BOTH sides are stubborn in their battle over the site of the planned Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. George Lucas, the creator of “Star Wars”, his wife, Mellody Hobson, and the city government have set their heart on Chicago’s lakeshore as the site for the museum’s futuristic building. Friends of the Parks, a non-profit organisation, says Mr Lucas can build his museum anywhere he chooses, but not east of Lake Shore Drive, the expressway running along the shoreline of Lake Michigan, an area of (mostly) open views that is owned by the public. The battle reached fever pitch in early May when Rahm Emanuel, the mayor of Chicago, petitioned a federal appeal court to throw out a long-winded lawsuit, filed in 2014 by Friends of the Parks in a district court, to block use of the site. In February an Illinois district-court judge refused to dismiss the suit. On May 10th he postponed its hearing to June 15th.
The Lucas family is in no mood to wait any longer for the construction of the museum, which was supposed to start in the spring. Ms Hobson says they are now looking at other cities, and blasts Friends of the Park for slamming the door on more than $2 billion in economic benefits for the state, as well as thousands of jobs and educational opportunities for children. “As an African-American who has spent my entire life in this city I love, it saddens me that young...Continue reading
Source: United States http://ift.tt/1tkkN4C
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