wr ceo con | une 19, 2016 | w Ms. Lauren Moltz Ms. Juanita irizarry Friends of the Parks | 17 North State Street, Suite 1450 Chicago, IL 60602 Dear Ms. Moltz and Ms. irizarry: | We read with interest the recent Crain's article describing the memo that was sent to |__ Your Board of Directors outlining the basis you propose for a discussion with the Chicago | Park District and other interested parties concerning the future Lucas Museum of Narrative Arts (Museum). ttis @ shame that you chose to leak this to the press before ever discussing it with us. We have negotiated in good faith with various parts of your organization. As different board members of yours reach out to different members of the Park District and Mayor's Office, we have greeted each with an open willingness to find a resolution that allows this incredible cultural asset to be built on the museum campus. The Mayor himself welcomed you and other advocates into his office to personally help find a resolution. Your uncoordinated effort and the leaked list of ill informed demands unfortunately make clear that Friends of the Parks has no coordinated effort and no interest in actually resolving this issue. ‘As you know, the Museum is a billion dollar investment in Chicago's museum campus, creating thousands of jobs and generations of educational opportunities for our Children. The plans have been approved by multiple democratically-elected bodies, and the non-profit museum has agreed to be constructed and operated without a single taxpayer dollar ~a much different model than other museums on the campus. You know from our many conversations that we are willing to discuss commitments from the Park District and City, but your attempts to demand money from the Museum are nothing short of extortion. To set the record straight and to make it clear what is being contemplated, | would like to remind you of the following: © At this juncture, the site on the parking lot between Soldier Field and ‘McCormick Place is the only viable location for the Museum. We discussed this with you after you publicly rejected our plan to build on the McCormick East site, and now the political window to achieve that goal is closed. The parking lot site was chosen by a task force of community leaders, and approved by the City Council, Chicago Plan Commission, Park District Board of Commissioners, IllinoisPage 2 of 3 House of Representatives, illinois State Senate, and signed into law by the Governor. The legal structure of the Museum already conforms to the legal structure of other public museums in Chicago. It is a non-profit museum built on public land with all the protections of the public good that are followed by every other museum on the campus. ‘The Park District is interested in developing DuSable Park. We look forward to your partnership in that effort. ‘We cannot begin to understand what possible basis you have to propose that 5% of a museum's revenue be taken as a result of your opposition to the Museum's proposed location. This is completely outrageous and totally unrelated to your stated opposition to the Museum. Every other museum on the campus receives a taxpayer subsidy; the Museum will be the only institution that does not. Your new desire to add a new tax on museum visitors as ransom for your support is completely at odds with your stated goals. ‘As you know, the Museum's benefactors and its Board of Trustees have spent their lifetimes supporting low-income and minority communities through their work. You also know that they are working with organizations that actually have extensive experience in such matters and that they will ensure that a significant number of jobs created by the Museum will go to these residents in Chicago, just as is agreed to in the approved legal documents you have already seen. That's why neighborhood community leaders, labor leaders, and non- profit educational and workforce groups across the City are supporting this ‘Museum, We understand your desire to suddenly act as if you represent 2 larger swath of Chicago's population in your fight, but you are about 16 months out-of-date on commitments already made. We have already agreed with the various parties actually involved in the Museum development that the portion of the parking lot that is not used by the Museum will be converted into a green event space. | encourage you to read the numerous legal documents signed between the Park District and the Museum to fully understand the structure and legal requirements of this agreement.Page 3 of 3 ''m afraid your list of demands ~ and the way in which your Board leaked it to press before we ever had a chance to discuss it - might be the final nail in the coffin. Your legacy will have been to oppose the construction of the Barack Obama Presidential Center until community outrage drove you to retreat, and now to fight the Lucas ‘Museum of Narrative Art, therefore denying the City, especialy its children and residents who most need it, of untold opportunities that this Museum would bring. Sincerely, Jee We Key Jesse H. Ruiz President Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners