CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The Chicago City Council is on the verge of doing something it rarely does: renaming an existing street.
The council’s Committee on Transportation and the Public Way on Thursday unanimously approved a measure to rename outer Lake Shore Drive after Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, the non-native man of African heritage who is considered Chicago’s founder.
The stretch of outer drive affected runs from Hollywood Avenue to 67th Street, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
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There are various structures named after him in Chicago, but DuSable has long been neglected by city history, critics have long said.
Ald. David Moore, chief sponsor of the measure, said he pursued the idea after taking a boat tour of Chicago four years ago. He was disappointed there was no reference to DuSable.
“The tour guide mentioned everything about Chicago, including Al Capone and everybody else, and never mentioned Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable,” he said.
The street renaming is different from an honorary designation, which aldermen have done for years along streets without having to change peoples’ addresses. The DuSable designation would be for outer Lake Shore Drive, so residences on the inner drive would not be affected, sponsors have said.
The City Council would consider the measure next month.
Some officials have expressed concern about renaming iconic Lake Shore Drive. The Lightfoot Administration had suggested an alternative proposal.
It's not unprecedented to rename a street. The Chicago City Council in 2018 renamed Congress Parkway after Black journalist and activist Ida B. Wells. In the 1980s, it renamed a few north-south blocks near the Mag Mile to Mies van der Rohe Way after the noted architect.
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