Chicago Branch Library
in a Pickle over Parking
The Rudy Lozano branch of Chicago Public Library has found itself in a pickle over its parking lot—caught between the sale of the lot by City Hall and a state building grant that requires parking accommodations.
The Chicago Tribune reported February 20 that the parking lot was sold “in a move that benefited close allies of Mayor Richard Daley,” namely a realtor brother of Alderman Danny Solis, a bank with which the alderman is associated, and the law firm of former mayoral aide Victor Reyes. The report said, “The bank and the real estate firm needed the parking lot to clinch a multimillion dollar contract with the federal government and to comply with city zoning law.”
The “little-noticed sale” occurred in June 2001, according to the Tribune. Henry Bayer, executive director of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents library workers, said the sale has caused problems for workers who must now search the neighborhood for parking. Further investigation revealed that the sale of the lot violated a 1986 agreement and could require the return of a $250,000 grant that helped build the branch.
CPL Commissioner Mary Dempsey said selling the lot in spite of the grant requirement was “an oversight on our part,” but employees and patrons alike have complained that the lot, located two blocks from the library, was dangerous, and “the only reason it was sold was safety,” she told the Tribune.
Officials at the Illinois State Library in Springfield said that they would not ask for a refund because the parking requirement was satisfied by the presence of two handicapped spaces in front of the library.
Posted February 24, 2003.
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