. Paul�s Church for recess, at an unknown cost per year. They have about 4 full time CPS security guards at Lincoln to oversee recess on the sidewalk. The long term plan to have 35+ teacher parking spots at the CMH garage is another undisclosed backroom deal for an undisclosed amount of money (that land has not even been officially sold to the developer yet). This makes the Crystal Lake �shameful waste of taxpayers� money� look like chump change, but this is the City of Chicago.
In the next few days, we�ll file a legal complaint challenging the ZBA�s rubber-stamping of the rear yard reduction granted earlier by the City. Our complaint for Administrative Review will be heard before a judge in Cook County Circuit Court. Recognize, every decision up to now on the Annex has been made by a person who owed his/her job to Mayor Emmanuel�the CPS Board, the Zoning Administrator, the Zoning Board of Appeals. We never expected to get a fair hearing or prevail in any of the prior venues.
Now, like the Crystal Lake Bleachers neighbors, we will have our day in court. Chicago Tribune, Friday September 5, 2014, p. 4, �Appeals Court Rules against Big Crystal Lake Bleachers�, paragraph 3: � The decision in the lawsuit sets a broader precedent in northern Illinois that schools- just like private property owners-generally must abide by community limits on new structure�s size and distance from neighbors.� We hope that precedent will hold for this case. No private home owner in the landmarked Mid-North neighborhood would be allowed to build a 4 story coach house lot line to lot line, just try it and see.
The stay in construction on the Annex until September 11, 2014 was in effect until the ZBA issued its formal ruling or the September 11th hearing date. Since the ZBA formally issued its ruling on August 26, 2014, the City has the right to move forward. You can appreciate why they want to get control of the playground area before all the students return to school, the construction fence is now in place, and demolition has begun. No question any demo and especially the removal of the trees is unfortunate. But our best hope to stop construction has always been in court. If we ultimately succeed in facilitating another solution to Lincoln�s circumstance, ultimately the City and CPS will have to restore the playground.
When we file our complaint, we will ask the judge to �stay� construction on the Annex pending a hearing and resolution of our challenge. If it�s granted, that will freeze construction. Then, while the court is going through its hearing process, we�ll have the opportunity to promote a public examination and discussion of the alternatives to an Annex that never took place. Typically court cases never move quickly.
This community in which Lincoln sits, with 60 funders of the legal challenge, 160 legal �objectors� to the Annex and elimination of the park, backed by 600 petition signers, including many current, former and future Lincoln parents, the Mid-North Association, the Chicago Education Facilities Task Force, Rainbow PUSH, and Friends of the Park, will file an appeal of the zoning variance granted to build the massive Lincoln Annex eliminating the school and community playground funded in large part by this exact same community without due process and against the wishes of the vast majority of the Mid-North community. We file next week. I will keep you updated.
