For immediate release, September 1, 1999
Contact: Bill Lavika, 312-829-5562; Steve Balkin, 312-341-3696 <mar@interaccess.com>
The Maxwell Street Historic Preservation Coalition is very disappointed to hear UIC's latest plans for the South Campus Expansion. These plans will be presented at the University of Illinois Board of Trustees meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 1999 at the Chicago Illini Union building, 828 South Wolcott, somewhere in the interval from 1:30 PM to 3:00PM..
Says Coalition member Steve Balkin, "we have not been informed or invited to this meeting. We found out through informal sources. That is not a good sign. But we are hoping that UIC administrators will come to their senses and agree, as other UIC planners have in the past, that real Maxwell Street preservation is a win-win deal. If that fails to occur then we hope that the University of Illinois Trustees will start to be critical of the process and substance of the plans. There are three alternative plans to examine: the Decker-Vinci Plan, the McClier Plan, and the D'Angelo-Lavicka Plan. I hope the Board of Trustees takes the time to examine these other plans."
This potential for win-win echoes the sentiments of Mike Tristano, former UIC Vice Provost and former head of the UIC South Campus expansion team. Mr. Tristano is now Chief of Staff for Illinois House Republican leader Lee Daniels. Says Balkin, "Mr. Tristano believed real Maxwell Street preservation would be a win-win deal. He called it 'coming back to the old neighborhood' but when he left, things turned sour against us. To his credit, Mr. Tristano still supports the Coalition and its aims."
Bill Lavicka, a Coalition member, structural engineer, and preservationist says, "I still have hope. After Tristano left, things have been dictated to us without our direct involvement with UIC. I am hoping that UIC does not just put forth their old plan which had serious flaws and was unacceptable to us. The flaws of that plan include:
1. Inappropriate placement of parking structures on Maxwell Street rather than a block south by the expressway (UIC's original choice). Forcing the placement onto Maxwell Street precludes saving old buildings on Maxwell Street itself.
2. Use of facadism rather than preserving whole buildings. Facadism is superficial and phony. It is not preservation. It is not respectful of our heritage and preserving real buildings will not cost much more than just facades.
3. Exaggerated costs. The preservation of these old buildings need not cost UIC anything as the project can be easily privatized. But if UIC administrators want to do it themselves, they picked the wrong architects, Wight and Company. We believe UIC picked Wight to stack the outcome against preservation. They have no historic rehab experience and have a reputation for overly high fees. They were involved with the DuPage County 'sick' court house and were fined heavily for their illegal conduct.
4. Because UIC fought to block the proposal to put the area buildings on the National Register of Historic Sites, there is no assurance that UIC will not eventually tear down the few buildings it says it will save on Halsted."
Balkin comments, "Maxwell Street is run down and needs to be fixed up and cleaned up. But you don't kill something to save it. You repair it and restore it. We are not obstructionist fanatics. We have compromised at every step with the City and have accepted every one of their compromise plans. Students, faculty, everyone likes to live and be near historic buildings. As Chicagoans, it is part of who we are. Like it says from a comment on our website: UIC has become like the child who commits the greatest sin of any immigrant culture -- who tells his grandparents that he doesn't want to hear their stories anymore."
The Maxwell Street Historic Preservation Coalition will hold a press conference outside at the entrance of City Hall, 121 N. LaSalle, on Friday. September 3, 1999 at 3:00PM to respond to UIC's latest plans, and answer questions about the Coalition's plans and possible legal action.
For more information visit the Coalition's website <http://www.openair.org/maxwell/preserve.html>.
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