CSNA Opposes NU's Lakefront Athletics Facility

A local neighborhood association is opposing Northwestern University’s plan to construct a private student Lakefront Athletics and Recreational Complex on five acres along Lake Michigan in Evanston.

The Central Street Neighbors Association penned a letter to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources last month opposing the project as it stands now.

“The public trust doctrine provides that dominion and sovereignty over submerged lands in Lake Michigan belong to the State where the land is found, and must be held in trust for the people,” according to the letter, officially submitted to DNR Director Daniel Injerd. “More than a century ago, the U.S. Supreme Court stated unequivocally that title to the bed of Lake Michigan adjoining the State of Illinois was a ‘title held in trust for the people of the State that they may enjoy the navigation of its waters, carry on commerce over them, and have the liberty of fishing therein free from obstruction or interference of private parties.’

The letter cited a recent decision by the federal district court in Chicago to deny Loyola University’s request to fill 18.5 acres of Lake Michigan to enlarge its campus in Rogers Park.

“This filling of land that formerly was “open water in Lake Michigan” is precisely what NU seeks in its pending permit application, and courts have stated unequivocally that it is unlawful,” according to the letter.