A federal judge did not rule Tuesday on the city’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Friends of the Parks to stop the Lucas Museum project, allowing the preservation group time to respond to the city’s effort to end the legal wrangling.
The proposal for the museum between Soldier Field and McCormick Place has received the approval of the Chicago City Council and the Chicago Park District, which has signed an agreement to lease 17 acres of lakefront property. “Star Wars” creator George Lucas plans to showcase his art and film collection at the 300,000-square-foot museum, which also will contain several theaters, a library and a public observation deck.
The plan also calls for nearly 4.6 acres of parkland and improvements, now the site of a parking garage, a parking lot and a sledding hill.
Friends of the Parks attorney Tom Geoghegan said at the hearing in U.S. District Court that the group remains concerned about the character of the lakefront, how the museum will serve the public and “most importantly, what is the benefit to Mr. Lucas?”
Geoghegan and attorneys representing the city and Park District have been haggling over paperwork related to the case, they said during the hearing, with Friends of the Parks seeking information and documents about the negotiations that preceded the ground lease agreement. Geoghegan also said he wants to depose officials with the Park District and the group formed to run the museum.
Brian Sieve, an attorney representing the city, said he wants the judge to rule on the motion to dismiss before making anyone available for deposition. Sieve said the case hinges on whether the museum project is a transfer of public property — he argued the lease of the land means it is not — and whether it benefits the public.
Friends of the Parks argues the museum project violates the public trust doctrine because the land, formerly part of Lake Michigan, should be protected and preserved for public use. Under the ground lease agreement, the Park District will lease the land to the Lucas camp for 99 years at a cost of $10, with the option to renew.
Judge John Darrah set the next court date for Feb. 4. Officials for the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art said they want to break ground in the spring, but a court order prevents any construction until the court case is settled.
“We’re not doing anything until your honor rules,” Sieve said.
Geoghegan said Friends of the Parks isn’t backing down.
“It has to be consistent with the public trust,” Geoghegan said to reporters after the hearing. “Just because they are arguing it is going to be for a public purpose doesn’t give them a blank check to dispose of Park District land in any way they like.”
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