September 3, 1909 – The Chicago Daily Tribune reports on an
investigation by the Chiperfield land investigating committee, authorized by
the state legislature to investigate abuses related to “made land” along Illinois
lakes and rivers. The current brouhaha
relates to land in Edgewater where “a few years ago a broad sandy beach
stretched along the shore of that part of the city” and where now residents are
not pleased “to have Sheridan road, which used to skirt along the edge of the
lake between Bryn Mawr and Foster avenues, shoved back 200 to 500 feet, and to
have their beloved beach turned into building lots by the dumping of refuse
upon the sand.” [Chicago Daily Tribune, September
3, 1909] It is alleged that the Lincoln Park board has given two real
estate agencies, Cochran & McClure and Corbett & Connery, the right to
make new land in the area and sell the property. One resident says, “When we bought our
property last August we supposed that we were within two blocks of the lake,
but instead of that we find a real estate sign offering lots for sale at the
foot of the street.” Burnett M.
Chiperfield of Canton, Illinois, the head of the Submerged and Shore Lands Legislative Investigating Committee, says, “We
have decided that in all cases where we have found individuals or corporations
occupying land which we think belongs to the state we shall subpoena them to
appear before us and bring with them any proofs which they may have to offer
showing their alleged title to the land … We want to get a bird’s eye view of
the whole shore line, and a general idea where the towns are located and of the
water front streets and that sort of thing, so that when we take testimony
regarding certain alleged land grabs, we will have some knowledge of the
location … We found some things in East St. Louis and along the Illinois river
that look like big steals, and I believe that conditions are as bad all along
the water fronts of this state.”
September 3, 1950 – The Chicago Tribune reports that a 500-unit addition to Altgeld Gardens at 130th Street is soon to get under way. It will be one of 13 sites that the City Council has approved as subsidized housing for low-income families. The land for the project was purchased in 1946 and covers 32 acres. Architects for the huge project will be Naess & Murphy, the same firm that will design the Prudential Building on Randolph Street before the middle of the decade. The average monthly rental is projected to be $43, and the project will include its own shopping center and “an abundance of parking space.” The Beaubein Forest Preserve is nearby, and the park district has acquired an additional 15 acres of green space adjoining the development. It all sounds wonderful – an urban paradise – but as The Chicago Reader later observed, “Altgeld’s proximity to the southeast side’s slew of factories, landfills, dumps, and polluted waterways . . . left its residents exposed and vulnerable.” [The Chicago Reader, September 4, 2015]
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