TITLE
REQUEST TO OFFICIALLY NAME PARK 559 TO EDGEWATER PRAIRIE 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 of the Chicago Park District (the “Board”) approve the request to officially name Park 559 to Edgewater Prairie Park.
II. Information; Authorization
Park: Park 559
Location: 6151 N. Sheridan Rd.
Community Area: Edgewater
Ward: 48
Proposed Name: Edgewater Prairie Park
Authorization: The Board hereby authorizes and directs the General Superintendent or their designee (“General Superintendent”) 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. Park Naming Procedures
Pursuant to the Code, this request to name the park has been forwarded to the Secretary, who filed a copy of this request. Chicago Park District (“Park District”) staff conducted a comprehensive review and analysis of the criteria for naming and presented their review and analysis to the General Superintendent. The General Superintendent considered the proposed name of Edgewater Prairie Park and found that the criteria set forth in Chapter VII, Section E.2. of the Code had been met. On September 9, 2026 the Board initiated a notice period of forty-five (45) days to solicit public input. Notices were posted at the subject park’s fieldhouse (or if there is no fieldhouse in that park, at the nearest fieldhouse) and sent to advisory councils of parks located within a one-mile radius of the park. Elected officials were also notified of the proposal, including the alderperson of the ward in which the park is located. There has been positive support for this proposal from community members, with thirty-eight (38) comments in support of the name and twenty-three (23) comments in opposition. The General Superintendent recommends that the park be named Edgewater Prairie Park.
IV. Park Naming Procedures
n 2026, representatives of the Edgewater Environmental Coalition requested in writing that the Park District name the currently unnamed Park 559 located at 6151 N Sheridan Road, Chicago, Illinois, to Edgewater Prairie Park. This proposed name is in recognition of the park’s evolving character as a space showcasing and fostering the growth of native plants and the efforts of those in the community to steward that growth and evolution. The naming request is supported by the Berger Park Advisory Council and supported by a petition of area residents.
Since 2024, volunteers, residents, community organizations and other local partners have worked together to restore native habitat within Park 559, which had previously been primarily an area of open turf grass. Today it has become an emerging pollinator habitat with environmental opportunities and on-going community protection.
Park District staff conducted a comprehensive review and analysis of the criteria for naming and presented their review and analysis to the General Superintendent. The General Superintendent considered the proposed name of the park and found that the criteria set forth in Chapter VII, Section E.2 of the Code had been met as follows: (1) the proposed name has substantial public support; and (2) the proposed name reflects the ongoing ecological restoration of the park and while it recognizes the volunteerism and stewardship of local stakeholders, it is a name that reflects a physical feature of the neighborhood rather than a name honoring a person or an organization.
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: the General Superintendent “shall consider the extent of public support for, and public opposition to, the proposed name” and “[t]here shall be a general presumption in favor of names reflecting historical or physical features of neighborhoods, rather than names honoring persons or organizations.” Therefore, it is in the best interest of the Park District to name Park 559 Edgewater Prairie Park.