Little Leaguers fight Biotech Park
By Jean Lachowicz
For a
dozen summers, the sound of bat hitting ball and the shouts of children
playing baseball have animated the two-diamond playing field at Livingston
Park on Polk and Leavitt Streets. The fun and games may come to an abrupt
halt, however, if the Illinois Medical District (IMD) constructs a life
sciences and biotechnology research and development center on the site of
the field.
At the season’s opening pitch celebration on June 2, the Jesse White Tumblers performed and Mayor Richard M. Daley expressed a commitment to keep the park open for the Little Leaguers. A petition to keep the field open gained 300 signatures that day, including those of the Mayor, Secretary of State White, and both local Aldermen, Danny Solis (25th) and Bob Fioretti (2nd).
Little League baseball at Livingston Park began in 1995, when local residents and the IMD created the children’s field from an empty lot and named the park in honor of the late David Livingston, a former IMD commissioner. Supporters raised more than $200,000 to upgrade the field, build grandstands and dugouts, and install a sprinkler system.
Livingston Park is one of two fields used by the Near West Little League (NWLL), the largest Little League in the City of Chicago, with more than 600 children participating on 42 teams. The NWLL is affiliated with the U.S. Little League in Williamsport, PA, and offers six divisions for boys and girls, ages 6 through 16. The season runs from June through August. The NWLL also plays at Altgeld Park at Harrison Street and Washtenaw Avenue.
Near West Side residents Bob and Tina Muzikowski founded the NWLL; their involvement in youth baseball dates to 1991, when they began working with other community leaders to establish a Little League to serve children in the Cabrini-Green Housing Projects. That league won a Points of Light Award from former President George H.W. Bush and a Youth Services Award from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for its outstanding role in helping to change the lives of Chicago children.
To build on their Cabrini-Green success, the Muzikowskis wanted to start a league in their own neighborhood. According to Tina Muzikowski, “What else could you want? The league serves the rich and the poor, all playing together. Kids come from all of the schools in the area, including Washington, Andrew Jackson, Holy Trinity, Galileo, Touhy-Chalmers, and Jenner.”
IMD officials said both the Chicago Park District, which maintains the
field, and the adults running the league knew the IMD owns the property and
that it was slated for development. In fact, the IMD stated, it signed
single-year agreements with the Park District each year for the past dozen
years.
IMD Commission President Ken Schmitt has been quoted as saying existing bonds require the IMD to build on the site and that it is an ideal location for the $12 million center because it has the most unobstructed southern exposure to sun, which is essential because it will include a greenhouse facility for agricultural research.
Volunteer and architect Bill Lavicka disagreed with the location for the new building. “When 500 to 600 little kids of all colors and backgrounds can come together in the summertime and get along, it’s not something that happens very often," Lavicka said. "People from downtown come down to coach—brokers and traders—to support the teams. It is one of the nicest baseball fields in the city and it’s beyond reason why they would consider closing it down. The Medical District has at least 40 other blocks of vacant land it could use for this project.”
He added, “This is State land. The State could make it into a great State Park and there would be no need to transfer land or money. The area would have much needed greenspace, and the kids would be able to keep their baseball field.”
Elizabeth Austin, communications director for Illinois Lt. Governor Pat Quinn, explained that while the State set up the IMD, it is not a State agency. Apparently, it would require an act of the State Legislature to take over IMD assets, including the property containing the baseball field.
As early as the first week of August, the IMD plans to begin construction, allowing the final Little League games of the season to be played at Livingston Park.
Alderman Danny Solis said, “I would like for the building to not happen. I’ve talked with the Mayor, the Park District Superintendent, Bob Musikowski, and others. I am still hopeful, and we are still looking for alternatives. I plan to not help the IMD get any permits for the project.”
According to Chicago Park District spokesperson Jessica Faulkner, Superintendent Timothy J. Mitchell has a deep commitment to finding the children a new place to play baseball.
