Chicago Open-Space Activists Vow to Fight Lucas Museum Plan

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Wednesday that he is confident the city will win a prospective legal battle over its plan to turn over property fronting Lake Michigan to filmmaker George Lucas for a museum, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Hard upon the news that the billionaire Star Wars creator had chosen Chicago to host his collection of movie memorabilia and populist art, opponents of lakefront construction said building on the city-selected, 17-acre parcel would violate municipal restrictions on shore development.

Preservationist group Friends of the Parks will do “what it takes” to block the project, said Cassandra Francis, the organization’s president and CEO. “If that means a lawsuit, we are prepared to file a lawsuit.”

Mr. Emanuel said the choice of the lakefront property was vetted by the municipal attorneys. “We feel very comfortable from a legal perspective,” he said at a news conference. “Anything we’ve done … we do with the Law Department sitting there.”