Legal Ruling a Major Setback for Chicago's Lucas Museum Plans

According to Greg Hinz, reporting for Crain's Chicago Business, a ruling by U.S. District Court Judge John Darrah gave opponents to the proposed Lucas Museum of Narrative Art almost everything they want, short of pulling the plug on the project completely.

"Specifically, he held that Friends of the Parks, which has sued to block the proposed project, had legal standing to sue and provided enough proof that the city's action is improper for legal proceedings to continue," according to Hinz.

The case also raises larger land use and governance questions: "Probably the most interesting aspect of the decision was the suggestion that, even though the museum would go on what now are parking lots, the state's responsibility to administer the land remains valid since the property involved is landfill and once was covered by Lake Michigan."

Hinz goes on to note that because of that last point, the ruling raises "interesting questions about the legality of the leases given to Chicago's lakefront museums." If the ruling holds, museum boosters will be required to get approval from the state's General Assembly.