Chicago Tribune du lieu suivant : Chicago, Illinois • Page 26

Section 2 Chicago Tribune, Friday, April 16, 1999 Fire Cyclists help fine-tune Chicago bikeways plans i af la 1 'if rl (V "Unless you're standing there in it, because possibly you started it, you couldn't see it," said Hall, who spoke for the dissenters. She said they acquiesced to the majority opinion because of a 10-minute time limit placed on deliberations by Cook County Circuit Court Judge Daniel Locallo. "I still think Sullivan caused the fire. I think it was purely by accident, most likely. He was in the barn, probably feeding his mother's cow, and he knocked over a lantern, dropped his pipe or something to start the fire," said Bales, who has just finished writing a book on the subject, tentatively titled "Did the Cow Do It?" "If they had tried to put him in the barn at some point prior to the fire, I think it would have been something I could have bought into," said juror Bennie Crane, a retired district chief for the Chicago Fire Department Sullivan's role in the fire aside, Bales' research suggests several other factors that may have contributed to the spread of the blaze, namely that firefighters, who had fought more than a dozen fires in a week and one large fire the night before, were battling exhaustion as well as flames in the O'Leary barn the night the Chicago Fire began.

Other exacerbating elements cited by Bales included overtaxed equipment, again because of the previous night's fire; errors in judgment by Fire Department watchmen posted to spot neighborhood fires; delays in getting firefighters to the blaze; lack of proper engine support for a potentially disastrous fire; and inattentive neighbors who did not report the fire on their own. drew some criticism. On one map someone posted a note that read, "Spend the on bike lanes. DO NOT WASTE IT on sign-only 'Bike Another woman wasn't too happy about the whole idea. "I don't know why everybody's so hot on bike lanes," she said.

"It looks like to me it's just giving cars permission to double park." But most people present sup-, ported the plan and tried to help city officials identify the best streets for biking and where the first bike lanes should be installed. "I think the most important things on the map are the diago-: nal streets because they cut through so many neighborhoods," one man said. Two women from Pilsen talked about how important bike paths would be in developing their community. "The neighborhood is clamoring for quality of life, and we think biking and walking are very important parts of that," said one of the women. Eric Petersen, who works with the Chicago Area Transportation Study, a planning group, was supportive of the proposal, but warned it would likely increase accidents between cars and bikes.

Continued from Page 1 amateur historian and Wheaton lawyer Richard Bales. Bales instead pointed the finger at O'Leary's neighbor, Peg Leg, who Bales claims may have accidentally started the fire while feeding his mother's cow, which was also kept in the O'Learys' barn. Still, the character called Sullivan was able to hobble proudly from the courtroom after prosecutors from the law school and the Cook County state's attorney's office failed to prove the real Sullivan committed perjury when he made two differing statements in the months after the fire about where he saw it start in the O'Leary barn. Based on Bales' findings, prosecutors argued Sullivan could not have seen the fire start in the O'Leary barn from where he was standing in front of another neighbor's house. Nor, they argued, could he have hobbled from the neighbor's house to the O'Leary barn in time to rescue a calf and warn neighbors.

That's what Sullivan swore in an Oct 15, 1871, affidavit published in the Chicago Daily Tribune and in Nov. 25, 1871, testimony before the Chicago Board of Police and Fire Commissioners. But in a footnote that sheds light on the difficulty of conducting historical research, three of the jurors Thursday Firstar Bank Vice President Nina Hall, Rev. Richard Toll-iver, rector of St. Edmund King and Martyr Episcopal Church, and McDonald's Corp.

Assistant Vice President Michael Donahue were unconvinced of Sullivan's innocence in the fire, according to Hall. i TnDune pnoto Dy Cnanes Osgood Daniel "Peg Leg" Sullivan, played by actor Andrew White, leaves the witness stand after testifying about what he was doing the night of Oct. 8, 1871, when the Great Chicago Fire began. By Rob D. Kaiser Tribune Staff Writer Bicycle enthusiasts and community activists huddled around maps Thursday evening and critiqued the city's plan to triple the number of on-street biking routes and lanes in Chicago.

More than 100 people turned out for the public meeting at the Chicago Cultural Center, listening to comments from city officials and sharing their views. Most were optimistic about the effort, though they voiced their concerns about which streets should be designated bikeways. "I think it's very brave and bold to propose a plan like this," said Christopher Becker, who wore a San Francisco Bicycle Coalition shirt with the message "One Less Car" on the back. Becker, who moved to Chicago from San Francisco, said he has been dismayed by the lack of bikers in the area. He hopes the city's "Streets for Cycling Plan" will change that.

"You've got a flat city for God's sake. Becker said. "I feel so alone on the streets. It really is every car coming up against you." The bikeways will either be marked with 5-foot-wide lanes or just signs. The latter proposal Lady Elgin Continued from Page 1 a remarkable piece of Chicago and national history, one that may have played a role in a tragic way in contributing to Abraham Lincoln's margin of victory in the 1860 presidential electioa The Lady Elgin, a luxury double-decked wooden steamboat driven by two 32-foot paddle wheels, was one of the largest vessels operating on the Great Lakes at the time.

