The most significant developments being pitched in Chicago suggest that the city needs a brush up on its Daniel Burnham-inspired roots in urban planning.
In 1909, Burnham and fellow architect Edward Bennett wrote the Plan of Chicago, a landmark document that established the concept of urban planning.
A key directive of Burnham’s blueprint was to benefit all Chicagoans as part of the City Beautiful philosophy. This thinking paved the way for some of its most distinctive features, including the lakefront parks, the Magnificent Mile and Navy Pier.
Today, however, most of the high-profile projects in Chicago would largely benefit the wealthy.
In residential, these include One Central, a $20 billion proposal to build nine high-rises just west of Soldier Field on the South Side; and the $6 billion Lincoln Yards project and $1.3 billion Omni Group residential development on the North Side, among others.
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This trend is not limited to the residential sector, as the proposed $1.7 billion Bally’s casino and the $1 billion redevelopment of Soldier Field make clear.
To be sure, these projects would have trickle-down effects. The One Central project would include a station for Chicago Transit Authority, Metra and Amtrak trains.
More broadly, Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s Invest South/West plan, which directs developer attention to commercial corridors on the South and West sides, acts as something of a counterweight, but it has had only had a limited number of ground-breakings.
What Chicago needs is visionary thinking on par with that of Burnham to remake the city in an uncertain post-pandemic era. Relearning the ideas of the Plan of Chicago would mark a good first step.
Craig Barner, Lincoln Square
Call out the hard right
I was disappointed that in her piece on hard-right conservative Rep. Mary Miller, Lynn Sweet did not mention that Miller made international news in 2021 for her shocking and abhorrent statement that “Hitler was right about one thing.”
Miller was applauded by her fellow Republicans on the House floor. The extremists who have taken hold of the Republican Party must be continually called out for their enthusiasm for fascism and authoritarian rule. It is imperative that the media remind readers at every turn that representatives such as Miller are outside of the norm and voters cannot tolerate their attempt to hold the U.S. Congress hostage to their dangerous ideology.
Julieanne Ehre, Edgewater
