Chicago City Council to vote Wednesday on renaming Lake Shore Drive
CHICAGO - The City Council is expected to vote on an ordinance Wednesday to rename Lake Shore Drive in honor of Chicago's first non-native resident and founder, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable.
The original proposal in May named the outer portion of the iconic stretch, from 67th Street to Hollywood Avenue, Jean Baptiste Point DuSable Drive. An abbreviated name change, to Dusable Lake Shore Drive, has attracted those who were initially opposed.
Alderman David Moore, from the 17th Ward, sponsored the name change. He says the cost for renaming would be a little more than $800,000 to the state, city and CTA.
Alderman Moore is pushing back against critics who say it would cause lake front property values to plunge.
"When you see other colleagues getting with a real estate firm to push fear mongering, in Chicago we call the dog whistles, among their constituents and saying your property values are going to do down and all of that, which is not true at all, those are the things that's racially charged," Moore said.
As an alternative, Mayor Lori Lightfoot has proposed renaming a portion of the Chicago Riverwalk and a park for du Sable. Moore says that plan would cost $40 million dollars.