Byrne Proposes New Downtown for Chicago

Former Mayor of Chicago Jane M. Byrne speaking last night to a crowd of about 70 at the Ames Courtroom said pushing for more downtown chicago development would be the main issue of her bid for reelection as mayor in 1987.

Byrne, who was mayor from 1979 to 1983, said that if reelected she would revive efforts to build a new downtown pier complex similar to Boston's Quincy Market or New York's South Street Seaport.

She also said she supports building a new airport on the border of Illinois and Indiana next to Lake Michigan so that "Chicago will remain the transportation center."

Entitled "The Influence of Politics on a City's Economy: The Chicago Statement," Byrne's speech was the seventh in a 12-lecture series sponsored by the Harvard Law School Forum.

The current Chicago administration under mayor Harold Washington has not been developing the downtown areas sufficiently, leaving projects started during her term unfinished, Byrne said.

"In Chicago, you cannot let expensive downtown property sit with a fence around it for three years," she said. "You're not getting money from the dirt, but the costs continue."

The former mayor also criticized Washington for failing to establish a connection to the low-income neighborhoods of the city. "When Mayor Goode won, he reached out, as did Mayor Bradley. That did not happen in Chicago," she said.

Byrne also blasted the entire city government for its lack of action. "If the council proposes, the mayor opposes. If the mayor proposes the council opposes," she said.

On a lighter note, Byrne addressed the concern of one member of the audience who asked about installing lights at the city's Wrigley Field. She said, "It was during my administration that we passed the ordinance banning the lights."