Via Chicago.suntimes.com:
The battle over the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art took several twists and turns on Friday.
A day after the Sun-Times reported that Mayor Rahm Emanuel was making a last-ditch effort to get Friends of the Parks to drop its opposition to building the museum on the lakefront, word came that the group was prepared to do just that.
A highly placed source told the Sun-Times’ Michael Sneed that the parks group’s executive board actually had voted Wednesday to restart negotiations with the city and to “move forward with the Lucas Museum” and support building it at McCormick Place.
But Friends of the Parks quickly issued a written statement disputing that development.
“Our board remains fully united on the preservation of our lakefront and ensuring that the public trust doctrine is not ignored,” read the statement, issued by Friends of the Parks Board President Lauren Moltz and Executive Director Juanita Irizarry.
“We do believe that the Lucas Museum has a place in Chicago for all to enjoy, but not at the expense of one our most precious public resources. We have always said we were open to discussions. Anything else you hear is rumor and speculation. We are not dropping the lawsuit.”
Sneed had been told the board asked Moltz to move forward on a three-pronged plan that could include dropping the group’s lawsuit against the city in their lakefront museum campus battle and proceeding with building movie mogul George Lucas’ proposed interactive museum at McCormick Place. That alternative site, first proposed by Emanuel, would involve tearing down most of the old Lakeside Center.
The plan also would include a commitment from the city to “reaffirm its desire to uphold its Lakeside Protection ordinance,” the source said.
“Look, 75 percent of the 16-man FOP board voted to get things moving,” said the source.
“The FOP was right about protecting the lakefront — but why pass up an opportunity to fix a problem at McCormick Place?” the source added. “So the board decided to move forward and get out in front of this situation.”
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