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Park district: No swimming at Point

¶ Memo reveals Hyde Park tradition a long way from being legal

A memo from Chicago Park District General Counsel Maria Garcia released to the Herald advises the park district officials that to allow swimming at Promontory Point "invites tragedy."

The document, dated Aug. 12 to Tim King, director of intergovernmental and legislative affairs, outlines how the "dangerous obstacle course" of deteriorating revetment blocks at what has been a swimming spot for Hyde Parkers for well over 60 years puts the Park District at serious risk to suits claiming it was negligent in fixing what is known to be hazardous property defects.

"Under Section 3-102(a) of the Tort Immunity Act, the Park District has a duty to be free from negligence: that is, to maintain it's property in a reasonably safe condition for intended and permitted users of its property as long as it does not have actual or constructive notice of a dangerous condition," Garcia said in the memo. "[...] The park district already has actual knowledge that swimmers there will be exposed to an abundance of hazardous property defects."

Garcia's legal advice in the document is that the Point should not be classified as a beach because it opens swimming to children, for whom the waves and high winds pose a clear danger around the deteriorating limestone revetment.

"When the Park District designates a stretch of the lakefront as a swimming beach, it then becomes open for all the public including young children and teens, many of whom are not skilled swimmers," Garcia said in the memo. "Even with the best efforts of the Park District's well-trained lifeguards, forcing the Park District to designate Promontory Point as a swimming beach invites tragedy."

Ald. Leslie Hairston (5th), who provided copies of the document, said at an Aug. 19 5th ward meeting she will continue to work for a compromise with the Park District that would allow residents of the South Side the same opportunity for deep-water swimming that is afforded to residents of the North Side.