Politics
Chicago Park District Budget Proposal Aims to Tackle New Projects, Address Homeless Encampments
A long-awaited new fieldhouse, the transformation of a toxic waste site into a lakefront park and plans to address homelessness are all on the list of priorities for the Chicago Park District.
Those are among several projects included in the Chicago Park District’s budget proposal for next year. It’s set for a final vote from the Park District Board of Commissioners on Dec. 10.
Chicago Park District Superintendent Carlos Ramirez-Rosa joined “Chicago Tonight” to discuss the proposal.
On the Budget
The $637.6 million spending plan closes a $30 million deficit — the largest since the pandemic.
Ramirez-Rosa said the deficit grew due to rising personnel and maintenance costs, as well as declining state revenue.
“I’m very proud to say we were able to close that gap without layoffs, without compromising service to our patrons and without having to cut the core functions of what the Park District does,” he said. “We identified efficiencies, we made reasonable and modest revenue adjustments, and we responsibly used our TIF (Tax Increment Financing) surplus dollars — $46 million TIF surplus for next year — to balance our budget and to keep our programming accessible, affordable and to keep the parks there as a stable resource for our families.”
On Homeless Encampments
The plan budgets for a new staff member aimed exclusively at addressing homelessness in the parks.
“This staffer will work to ensure that we have coordination with the Department of Family Support Services,” Ramirez-Rosa said. “This staffer will really take it to the next level and make sure that we are helping to connect Chicagoans experiencing homelessness with housing, but also that we’re making sure that our parks are safe and accessible to everyone.”
Encampments in parks have drawn criticism from some neighbors and officials, especially after fires broke out along the North Shore Channel in North Park in July.
“We know that if an encampment is impinging on park programming — if it’s near a playground, if it’s near homes, those are instances where we need to take action,” Ramirez-Rosa said. “But we want to ensure that we’re also reducing recidivism. So before closing an encampment, we want to make every best effort that we can to connect those individuals with housing and shelter, so they just don’t end up in another park.”
On New Park Development Projects
The Park District is investing $25 million for a new Ogden Park fieldhouse. The long-awaited project will replace the current deteriorated building in Englewood that dates back to the 1900s.
The new fieldhouse is funded through a combination of city TIF funds, Park District money and state dollars. Ramirez-Rosa called state Sen. Willie Preston (D-Chicago), who grew up playing in the park. Preston then secured $3 million from the state.
Ramirez-Rosa said the next step for the new fieldhouse is designing it.
“It’s a historic fieldhouse, but in the 70s, they really just messed it up,” he said. “So that community deserves a beautiful, brand-new fieldhouse. That’s exactly the design process that we’re going to kick off next year, now that we have the funding necessary to actually get the project done.”
There’s also half a million dollars earmarked to turn the 43-acre Calumet Park disposal area long used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers into a lakefront park. The surrounding community has long pushed for that site to be closed because of pollution concerns. The Corps had plans to expand the site but backed off after legal challenges.
Ramirez-Rosa said the Park District is making good on a promise to make the site into a park.
“We have been able to come together to say, ‘No, that expansion will not take place,’” he said. “Instead, we’re going to do what was promised to the community decades ago, and we’re going to transition that facility into a park. So that planning process is going to start next year with money from the Chicago Grows Together Fund, which is a new fund we’re launching for equitable infrastructure improvements on the South and West sides, using part of our $46 million TIF surplus.”
Patty Wetli contributed to this report.
