Why Protecting Ballpark's Historic Designation is Good for Chicago

"By arguing that the City of Chicago should 'relax' landmark restrictions on the ballpark, proponents of a deal that would have a state agency buy and renovate the park would undermine decades of carefully structured protection for Chicago's architectural treasures."

"The deal would almost surely embolden some property owners of landmark building throughout Chicago -- there are 259 individual landmarks and 49 landmark districts across the city, encompassing more than 9,000 properties -- to go back and challenge landmark status that the City Council had previously approved."

"And that would wreak havoc with legal protections for the city's architectural and historical treasures that were set up 40 years ago to safeguard such structures as Louis Sullivan's former Carson Pirie Scott & Co. store or Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House."