Firin' Up The Chainsaws

A reader writes in:
"They are cutting down the beautiful trees in the Truman College mall right now (to make way for the upcoming parking structure's Racine Street connection). Since we've moved here, we've seen the public space used by residents disappear. First the grassy knoll were families played volley ball and baseball, now the open space. All of it is consumed with parking, driveways and gravel. What a shame!"

Update: And in related news, the city has made it official (as if we didn't already know) in this press release below. Your tax dollars (TIF) will be funding this parking structure to the tune of a cool $10,000,000. We're sure this parking structure will spur even more development in Uptown.

"Mayor Richard M. Daley proposed a plan to the City Council today to use Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds to assist in the development of a student center and parking facility for Harry S. Truman College.
"Tax Increment Financing is our strongest economic development tool," Mayor Daley said. "It captures the growth in a neighborhood for reinvestment in that same community, such as the proposed great improvements to the Truman College campus, an anchor for the Uptown neighborhood."
The project includes planning, design and construction of a 75,000-square-foot student center and parking facility that will include space for an admissions and advising center, financial aid offices, placement testing, student clubs, student government and other activities.
The facility at 4455 N. Racine Ave. will also include a seven-story elevated parking structure with capacity for 1,100 cars. The City intends to assist the $54 million project with $10 million from the Wilson Yards TIF District funds. To date, Chicago's TIF program has committed more than $800 million in TIF funds for public education to rehabilitate or construct new schools. "