Does 42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly favor cars over transit in downtown Chicago? You might think so judging from his recent support to add parking–and as a result, increase traffic congestion–on Streeterville streets.
Of all the things I thought downtown’s 42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly would offer as a compromise in the ongoing controversy over the Chicago Children’s Museum’s proposed move from Navy Pier to Daley Bicentennial Plaza, agreeing with a reporter’s suggestion to ‘put the museum in a cave’ wasn’t one of them.
On a recent downtown walk through the Chicago Park District’s new Lakeshore East Park, imagine my surprise to find neighborhood developers had posted several signs declaring the place ‘Private Property.’ Um, try again.
Today, was a litmus test for 42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly. He failed. So much for aldermanic privilege. Mayor Daley may get the Chicago Children’s Museum moved to Grant Park after all.
In the aftermath of Chicago’s greatest political defeat in decades, incoming 42nd Ward alderman Brendan Reilly is wasting no time in reaching out to the former constituents of 37-year city council veteran Burt Natarus, who was swept out of his downtown Ward by a wide margin in last week’s municipal elections.