South Side vs. North Side parks

Evidently South Siders owe a debt of gratitude to the Jeep SUV driver who inadvertently brought needed attention to the crumbling condition of the Jackson Park Pavilion by crashing into it, bringing needed press attention to its not-so-benign neglect by the Chicago Park District, in a March 7 editorial lamenting its long decay. As the editorial said, “. . . . many of Jackson Park’s . . . structures are in need of critical attention and repairs.” It goes on to name them.

Washington Park is the next nearest park. An instantly visible eyesore is a crumbling caretaker’s cabin last repaired in hopes of hosting the 2016 Olympics, but neglected ever since, its roof slowly collapsing. It should be fixed or demolished. By contrast, every park along the lake, from Grant Park northward, is kept in pristine condition. Why the questionable contrast?

Old-timers can recall that a federal discrimination lawsuit had to be filed in 1982, accusing the park district of under-spending on South Side parks and using the funds on the North Side. A 1983 consent decree required equalized spending. Is the park district quietly violating that decree?

The editorial named other upkeep failures on the South Side. What might an all-out audit of other parks in mainly minority areas reveal? The editorial notes a 2018 South Lakefront Framework Plan that prescribed several “other big-ticket improvements for Jackson Park.” Among them, only the outer harbor breakwater has been completed. Nor can their incompletion be explained away as deliberately waiting out finalizing of the Obama Center plan recently added to the total mix.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot has inherited these upkeep failures. While her options have been limited by the pandemic, the ball is in her court. Ted Z. Manuel, Hyde Park