Portion Of Lake Shore Drive Voted To Be Renamed DuSable Drive

CHICAGO — Seventeen miles of Lake Shore Drive is set to be renamed after Chicago's first non-native settler, Jean Baptiste Point DuSable. The City Council committee of transportation voted unanimously for the proposition Thursday, but some aldermen wonder if Mayor Lori Lightfoot will veto the change when it goes before the entire City Council.

The expected change will rename a portion of outer Lake Shore Drive, from Hollywood Avenue to 67th Street.

The measure was first proposed in 2019 by Ald. David Moore of the 17th Ward. Since DuSable was a Black man, the proposal regained support amid the nationwide protests against systemic racism sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

While the measure has support from Chicago Department of Transportation Commissioner Gia Biagi, Lightfoot hasn't publicly backed the effort, citing DuSable's other memorialized images in the city. Currently, there is a bridge, harbor, high school and museum that carry his name.

Changing Lake Shore Drive's name will require updating city maps and location services as well as databases used by the city's emergency services. Street signs and directional placards at public transit stations will also need to be replaced, according to Biagi.

“In terms of scale, this would likely be the most significant street name change in our history for many reasons,” said Biagi during a transportation committee meeting.

It is unclear how much the change would cost the city in total, but many community groups think the effort was long overdue to recognize the city's first founder.

DuSable created a trading post and farm along the river's northern bank at Lake Michigan. That trading post later became the City of Chicago as we know it, a bustling center for business. While there are other landmarks dedicated to the Frenchman, Moore said residents from his Englewood ward don't often make it to the Riverwalk or the forthcoming DuSable Park, which was first proposed in 1987 and will be located near the Navy Pier.

Opposition to the proposal came from Ald. Ed Burke of the 14 Ward, who said Chicagoans would need to update driver's licenses and insurance policies. The 17 miles, the outer portion of Lake Shore Drive, will affect about three or four Chicago harbors and possibly the Lake Point Towers.

An added bonus, Biagi said, will be that the city would have to clearly define where the outer portion of Lake Shore Drive begins when the change is implemented.

Some other name changes that have caused controversy in Chicago include Congress Parkway Ida B. Wells Drive, which was originally planned to take over Balbo Drive; Stony Island Drive, which was almost renamed after Bishop Arthur Brazier; and the infamous renaming of the Sears Tower to Willis Tower in 2009.

The change to outer Lake Shore Drive might only be seen on official documents, as Lightfoot herself has a history of using Sox Park instead of Guaranteed Rate Field in conversation.

Tensions were high during the council meeting on Thursday as Ald. Moore and other supporters of the rename were blindsided by a counter proposal from the Department of Transportation that proposed to push the renamed area of outer Lake Shore Drive further south.

After nearly three hours of deliberation over which part of Lake Shore Drive should be defined as "Outer Lake Shore Drive," the measure passed unanimously. Lightfoot has not responded to requests for comment on the proposal though she publicly introduced a counterproposal that was not recognized at the meeting.