tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post6977966126311262900..comments2024-03-28T15:05:10.372-05:00Comments on Every goddamn day: 03/28/24: Destroying Meigs FieldNeil Steinberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11468057838260476480noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-41792337553188246072018-03-31T15:25:58.629-05:002018-03-31T15:25:58.629-05:00"...maybe that will even happen with Trump on..."...maybe that will even happen with Trump one day." Now you've *really* gone off the deep end! ; )<br /><br />In answer to your question, yes, it would, so at least I'm consistent about that, FWIW. This certainly isn't gonna score me any points, but I recently disagreed with both you *and* our host about "that horrendously stupid Lucas museum." Rather than paste it here, you can see my comment about that on this thread, if you care to bother:<br /><br />http://www.everygoddamnday.com/2018/03/good-news-lucas-museum-breaks-ground.html Jakashnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-18329829481998986172018-03-31T14:58:30.686-05:002018-03-31T14:58:30.686-05:00Well, Jakash, with all respect, would that "t...Well, Jakash, with all respect, would that "there's lots of lakefront" argument have cut any ice with you when it came to that horrendously stupid Lucas museum? Lake Michigan may be plenty big, but its shoreline is not infinite. Converting part of it from a convenience for people with private jets to a public park was the right call IMO.<br /><br />As for "King Richard," I flatter myself that I have the ability to recognize a good decision, no matter how otherwise loathsome the person who makes it may be. Who knows, maybe that will even happen with Trump one day.Bitter Scribehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04645909858616987997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-84911035599557769742018-03-31T13:41:13.741-05:002018-03-31T13:41:13.741-05:00Bitter Scribe, completely wrong, for a change. Th...Bitter Scribe, completely wrong, for a change. That's refreshing! IMHO, of course. (You know I'm very appreciative of most of your contributions here and elsewhere, sir, so I hope you'll allow that cheeky shot.)<br /><br />There's not much to add to Neil's spot-on take regarding this matter, but I certainly whole-heartedly agree with him. I'm no bigger fan of "rich assholes" than you are, but Meigs Field was a worthwhile piece of established infrastructure for the city. Tearing it up was stupid, among many other things. The fact that I didn't personally benefit from it, due to my inadvertent mistake of not owning a Lear jet, doesn't change that fact. I've been to that area, both when it was Meigs, when it was no-man's land afterwards and during the various phases of it being developed into the park it is now, dozens of times. I've liked the area all along. I'm not unhappy that there's a nice park there now, but, as NS notes, there's lots of lakefront to explore without it. <br /><br />Seems to me that when progressive folks such as you have their hearts gladdened by the admittedly "autocratic and dictatorial," not to mention very expensive machinations of King Richard, it's a sad day, indeed. Nobody has mentioned one of the excuses used to justify the action at the time -- to protect the city from potential small-aircraft attack, in the still-scary days not that long after 9/11. I've always been fascinated at how that was allegedly a significant enough danger to warrant this outrage, yet planes fly around Wrigley Field and along the beaches all summer long for the sake of pulling advertising banners. Now *there's* something that calls for a dictatorial response... Jakashnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-77166258323822533832018-03-31T13:03:09.963-05:002018-03-31T13:03:09.963-05:00Cleveland movers and shakers keep bitching about w...Cleveland movers and shakers keep bitching about what a waste of precious land our (much-bigger) Burke Lakefront Airport is, and that it's only used by rock stars performing downtown or, occasionally, a pro sports team that is visiting the downtown ballpark or the arena next door. They want to close it down and replace those unnecessary runways with high-end housing and retail...in a city with thousands of abandoned homes and millions of square feet of shuttered retail space. <br /><br />Cheer up...at least Chicago got more park land from that high-handed midnight land-grab, and not some pricey lakefront enclave. And Daley the Younger was merely stealing a page from mid-20th century history. The Germans also invaded their victims in the wee, small hours of the morning.Grizz 65noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-10705126625416572202018-03-31T12:47:20.775-05:002018-03-31T12:47:20.775-05:00Sure, Rahm was testing the waters. What elected of...Sure, Rahm was testing the waters. What elected official doesn't? He was testing the waters when he wanted to allow George Lucas to land his spaceship on a lakefront parking lot. Tony Galatihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11944671504245191140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-8291199020158096972018-03-31T10:09:53.458-05:002018-03-31T10:09:53.458-05:00I've always rejected the argument that you had...<i>I've always rejected the argument that you had to be a bigwig using Meigs to jet from deal to deal in order to benefit from the field. </i><br /><br />You shouldn't, because that was exactly the case. Why should a stretch of prime lakefront property, owned by the city, be set aside for a bunch of rich assholes? If standing in line at O'Hare with the hoi polloi is too much for them, they can always use Palwaukee or another such place and spend 45 minutes in their limos to get to wherever their important asses need to be.<br /><br /><i>Many, particularly kids, liked to see the aircraft come and go.</i><br /><br />Lots more aircraft come and go at O'Hare.<br /><br /><i>Belmont Harbor...the Water Tower...</i><br /><br />Now you're just being silly.<br /><br />Yes, it was autocratic and dictatorial for Daley to do what he did. And it made my heart glad. If he had tried to hold hearings or whatever, the rich assholes who used Meigs for their Lear jets would have tied the city up in court for who knows how long, forcing it to spend tax money that would have been better spent on just about anything else.<br />Bitter Scribehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04645909858616987997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-47214597183761906352018-03-31T09:07:01.276-05:002018-03-31T09:07:01.276-05:00I still can't figure out why or rather for wha...I still can't figure out why or rather for what purpose Daley destroyed Meigs. His stated reasons don't make any sense of course and as Neil says, even if it were a good idea, to just up and dig up the runway in the middle of the night was ludicrous, almost insane. It calls for a dissertation.<br /><br />johntatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10088632798195131329noreply@blogger.com