Advocates say Jackson Park Golf Course expansion will involve hundreds of trees being cut down, demand that community have a say

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Chicago advocacy groups continue to fight the removal of trees in Jackson Park.

They say the Jackson Park Golf Course expansion plans mean hundreds more trees will come down - on top of the more than 800 trees that will go once the Obama Presidential Center construction is complete. As CBS 2's Tara Molina reported, the organizations formally petitioned the city Monday.

They want the golf course expansion plan to be put up for a vote; for the city to allow those who live near Jackson Park to have a say in whether or not the trees go.

Jackson Park is full of arboreal beauty. And you'd be pressed to find anyone who knows and appreciates them quite like Jeannette Hoyt does.

She pointed out one tree called a "legacy tree" or a "heritage tree," that she said is "probably about 150 years old."

"These are precious," Hoyt said.

And that is why Hoyt, and a number of others, are dead set on making sure they don't go anywhere.

"Why are we cutting this all down for a golf course?" she said.

Hoyt is an educator with who has worked for years in South Side communities, and founding member of Save Jackson Park. She says the expansion plans for the Tiger Woods redesign of the Jackson Park Golf Course mean losing the South Shore Nature Sanctuary and all of the trees in it.

"According to the schematics that we've gotten from TGR DESIGN, all these trees, for the most part, will be gone," Hoyt said.

What makes this project different than other projects in the city?

"It's so many trees," Hoyt said.

That is why she and others have been fighting - delivering a number of petitions with hundreds of signatures to the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners.

The ask is "to put a referendum on the ballot in three precincts in the 5th Ward" for the upcoming election in June, said Marc Lipinski of Southsiders for Trees.

"Chicago residents should have the opportunity to say, in an open forum, whether the clear cutting of 1,000 more trees is a good idea," Lipinski said.

We reached the Chicago Park District with all of this – including a claim on Twitter that the Jackson Park Golf Course plan will involve cutting down 2,106 more trees in Jackson Park and South Shore Nature Sanctuary – on top of 865 trees that will be cut for the Obama Center.

The Park District released this statement:

"As the City's leading greening stewards, the Chicago Park District is committed to preserving and expanding the city's parkland and tree population within our 8800-acre footprint. Our commitment is underscored by the fact that we plant 3000 trees annually and converted nearly 1100 acres of underutilized space to valuable parkland over the past decade.  These investments improve our communities and greatly contribute to the lives of children and families throughout our city. As with any capital endeavor that requires the removal of trees, the District is committed to replacing each tree as part of the project scope. 

"The Jackson Park/ South Shore document released is a draft proposal and any references related to reducing the tree count has not been considered or approved by the Park District, and therefore should not be considered a finalized plan."

The Chicago District Golf Association referred questions to the Chicago Parks Golf Alliance, which also had not issued a comment late Tuesday.

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