title
PROPOSED RESOLUTION (AS SUBSTITUTED)
REQUESTING A HEARING OF THE BOTANIC GARDEN COMMITTEE ON OPERATIONS, PROGRAMS, AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT OF THE CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN
WHEREAS, the Chicago Botanic Garden opened 50 years ago, as a garden for all; and
WHEREAS, the Chicago Botanic Garden has since matured into one of the world's great living museums and conservation science centers; and
WHEREAS, the Chicago Botanic Garden's modern history began in 1962, when the Chicago Horticultural Society agreed to help create and manage a new public garden. With the groundbreaking for the Chicago Botanic Garden in 1965 and its opening in 1972, the Society created a permanent site on which to carry out its mission; and
WHEREAS, the Chicago Botanic Garden today consists of 28 gardens and four natural areas that are uniquely situated on 385 acres on and around nine islands and six miles of lake shoreline; and
WHEREAS, the Chicago Botanic Garden is the proud home to the Lenhardt Library, containing 150,000 items-including one of the nation's best collections of rare botanical books, and nine laboratories at the Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Plant Conservation Science Center where scientists and graduate students alike conduct a wide variety of plant research; and
WHEREAS, the Chicago Botanic Garden maintains engaging relationships with more than 60,000 members-one of the largest memberships of any botanic garden in the United States; and
WHEREAS, the Chicago Botanic Garden today is an example of a successful public-private partnership, as it is owned by the Forest Preserves of Cook County and operated by the Chicago Horticultural Society; and
WHEREAS, over the last 10 years, the Garden has seen a 43 percent increase in visitors and now sees more than one million visitors annually; and
WHEREAS, the Chicago Botanic Garden offers 52 free admission days for Illinois residents a year which are posted on the Garden website; and
WHEREAS, 2022 saw the successful passage of the...
Click here for full text