Just say no to proposed firing range for the Calumet region

Last week, a bald eagle soared overhead a proposed firing range in the Calumet area, landing to straighten its giant nest in a secluded heron rookery at the neighboring Whitford Pond. It was not alone – a second adult and a three-year-old eaglet were perched nearby across the river. Their presence underscored the serious land use conflict posed by the City of Chicago's campaign to site the intense use training facility within a hundred yards of one of the natural, cultural and educational crown jewels of the Millennium Reserve project.

Openlands believes that building the outdoor firing range on 33 acres leased from Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) contradicts the pledge by Mayor Emanuel and Governor Quinn to champion the Millennium Reserve to transform the Calumet area into an eco-tourist and green industry hotspot. The initiative is part of President Obama's America's Great Outdoors project to connect people, especially children, to nature. It is a culmination of 10 years of planning, dedication and millions of dollars invested by the City of Chicago and local communities to restore the area's startlingly rich natural features to attract people and businesses back to the South Side of Chicago. The "Calumet Core" or heart of the reserve, boasts important bird habitat that harbors threatened and endangered species, like the Black Crowned Night Heron, a host of migratory birds, and the nesting bald eagles. The collective will to preserve these precious resources as both community and regional assets is reflected in the Calumet Open Space Reserve Plan, the Illinois and Michigan National Heritage Corridor, and the Burnham Plan Centennial.

Constructing an outdoor training center for law enforcement next to the Calumet Core, within hundreds of feet from the future Ford Calumet Environmental Center, inherently conflicts with this grand vision. If the 40-station gun range is built in this location, children invited to the educational center to wander through Hegewisch Marsh and discover the rich diversity of birds and other wildlife will hear the constant ringing of gun shots. The area now is surprisingly quiet, with rare muffled sounds of machinery in the distance. Building the gun range so close to the Calumet River also is contrary to Mayor Emanuel's call to expand access to Chicago' waterways, since canoeists and kayakers would only be separated by a berm from where officers have target practice.

While the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago's Board of Commissioners voted 5 to 4 to allow the City to lease its land for the gun range, the City still is required to hold three meetings to give final approval to build at this location.

Make your voice heard before the City makes it decision:

1. Contact Governor Quinn and tell him the Millennium Reserve is as important for people living in the Calumet area as Millennium Park is for people that live downtown. The firing range directly conflicts with and will degrade this important initiative.

2. Contact Mayor Emanuel and urge him to abandon this Calumet site and choose a location that honors the mission and spirit of the Millennium Reserve, especially for children on the south side, and helps realize the Mayor's vision of Chicago's Rivers as world class waterways with better recreational access and commercial opportunities.

3. Contact your alderman and Alderman John Pope, and let them know:

• The Calumet location is an inappropriate site for a massive outdoor firing range.

• The city is giving up an opportunity for economic development for the narrow benefits of leasing this particular site from MWRD. The firing range could curb other green industry, ecotourism, and commercial opportunities in the area inspired by the Millennium Reserve.

• Encourage exploration of other sites for the firing range.

Openlands will post more information about how you can participate in upcoming Chicago City Council public meetings on this issue as it becomes available.  

Read the latest news on the Chicago Police Department's decision to reevaluate its plan on WBEZ.