City Seeks To Have Lucas Museum Injunction Lifted
City lawyers filed a motion late yesterday seeking to lift an injunction barring construction of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art on the lakefront. US District Judge John Darrah will hear arguments on the motion today.
The city argues that the injunction is invalid since Darrah imposed it before the City Plan Commission, City Council and Park District approved the Lucas Museum plan. The city also claims Darrah's ruling earlier this month to not dismiss a lawsuit by advocacy group Friends of the Parks to prevent construction of the museum on the lakefront may force filmmaker George Lucas to relocate the museum to another city, according to Crain's.
Friends of the Parks argues that the State of Illinois has final say in whether the Lucas Museum can be built on the lakefront under public trust doctrine. The city is giving Lucas land between Soldier Field and McCormick Place for $1 annually. [Crain's]
