The dogs of Chicago’s Lakeshore East Neighborhood (“LSE”) need your help! This issue is personal for me because of my history with LSE. My father even grew up in the “Outer Drive East” building on East Randolph in the 60’s – long before the area was developed like it is now. When I lived at LSE, I got to know many or most of the dogs personally, through time spent photographing, training, walking and just playing with them. LSE is unique among downtown Chicago neighborhoods because of its extremely “neighborly”, almost small town feel. Although it’s right next to the Loop, LSE is a refuge from the drudgery, violence, greed, and corruption of the “Windy City”. It’s a place where everyone knows everyone, people genuinely care about each other and don’t hesitate to lend a helping hand when a neighbor is in need. This is not an accident. LSE has always sold itself as being extremely dog-friendly, and as a result, most of the people who live there are “dog people”. As LSE has grown, the dogs and dog-loving residents have been the glue that has held LSE together and given the neighborhood its special character. But it’s not just the locals who appreciate the dogs of LSE. I’m thinking about, for example, how much joy and comic relief the dogs gave the cast and crew of Transformers when they were filming at LSE. How much fun we had getting to know them, taking pictures of the dogs with Bumblebee and in general making them feel welcome. Or how James Cromwell hit it off with my dog Lola when he was in town working on Betrayal and came out of his trailer to say hi and give her some love. Or the little girl whose father had left her and whose mother (a member of CPD) used to bring her to LSE several times a week for the unconditional love and friendship that only dogs can provide. Or political genius David Axelrod and his dog Mac or Chicago Blackhawks goalie Antti Raanta and his dog Maisa just hanging out, without being bothered or harassed, relaxing and playing with everyone else. The list goes on. The bottom line is, the love and warmth with which the dogs of LSE welcome visitors is good not just for LSE, but for Chicago as a whole. And yet, in spite of all of this, the City has suddenly, underhandedly, without democratic process and contrary to previous assurances to taxpayers, BANNED ALL DOGS from the new Maggie Daley Park. This will have serious negative repercussions for the human and canine residents of LSE because it will take away their only direct route to Grant Park, depriving thousands of dogs and their owners of much-needed exercise and socialization. By destroying the welcoming character of the neighborhood, it will likely hurt Chicago as a whole by making the area less attractive for tourism, television and movies. The City has not provided a coherent explanation for its action. One possible justification they put forward was that dog waste might create a health hazard for children playing in the park. This is absurd for a number of reasons. For one thing, the area is regularly blanketed by disease-infested Canada goose feces, and the City has never seemed to care about that. Moreover, the City has instructed CPD to ticket anyone who attempts to cross through the area with a dog - so they could just as easily apply those same resources to ticketing those who dont pick up after their dogs instead. Maybe it has something to do with the Mayor’s bizarre attitude toward dogs (recall him threatening to kill Bo Obama a few years ago). Who knows. In any case, the whole thing is frighteningly undemocratic and brazen in its disrespect for the taxpayers who funded the project, the dogs of LSE and Chicago generally. So please, if you are a resident of Chicago – BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, IF YOU ARE NOT A RESIDENT OF CHICAGO AND THEREFORE A POTENTIAL VISITOR - take just a moment to sign this petition and show your support. The dogs of LSE thank you! thepetitionsite/719/690/847/petition-to-allow-dogs-in-maggie-daley-park/
Posted on: Sun, 14 Dec 2014 20:45:59 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015