It’s hard to figure how the Daley administration’s plans to build a parking-ticket hearing office on the northwest side got so out of hand.
The densely wooded preserve was a tuberculosis sanatorium that closed in 1974. After that, residents pressured Richard J. Daley into creating the North Park Village Advisory Council to oversee the preserve’s future.
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“In about 1984, the Washington administration asked if we would set aside a portion of the village for development,” says Cicero. “They reminded us that the village costs about $2 million a year to maintain. We agreed that the site had to generate some tax revenue to offset its costs.”
“There’s 100 acres of open land filled with nature paths, ponds, trees, and birds,” says Hawkinson. “School kids coming there all the time to walk through the woods. It’s a peaceful sanctuary; you wouldn’t know you were in the city.”
Then came August 22, the day residents opened their local newspaper and learned of city plans to operate a parking-ticket facility in North Park Village.
But most residents were unmoved. One resident, using statistics provided by Fryklund, figured the center would draw 300, not 200, ticket payers a day. But it really didn’t matter what the numbers were, because the residents didn’t want anyone driving there. The village was supposed to be a park, not a parking lot.
“I said, ‘Ben, what are the alternatives? You told me you had funds.’ Ben said, ‘You’re mistaken.’ I said, ‘Are you calling me a liar?’ He said, ‘You’re mistaken.’ I looked him dead in the eye, and said, “Forget it, let’s move on to another topic.’ By this time I was angry; I hate being lied to. I asked about the fire station. They said it would cost $240,000 to rehab. I said, ‘Bullshit.’ I asked if they had checked out [the shopping center]. They said no. I asked why; they said because we’re going to have it here.
