Hundreds Urge Lawmakers To Rename Dan Ryan After Barack Obama
Chicago (CBS) -- Hundreds of people are urging lawmakers to rename a major South Side expressway after former President Barack Obama.
Members of Sweet Holy Spirit Church signed a petition Sunday asking for the name change.
They believe renaming the roadway would be an appropriate honor for the former president who started his political career as a South Side community organizer.
Senior pastor bishop Larry Trotter is calling on Governor-elect J.B. Pritzker to get the name changed during his first 100 days in office.
"You talk to any one of these young people and ask them about who their champion is ... I guarantee you that they'll say Barack Obama," Trotter said.
Mayoral candidate Bill Daley pitched the idea of the name change earlier this month.
Daley says Obama's reputation and his Chicago roots make him worthy of having the expressway renamed, even though a section of I-55 South of I-294 was named after him earlier this year.