Title
REQUEST TO INITIATE 45-DAY NOTICE PERIOD
TO NAME GREEN BRIAR PARK
IN HONOR OF ED KELLY
Body
To the Honorable Board of Commissioners of the Chicago Park District
I. Recommendation
It is recommended that an order be entered authorizing the General Superintendent or his designee to initiate a 45-day notice period to solicit public input to name Green Briar Park in honor of Ed Kelly.
Proposed Park or feature: Green Briar Park
Location: 2650 West Peterson Avenue
Community Area: West Ridge
Ward: 40
Proposed Name: Ed Kelly Park
II. Explanation
The Chicago Park District naming and renaming procedures allow for the naming of features in parks, including playgrounds and buildings. Alderman Patrick J. O’Connor requested that the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners name Green Briar Park in honor of Ed Kelly. This proposal has support of Omar Lopez, Executive Director of CALOR, and of Bill Kearns.
Ed Kelly was born and raised in the neighborhood around Seward Park. As a youth, he made extensive use of park programs offered, participating in a variety of sports and other programs. Following service in the Marines as a machine gunner during World War II, he attended DePaul University and had a stint playing professional basketball for the Oshkosh All-Stars before embarking on a long career in the public sector. Beginning with the Park District as a physical education instructor in the late 1940s, Kelly had a very active role in coaching the sports programs at numerous parks and in increasing the participation levels of various programs. He rose through the ranks, eventually becoming General Superintendent in 1973. He is known for innumerable improvements in the parks, including revamping the security in Grant Park Garage and an early renovation of Soldier Field. Kelly has sponsored sports leagues, provided the career beginnings for many boxers, basketball players, and other athletes, and assisted in the establishment of the National Museum of Mexican Art. During his career, Kelly also served the citizens of Chicago as the Ward Committeeman for the 47th Ward. His commitment to the people of Chicago, especially the young people, remains evident to this day.
III. Park Naming Procedures
Chapter VII, Section E of the Code of the Chicago Park District, (the Naming Ordinance), which governs the naming and renaming of parks and park features, states that if a proposed name honors a person, the (i) person shall have been deceased for a least one (1) year prior to consideration; and (ii) the person shall have demonstrated a continued commitment and made an extraordinary contribution to civic betterment, locally, nationally or internationally.
Pursuant to the Naming Ordinance, this request to rename and name parks have been forwarded to the Secretary of the Chicago Park District, who shall (i ) file a copy of this request with the Board of Commissioners (or appropriate Committee); and (ii) initiate a notice period of at least 45 days to provide notice and solicit public input. Such notice shall be posted at the respective subject park field house (or for any park without a field house, at the nearest field house) and it shall be sent to advisory councils located within a one (1) mile radius of the subject park. At the conclusion of the notice period, the General Superintendent or his designee may in his discretion recommend to the Board that it approve the requested renames and names.