Committee Approves Redevelopment Plan For Old Cook County Hospital Building
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The plan to redevelop the old Cook County Hospital Building, and upgrade medical care in the area cleared the Cook County Board's Finance Committee, setting up a final vote Wednesday, reports WBBM Political Editor Craig Dellimore.
The more than half a billion dollar plan would see the old, shuttered hospital facility turned into a hotel, apartments and shops. But Commissioner Larry Suffredin was most enthused about plans for a new technology and research center, a medical office building, and upgraded clinics.
"This campus has welcomed every ethnic group and every racial group that has ever some to the city of Chicago and the county of Cook over the last 150 years," Suffredin said.
But, Commissioner Richard Boykin was the lone "no" vote, saying jobs for West Siders and anti-crime efforts should take precedence.
"Our number one obligation is not real estate development," Boykin said. "Our number one obligation is to protect the safety of the people that we represent."
Other commissioners say those must and will come too.