The victory of Oct. 20, scuttling that latest plan to build something damaging on our lakefront, was important, but the battle is not over. The Park District made clear they are looking towards Edgewater for support and that $800,000 bike path extension planning grant is moving ahead. Given that we still face challenges, it might be worth noting how we put together this grassroots victory, so we can do it again.
The tremendous show of force opposing the harbor was a result of a year and a half of hard work by a lot of people. Had it not been for our referendum, and the continuing grassroots organizing, this latest harbor scheme would probably have been another one paragraph story on page 17, which few people would even have heard of until it was possibly too late.
As you know, it was last summer when RPCAN devised and initiated the referendum campaign, with Dan Tracy and Fran Tobin recruiting the Greens, writing the referendum and distributing the petitions. Bob Rudner and Chicago Greens did a very important day of door-to-door petitioning, and more than a dozen RPCAN members collected petitions, as did a few other individuals. Once it was on the ballot, a broader outreach campaign was started, and many more people and groups got involved. We had a small ad hoc coordinating committee and quite a few people that did the real work of knocking on doors, phone banking, mailings, fundraising, etc. etc. RPCAN recruited one of its members to create the website, and authorized Brian White to reserve the name. Several block clubs and building associations endorsed the call for a "no" vote. We trained precinct workers, conducted phone banking sent thousands of mailings. On election day, several park advocates came out, passing their own flyers calling for a no vote. And it worked. The referendum plan did everything we intended when we first dreamed it up at that June RPCAN meeting. It grew into a great community effort.
But an advisory referendum is only as effective as you make it. 88% is great, but it is not sufficient.
Using the momentum, we met with Congresswoman Schakowsky and pressed our case, getting the first commitment from her to oppose Lake Shore Drive extension.
She assured us we would be in on "the conversation" about the lakefront, but said we should be open to other development ideas (her staff person called to yell at RPCAN for the story in its Spring newsletter issue, claiming the story was too alarmist). But that was still not enough.
We knew there would be more plans that would appear. In February, RPCAN started getting people to go door to door, and talked to hundreds more people, face-to-face over the months into the summer, continuing to build the campaign. Along the same time, we started developing a Campaign Steering committee, to ensure accountability and have representation from the many facets of the campaign. Jonathan Roth was elected chair. RPCAN staff provided some organizing support. Ultimately, the goal was to have a rep from each precinct or region on the steering committee.
In September, the Park District sent out word they were preparing meetings to present ideas for "world class destinations" along the lakefront. This did NOT sound good. Rogers Parkers, including people connected to the newly formed Rogers Park Conservancy (which grew out of the former 49th ward parks & beaches ctte) heard some of the plans, and an article in the Tribune described the possible harbor(s).
In early October, Save Our Lakefront leaders Jonathan Roth, Raj Bhosley, Ginny Durkin and Fran Tobin moved quickly to mail out more than 1,100 alerts, sounding the alarm and asking people to come to the Oct. 20 meeting. RPCAN members passed out more than 2,500 leaflets in a couple weeks, also calling for big turn-out and opposition to a harbor. Conservancy activists also spread the word and worked with some of the Save Our Lakefront supporters to help with turn-out, like Shoreline Towers renting a bus for the event.
For weeks before the Oct. 20 Harbor meeting, Save Our Lakefront campaign flooded State Rep. Harry Osterman with emails calling on him to join us in opposing any harbor. The emails obviously had an effect, as Rep. Osterman practically read our script in criticizing the Park District's latest idea. Since he did that, it is important that we also send him a note of thanks, so he knows that when he does what we ask, we appreciate it. But the message is also that we expect to be full partners in any further "conversation" about the lakefront.
Save our Lakefront Let's be clear: October 20 was a victory, that came from a year and a half of work. Grassroots, systematic organizational work. But that victory, as has been noted, is not the end.
"Friends of the New Lakefront" and some Edgewater individuals think they can out-organize us in Edgewater. And the planning money is likely to focus on some kind of process that covers the entire lakefront from Hollywood to Evanston. If we want to challenge the interests that stand to make money from building roads and harbors, we have to continue to organize, precinct by precinct, block by block.
Get Involved, Stay Involved. Click the link above and send your note to Rep. Osterman. Call the campaign office to see how you can help. Attend the meeting about a proposed ward-wide advisory referendum in 49th ward (or perhaps elsewhere).
Forward this blog to your friends and get them involved.
Save Our Lakefront campaign
RPCAN/SOL(773) 973-7888
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