Having released the Last Four Miles Plan in 2009, Friends of the Parks is working to implement Phase 1 of the Plan by partnering with state elected officials on legislation that would transfer 100 acres of Iroquois Landing on the city’s southeast side to the Chicago Park District for an expansion of Calumet Park.  The land transfer bill is Senate Bill 3779, introduced as a shell bill.  SB 3779 would: 

Transfer the vacant portion (approximately 100 acres) of Iroquois Landing from the Illinois International Port District to the Chicago Park District.  This section of Iroquois Landing is not used for maritime activities by the Port District.  With this cost-free transfer, 100 additional acres to expand Calumet Park would be acquired by the Chicago Park District. .

If passed in Springfield, the land transfer would create recreational opportunities on the city’s park deficient southeast side.   SB 3779 would be the first step of implementing the Last Four Miles Plan which has a total goal of adding approximately 500 acres of new open space to Chicago where no lakefront parks exist.  The proposed 100-acre land transfer to the Park District would be at no cost to taxpayers.  If approved, 20% of the land for the Last Four Miles would be transferred to the Park District for a future 100-acre park on the south east side.  To follow the legislation, visit www.ilga.gov.   To learn more about the Friends of the Parks’ Last Four Miles Plan, visit www.fotp.org

A second bill to transfer 40 acres of unused Port District land along the eastern shore of Lake Calumet to the Chicago Park District was introduced as SB 3778.   SB 3778, if approved, would take a step in implementing the City of Chicago’s Lake Calumet Open Space Reserve Plan by providing 40 acres along the eastern shore of Lake Calumet for public recreation and conservation and link through a series of constructed and proposed trails to the Chicago lakefront trail.   There is no cost to taxpayers to transfer the 40-acre site to the Chicago Park District.

What is Friends of the Parks’ Tree Planting Initiative?

It’s a partnership with the City of Chicago’s Chicago Tree Initiative (CTI).  CTI was established in 2009 by the city to plant thousands of trees over the next several years with the goal to increase the total tree canopy in Chicago from 13% to 20%.  

The aim of the Chicago Tree Initiative is to plant thousands of trees throughout the city: on streets, in parks, and in private yards.  Accomplishing this goal will require the collaboration of many partners. 

Friends of the Parks is a key partner in the Chicago Tree Initiative with our own Tree Planting Initiative.

Friends of the Parks’ Tree Planting Initiative is a program to plant 100 trees in Chicago’s parks and give away 300 more trees to citizens for planting in 2010.

Why Plant Trees?

Planting trees is one of the most beneficial and cost-effective ways to help our urban environment.  Trees help clean our air, and reduce the pollutants that trigger asthma attacks and exacerbate other respiratory diseases. They cool our streets, sidewalks, and homes on hot summer days. Trees encourage neighborhood revitalization. And trees make Chicago an even more beautiful and comfortable place to live, work and visit.

The Chicago Tree Initiative is a city-wide, public-private effort to plant, care for and advocate for trees.  In order to be successful, the city needs the support of everyone, in both public and private sectors.   Every Chicago resident who cares about trees has an important role to play 

What can you do?

• Support Friends of the Parks’ Tree Planting Initiative: Your gift of $100 or more will help us plant 100 new trees in Chicago’s parks to replace old, diseased or storm destroyed trees.  You can become a member of Friends of the Parks, and help us to preserve, protect and improve Chicago’s parks and our tree covering that helps to define our city.  To become a member, Click Here!

• Dig in by planting a tree in your local park:  Citizens are encouraged to plant trees in Chicago’s parks by participating in the Chicago Park  District’s Green Deed’s Tree Planting program.  More information can be found at: www.chicagoparkdistrict.com

• Volunteer with Friends of the Parks:  Friends of the Parks organizes Community Service Days throughout the year, as well as sponsors the Midwest’s largest Earth Day Parks & Preserves Clean Up every April.  You can help plant or mulch trees by volunteering click here for more information!

• Talk about the importance of our city’s urban forest.  Everyone will share in the many benefits that come from planting trees: – more beautiful neighborhoods and parks; cleaner air and water; higher property values; energy savings; cooler summer streets, yards, plazas and open spaces; and a healthier, more environmentally stable city.

