Midtown Study Passes Planning Board

Since I am wholely unemployed right now I went to this months city Planning Board meeting last week. Amazingly six of the seven board members were present when the meeting began. Since being passed over twice for a position on the Planning Board I find their activities and attendance more interesting. In defence of the democratic process, I found the days proceedings a good start to bringing back the public process that good government should be (city council take note).

I was attending due to my interest and suport of the Destination Midtown Study. However, when the Midtown proposal came before the board there was very little discussion and no public presentation. How strange for such a huge item on the adgenda. I fear to say that the canned speaches by the proponents at this board meeting and the surprise appearence by mayor Fahey were just a formality and the the standard back door decision making process must have already taken place. To bad.

Freshly back from attendance at the Congress for the New Urbanism, held in downtown Chicago, I was fired up to participate in the initial application to adopt the plan into the City's Master Plan. Chicago is moving at a rate of speed for downtown redevelopement that one can only catagorize as "full steam ahead". If only our own fair city would take up such a proactive and quality of life building endevor instead of the usuall lip service. Being the origin of the City Beautiful movement it is fitting the mayor Daly has decided that Chicago will be the most green city in America. He has planted 400,000plus tree and planted tens of lane miles of flowers tended daily by the army of public works employees. Their city truely shines.