HYDE PARK — Mayor Rahm Emanuel said there is no deadline for a deal between the city and Friends of the Parks on the Lucas Museum on Tuesday, but the clock is ticking.
Earlier on Tuesday, Friends of the Parks Executive Director Juanita Irizarry reportedly said she was told by city officials that the Lucas Museum would move on to other cities if there wasn’t some deal hammered out Tuesday for the site on a parking lot next to Soldier Field.
During a visit to a new Whole Foods in Hyde Park, Emanuel said his understanding was that Jesse Ruiz, chair of the board of commissioners of the Chicago Park District, was available to negotiate Tuesday, but there was no deadline.
“They do need to hurry up and be part rather than an obstruction” to the process, Emanuel said.
He said time remains of the essence because the Lucas Museum’s planners are now actively talking to other cities about sites for the museum while Chicago has remained mired in a lawsuit with the Friends of the Parks.
“Be part of the solution,” Emanuel said. “It doesn’t come as a surprise that time is of the essence.”
A list of terms Friends of the Parks was debating internally was leaked on Friday and Emanuel dismissed them as “ridiculous claims” if they were ever offered publicly.
A representative of the Lucas Museum and the Friends of the Parks was not immediately available to comment.
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