Paris on Politics: Grant Park faces criticism for very limited summer access

CHICAGO - Summer is over and Grant Park was barely open.

Make no little plans, said Daniel Burnham, for they have no magic to stir men's blood.

Chicago's Lake Park, opened in 1844, was one of those big plans—a vision of Montgomery Ward that the lakefront would remain open, free, and clear for all eternity. 

The park eventually expanded to 319 acres and was renamed to honor Illinois-born 18th President Ulysses S. Grant.

Since then, Grant Park has been Chicago’s front yard and a crown jewel in the city’s massive public park system. An iconic location etched in American history, it served as a backdrop to the 1968 street protests and the election of the nation’s first African American president in 2008.

But is it still open, free, and clear during the warm summer months?

"It is not open for most of the summer," said Gin Kilgore, interim director of Friends of the Parks. "It is not free for most of the summer. And you put NASCAR in there, and it’s certainly not clear."

Grant Park is a perfect place to hang out—if you have tickets to the Suenos Fest, the NASCAR Chicago Street Race, or Lollapalooza. This raises another question: Is Grant Park for residents who pay taxes to support it, or for tourists?

"It’s for the residents who live nearby, it’s for the city, and it’s for private events," said Leslie Brecht, head of the Grant Park Advisory Council.

The issue is that private events have nearly taken over. According to the Chicago Tribune, the park was fully or partially closed for 70 days between May and August due to these events. A WTTW analysis revealed that last year, out of 87 summer days between Memorial Day and Labor Day, Grant Park was fully open to the public for only four of them.

"How has this become the norm?" an exasperated Kilgore asked. "I remember we had Taste of Chicago, but you could access that. I’m remembering the fireworks, the Bulls championships... My growing-up memories of Grant Park are of this wonderful public gathering space, and now it’s essentially choked off. Something has to change."

The counterargument is that these events bring tremendous revenue to the city, much of which is reinvested into park upgrades.

Chicago Park District CEO Rosa Escareno defended the use of Grant Park for private events. She said the district has listened to the concerns of residents, and that parts of the park have remained open for most of the summer.

"The parks belong to the entire city, belong to all of our residents," Escareno said. "Our job is to make sure we’re striking the right balance and holding engagement with those residents."

Escareno said the Grant Park dog and skate parks remained open even when most of the rest of the park was shutdown. 

She also said that the district received $500,000 from Lollapalooza that went to construct new pickleball and tennis courts.

Perhaps we can all agree to close Grant Park for some events—like Lollapalooza or a Bears Super Bowl championship rally. But NASCAR takes over for a month. It was fun while it lasted, racers, but maybe it’s time to drive on out of town.

Whoops—too late. Mayor Brandon Johnson announced last week that the controversial race will return for the third and final year of its contract.

It looks like next summer is shaping up to be like this summer. So here’s my proposal:

Have you ever been to Summerfest in Milwaukee? What stands out about it? That’s right—it’s a giant music festival held in a permanent space built for music festivals. We have music festivals too. We may not sell Leinenkugel Summer Shandy, but we have Old Style! I know at least one person in support.

"We think that would be great," Kilgore said. "We think that would be great. And we understand that none of this has been simple."

Daniel Burnham did say to make no little plans.