Well, that escalated quickly
Thursday, Jul 2, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* BGA investigative reporter…
* Block Club Chicago followed up…
A wealthy, politically connected family blocked off 3,000 square feet of public parkland in Lakeview as their own front yard for the past five years by planting hedges, Chicago Park District’s inspector general alleged in a new report.
The homeowners put in hedges and fencing in 2015, effectively cordoning off the parkland to create a makeshift yard on land reserved for public use, parks Inspector General Will Fletcher wrote in a report last week.
And for five years, the Park District has been trying to get the family to remove the approximately 4-foot-high landscaping, but they have refused.
Instead, city officials have been met with “unsubstantiated and conflicting explanations” about their right to exclude access to public parkland from an “apparently well-connected” family, Fletcher wrote.
Although the inspector general’s report does not identify the address or homeowner by name, sources confirm it refers to a sleek, modern home in the 3000 block of North Lake Shore Drive West owned by businessman Michael Tadin Jr. and his wife, Natalie Tadin.
* Good point…
* Mark Brown…
* Here’s Mark’s resulting column…
I bought some hot dogs Wednesday at Byron’s and scooted over to Lake Shore Drive West for a picnic lunch on a newly discovered patch of parkland.
It’s a lovely setting, almost like having your own private yard, much better maintained than the Chicago Park District property across the street.
In fact, you’d think it’s the front lawn of the mansion located there, set off by bushes that wrap around the property and frame a walkway that leads to the front gate.
A normal person might see those bushes and think, “That’s private property. I’m not supposed to be there.”
The homeowner, Michael Tadin Jr., swears that’s not the case.
* Heh…
* Back to Mark Brown…
Michael Tadin Jr. surrenders.
In the face of public uproar over bushes he planted that cordon off public parkland in front of his home, Tadin said Thursday he has reached agreement with the city and Park District to remove the offending hedgerow.
Workers were already on the scene early Thursday and Tadin said he expected the work to be done by the end of the day. He said sod will be planted Friday where the bushes have stood.
* Video…
