Lucas Museum Debated in Mayoral Runoff
Is the Star Wars creator George Lucas' proposed museum a boon for Chicago's lakefront, or "a monument to Darth Vader"? That's what mayoral hopeful and Cook County Commissioner Jesus "Chuy" Garcia called the museum during a two-hour debate with Mayor Rahm Emanuel ahead of the April 7 runoff. The museum has been a source of controversy since the city first floated plans to locate it just south of the lakefront Museum Campus, on 17 acres of public land. The mayor has been a proponent of the museum, saying it would bring jobs and increased tourism to the lakefront area between Soldier Field and McCormick Place, the Associated Press reports. The cost of the project has not been announced, but some estimate it could carry a price tag of over $400M. [AP]
