[LouisVanDerWright]

Jackson Park is probably only in the hat as an option to begin with to placate South Side community leaders, like Leon Finnley, who are concerned about U of C breaking the confines of Hyde Park and improving "their" neighborhood. The Jackson Park location makes virtually zero sense compared to the Washington Park location. Washington Park itself is far more under utilized than Jackson Park and has huge lawns that serve virtually no purpose, this is also true for the privately held lands around both parks. Jackson is also nowhere near the L which is a huge advantage to the WP site.

And of course, the WP site will lead to far more economic benefits for the surrounding area than the already stable area surrounding Jackson Park.