TITLE
REQUEST TO OFFICIALLY NAME PARK NO. 601 AS
DUNNING READ NATURAL AREA PARK
BODY
To the Honorable Board of Commissioners of the Chicago Park District
I. Recommendation
Pursuant to Chapter VII, Section E of the Code of the Chicago Park District (the “Code), the General Superintendent recommends that the Board of Commissioners (the “Board”) approve the request to officially name Park No. 601 as Dunning Read Natural Area Park.
Proposed Park or feature: Park No. 601
Location: 7000 West Irving Park Road
Community Area: Dunning Community Area
Ward: 38
Proposed Name: Dunning Read Natural Area Park
II. Authorization
The Board hereby authorizes and directs the General Superintendent or their designee to perform, or cause to be performed, all such acts, including, without limitation the placement of signs with the official name, and to execute and deliver any and all agreements, documents, instruments or certificates as the General Superintendent deems necessary, advisable or appropriate, to effectuate this official naming.
III. Explanation
Park No. 601
Park No. 601 is a 20-acre park in the Dunning community in northwest Chicago. This proposal to officially name Park No. 601 as Dunning Read Natural Area Park has the support of Alderman Nicholas Sposato; Illinois House Representative Lindsey LaPointe; Service Learning Coordinator of Wright College, Merry Mayer; the Park Advisory Council; and numerous community members. During the 45-day notice period required by the Code, the Chicago Park District received 36 comments; of which, 35 were in support of the proposed name and 1 was in opposition.
Proposed Name: Dunning Read Natural Area Park
The proposed name Dunning Read Natural Area Park acknowledges the history of the site and its location. The land at Park No. 601 was once part of a vast expanse of prairie land. Starting around 1854, the area was home to a series of public infirmaries, almshouse, and mental hospital facilities. The adjacent property was owned, in the mid-1800s, by the Dunning family, and when the railroad extended a line to the area in 1882, the stop was named Dunning Station-and those existing facilities became locally (but unofficially) known as Dunning. The name Read was appended in 1970 after a merge with a nearby facility. After construction of the new state-operated Chicago Read Mental Health Center in 1970 on a portion of the area, the remaining land began to be reclaimed by nature.
In 2005, the State of Illinois formally protected the site, calling it the "Dunning Read Conservation Area." Management of the site for the purposes of native prairie, wetland, and savanna planting and restoration has continued since then. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources granted the Chicago Park District a conservation easement for the site in 2022.
Park No. 601, colloquially known as "Dunning Read Conservation Area" or "Dunning Read Natural Area," is comprised of prairies, wetlands, and woodlands; and the park has approximately one mile of mulch trails and two gathering spaces. The natural area is a popular location for birding and supports a vibrant community of native plants. An active cadre of volunteers support the maintenance conducted by the Park District.
The proposed name follows the criteria set forth in Chapter VII, Section E.2 of the Code for naming a park, which states, in part, that: “[t]here shall be a general presumption in favor of names reflecting historical or physical features of neighborhoods[.]”
IV. Park Naming Procedures
Pursuant to Code, this request to name the park feature had been forwarded to the Secretary of the Chicago Park District, who filed a copy of this request and initiated a notice period to solicit public input. Notices were posted in parks and sent to advisory councils located within a one-mile radius of the park site. Elected officials were also notified of the proposal, including the alderperson of the ward in which the park is located. The notice period of forty-five (45) days soliciting public input regarding the naming proposal was initiated on September 10, 2025. There has been positive support for this proposal from community members, with XX comments in support of the name and XX in opposition. The General Superintendent recommends that Park No. 601 be named Dunning Read Natural Area Park.