It lives in maritime history as the second-worst tragedy on the Great Lakes, eclipsed only by the 1915 drowning of 812 people when the excursion charter boat Eastland capsized in the Chicago River. Neither Zych nor the state will speculate on how valuable the ship or its scattered cargo might be if sold as salvage, but all sides agree on its historical worth. One hundred members of the Union Guards in Milwaukee's Irish, Democratic 3rd Ward hired the Lady Elgin for a cruise Sept. 6, 1860, to Chicago. The influential politicians, their wives and children sailed to a political rally the next day for Democrat Stephen Douglas, who was running for president against Abraham Lincoln.

On the return voyage, the lumber-carrying schooner Augusta, driven out of control by gale-force winds in a heavy thunderstorm, smashed into the side of the Lady Elgin in the predawn hours of Sept 8. After the collision, the boilers dropped through the bottom of the boat. Without power, the ship drifted in the storm, spilling its cargo through the hole in its hull until it sank. With the Democratic leaders dead, Lincoln, a Republican, carried Wisconsin with 56 percent of the vote. "The Lady Elgin disaster shifted the power base from the Irish to the Germans in Milwaukee," said Blanchette.

Today, said Blanchette, the wreck site covers three distinct areas spread over several miles in about 60 feet of water The sunken bow with its anchor, the boilers; and a 1 5 1 debris field. "It's rather stark," said Blanchette, who has dived at the wreck site. "You've got the water and the silt and rocks on the bottom and not much to look at Suddenly there are these huge metal objects, the boilers, sticking out of the sand. It is very dramatic." For Zych, the Lady Elgin has been like a ghost ship that often seemed within his grasp, only to slip away. "The Lady Elgin was the Titanic of the Great Lakes," said Zych.

"I found the Holy Grail of the Great Lakes, after 17 years of arduous work" in 1989. That year, he filed a petition in federal court seeking possession of the Lady Elgin. That's when the legal brawl began. In 1990, a federal judge ruled in favor of Zych, but the decision was appealed. In 1991, a federal appellate court ruled the issue had to be decided by a state court In 1992, the state of Illinois filed a suit in Cook County Circuit Court against Zych.

A settlement was reached in 1993, but vacated in 1994. The case went back to circuit court, where a judge ruled in Zych's favor. In 1997, the Illinois appellate court overturned that ruling, finding in favor of the state. Then Zych appealed. Thursday's Illinois Supreme Court decision overturned the appellate court ruling in favor of the Cook County Circuit Court ruling in Zych's favor.

Disappointed, Blanchette urged Zych to "do his best to preserve the artifacts already salvaged from the shipwreck and to preserve the shipwreck itself." Zych said it has always been his intention to use the artifacts to create a museum, and a traveling exhibit The items he has recovered include dinnerware, swords, silverware and Civil War-era rifles. The ship also carried cargo, such as stoves and cattle. Zych said the Lady Elgin was one of 800 known shipwrecks in the Chicago area alone, attesting to the city's long history as a major industrial port We've got a store full of the best gear you can carry, and a friendly staff that can tell you all about it. For over half a century, we've been out there ourselves, learning the hard way, and it's right here in our gear-we sweat the details so you don't have to. 3 PtRCEPTION SwirTY 319" Re g.

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$200 Selection vories by location Shop early-quantities limited No patronage refund eorned on sale items A 4 Campus Continued from Page 1 munity and make any kind of development a partnership with the community," said Becky Carroll, a Planning Department spokeswoman. "Over the next few months, the city will be going back to the community to receive their input" Besides a retail component, the plan could include housing and open space, sources said. A financing plan has not been completed. The new Kennedy-King is expected to have facilities and programs that go beyond those in the existing building. For example, a culinary school will operate a restaurant on the new campus.

And plans call for moving WYCC-Ch. 20, the television station operated by the City Colleges, to the new building from Daley College at 76th Street and Pulaski Road. "It's going to be state-of-the-art digital," one official said. For City Colleges Chancellor Wayne Watson, who grew up in Englewood and was president of Kennedy-King before being named the City Colleges chief a year ago, rebuilding Kennedy-King in the neighborhood has been a longtime goal Though the current building won architectural awards and opened only in 1972, it is plagued by structural and design problems. Its strange configuration separates faculty offices from students, and a large number of entrances makes security difficult Ventilation in the building is poor, repairs to a severely leaky roof would cost more than $10 million, and maintenance of the facility runs more than $1 million a year, the highest in the system, according to City Colleges officials.

It is unclear what will happen to the building under the city's plan. Meanwhile, on a related issue, Daley said Thursday that he will appoint a successor to outgoing City Colleges Board Chairman Ronald Gidwitz "very shortly." Gidwitz, who resigned on Wednesday, was named chairman of the Illinois State Board of Education on Thursday. "He worked very hard on behalf of the City Colleges," said Daley, who downplayed tension between Gidwitz and Watson. "He had to make some tough decisions, and, he did a very good job." Daley also said he soon will appoint a successor to Park Dis: trict Chairman John Rogers, who has announced his resignation. Michael Scott, a member of the park board, is "well qualified," the mayor said, but, "I haven't made a decision." On another front, Daley is expected to announce his choice to head the Chicago Housing Authority within the next few weeks.

His selection is expected to be an African-American and a Chica-goan, although outsiders have, been considered. Sources said that Avis LaVelle, a former mayoral press secretary and manager of Daley's recent re-election campaign who was rumored to be a candidate for the. post, is out of the running. Annual Car Rsck Sale Quality Outdoor Gear and Clothing Since 1938 www.rei.com Yokima racks, mounts and 20CFF accessories, in all stores Nilts: 6225 Golf Rd. (Four lag gs Oakbreok Ttrract: 17 West 4, it.