OL Park District to hold off on prairie restoration

By William Jones

After talking with consultants earlier this month about restoring a portion of the Chicago Ridge Prairie, the Oak Lawn Park District has changed its plans amidst budget concerns.

The prairie, a 12.8-acre tract at 105th Street and Menard Avenue, was designated an Illinois Nature Preserve in 1995. Roughly 4.5 acres of the land has been compromised according to John Van of Landtech, one of the consulting firms, and park district officials had proposed restoring as many of those 4.5 acres as possible and making the prairie publicly accessible. Plans called for a circular trail leading to an overlook to be built in the compromised area, and interactive educational exhibits along the trail.

“It doesn’t look likely,” park district director Maddie Kelly said last week regarding the restoration. “We will hopefully go forward next year.”

Kelly said several board members opposed moving forward with plans now because attendance at park district events is down and the economic conditions do not make it a “good year” for such a project. The restoration is still part of the district’s master plan, she added.

The park district planned to seek funds for the project, but it would have been a matching grant where the park district would be required to provide half of the money, Kelly said.

Oak Lawn Park Board Commissioner Mary Wallace, who is opposed to moving forward with plans this year, said the cost to the district would be “significant.” Wallace said the consultants presented several options with varying price tags, but that all of them would cost the district more than $100,000.

This is part of the June 25, 2009 online edition of The Reporter.

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