 The Exelon Challenge Grant

Exelon has provided a generous matching challenge grant of $10,000 to Friends of the Parks to plant 100 trees in Chicago this year.  For every new donation of $100 (or an increase in current membership by at least $100), Exelon will contribute to Friends of the Parks in fulfillment of that pledge.  In this way, your gift to Friends of the Parks can be doubled, and Chicago will get hundreds of new trees in our parks!

Responding to President Barack Obama’s call to nation service, more than 2,000 CPS students are expected to participate in Global Youth Service Day on April 24, 2010.  The Service-Learning Initiative of Chicago Public Schools and City Year Chicago have been chosen to serve as lead agencies for Global Youth Service Day 2010 in Chicago.  Global Youth Service Day is sponsored internationally by Youth Serve America.  Hundreds of thousands of young people will be serving their communities from April 23 – 25, 2010.  Global Youth Service Day 2010 will also recognize the fact that the City of Chicago has recently been named one of ten Cities of Service in the country.

CPS, City Year Chicago and a coalition of ten community partners including Friends of the Parks are working to engage thousands of young people in service on Global Youth Service Day.   Groups of high school and elementary students will gather for their service assignments from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 24,  then travel to a central location for a culminating day of service rally from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.  The Service-Learning Initiative and GYSD coalition partners will work with schools across the district to generate meaningful service opportunities for students.  At the culminating event, student groups will showcase their semester-long service-learning projects, the great work that took place in communities across the city during the day, and recognize their ongoing commitment to service. 

Tentative sites for this project will include Humboldt Park (1400 N. Sacramento) and the Dunning Read Conservation Area (Irving Park & Oak Park Ave.).  Additional sites to be determined. 

For more information, please contact Mary Eileen Sullivan at sullivanme@fotp.org

CHICAGO PARK DISTRICT WINS Awards for ARTS IN THE PARK and Best Green Practices

 The Chicago Park District won the Illinois Association of Park Districts’ (IAPDs’) first place “Best of the Best Awards” for Arts in the Park and Best Green Practices.

 The Arts in the Park award was presented by the Illinois Association of Park Districts in partnership with the Illinois Arts Alliance.  The award recognizes the Chicago Park District for its support of the arts and its partnerships with artists and arts organizations to enhance the quality of life in Chicago communities. 
The Best Green Practices Award was presented to the Chicago Park District in recognition as the best conservation and recreation agency in the State of Illinois.   The Chicago Park District incorporates and encourages environmentally friendly business practices and policies through recycling, green building, conservation and other green-inspired programs.  

 Illinois Association of Park Districts

Established in 1928, IAPD is a nonprofit service, research and educational organization representing more than 415 park districts, forest preserves, conservation, recreation and special recreation agencies throughout Illinois.  IAPD’s mission is to advance these agencies in their ability to preserve natural resources and improve the quality of life for all people in Illinois.

 For more information on the Illinois Association of Park Districts, please visit http://www.illinoisparks.org

The Chicago Park District’s recognized art and cultural programs include:

Theater on the Lake

Theater on the Lake has been home to a variety of theaters including community productions to its current mission of reprising productions by Chicago’s most exciting professional companies.

Words@Play

In partnership with the Chicago Children’s Humanities Festival, this poetry project brings youth ages 8-13 the joy of language and the challenge of expression in underserved areas at 10 cultural centers. 

Kraft Great Kids program

Funded through Kraft Foods, this program serves 12 parks throughout the school year as part of the parks’ after-school programs.  The Park District provides staff that helps youth with their homework and provides arts programming focused on reading. 

Arts Partners In Residency

This partnership model allows not-for-profit arts organizations to be housed in Park District field houses.  The program currently involves 17 arts partners who receive free space in the parks in exchange for programming.

TRACE: Teens Re-imagining Arts, Community and Environment

TRACE is a teen internship program where youth study environmental issues at their parks.

Cultural Center Initiative

The Park District has identified 13 parks as cultural centers that provide high quality, wide-ranging and diverse cultural programming, serving residents of every age.  Programs include instructional classes, special events, performances, artist residencies and partnerships. 

Summer Arts Camps

In partnership with some of Chicago’s best arts organizations and artists, youth ages 12-14 get the chance to dance, sing, play, paint, sculpt, draw, create, choreograph, write, and perform all summer. 

Inferno Mobile Recording Studio

In partnership with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Park District has developed Inferno Studio, a mobile recording studio program that provides park youth with the opportunity to write and record original poetry, songs, raps and more.

Teen Arts Expo

The Teen Art Expo showcases the visual and performing arts work that teens, ages 13-19 have created with the Park District cultural instructors and partnering arts organizations. 

Partnership Programs

The Park District offers concerts in the parks including SummerDance on the Move with the Department of Cultural Affairs and the Jazz City Program with the Jazz Institute of Chicago.

 Testimony to Board of Commissioners on 2010 Park District Budget

 Friends of the Parks has reviewed the proposed 2010 budget and supports its approval.  Keeping in step with most other governmental agencies, the Park District does not raise property taxes.   With limited revenue growth, the Park District is meeting today’s economic challenges by producing a balanced budget with no tax increases. 

While we support the 2010 budget we have several recommendations:

• The park district should focus solely on its mission of “becoming the leading provider of recreation and leisure opportunities.”  
  • Recently, Friends of the Parks has been visiting parks throughout the city between 3:00-6:00p.m.  We have witnessed a wide disparity between parks bustling with activity and those with little or no activity. 
  • In order to successfully focus on the park district’s mission, we believe it is essential that all recreation staff be trained on a regular basis on the importance of quality programming as well as promoting park district offerings. 
  • We commend you on your efforts in wellness and special recreation programming but suggest that a review of pricing strategies to make capital intensive resources such as fitness centers affordable.  On recent site visits not one person was using a fitness center.  It seems clear to us that cost is the problem.  The small fitness centers cost more to use than Bally’s and neighborhood Y’s.

• The 2010 budget should include an outsourced independent auditor tasked with randomly visiting park sites.  An auditor should track actual park usage which can then be analyzed in conjunction with program pricing.  This type of assessment will provide statistical data on the differences between strong versus weak performing parks. 
  • Once analyzed, a process can be developed to improve weak parks and build on strong parks.

• We realize the park district was able to lock in natural gas rates in 2010.  However, utilities still require a significant cost reduction.  Overall utility costs now total a whopping 10.9% of the total $259 million property tax line item.  In just five years, utility costs have skyrocketed $13.2 million or 71%.  

                   Imagine the recreation services, programs and events we could have with $13.2 million. 

• We encourage the park district to rethink the privatization of the district’s concessions. 
  • We would like to see an increase in revenue from park concessions.    Prior to privatization in 1996, the Park District showed net revenue of $2.9 million from concessions.  In 2010, concession revenue is projected at $1.3 million, a decrease of $1.6 million, or a 123% reduction since privatization.   This is a privatization contract that has proven to be costly to taxpayers.  

• We suggest that costs in Central Administration be reduced.  In today’s corporate, non-profit and public service industries, staff cuts are being made and productivity has been maintained and/or increased.  The Park District 2010 budget does not conform to that trend. 
  • The park district maintains a multitude of redundant positions (directors, deputy directors, chiefs, managers, deputy managers, etc).
  • Furthermore, the fourth floor check in process is excessive.  We suggest that the 4^th floor reception be eliminated and that a phone system be devised allowing visitors to contact the individual with whom he/she is meeting.  

• We commend the Facility Management Department’s plan to implement a preventive maintenance program for pools and painting of park facilities. 
  • We strongly suggest that an annual maintenance program be developed for playgrounds.  The long term benefits of regularly maintaining and updating the 500 plus children’s playgrounds will be immeasurable from safety and long-term financial perspectives.

Friends of the Parks finds that the 2010 budget holds the line on property taxes and offers a balanced budget through reductions and elimination of vacant positions.  With recommendations to implement in 2010, we add our support for the proposed 2010 budget and look forward to working with you to improve our parks.

During his tenure, Friends of the Parks received a Lila Wallace – Readers Digest Foundation grant to restore the Garfield Park Conservatory in the Garfield Park neighborhood.  Friends of the Parks tapped Michael Scott to serve as the President of the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance.  Michael’s leadership was effective and focused and was critical in the successful work of restoring the Garfield Park Conservatory and returning it as a programming and educational center for the community. 

Michael was a leader in every way.  He was compassionate, thoughtful and respectful of people from every walk of life.  Chicago is a better city because of the work of Michael Scott. 

Friends of the Parks will miss him.  Our prayers are with his family.