Chicago alderman proposes renaming Northerly Island after Pope Leo XIV

A member of the City Council is pushing to rename Northerly Island, the lakefront park and nature preserve which was once home to Meigs Field airport, after Chicago native Pope Leo XIV.

Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th) has introduced a resolution to the City Council, urging the city to work with the Chicago Park District to rename the site as "Pope Leo XIV Northerly Island."

"Renaming Northerly Island in honor of Pope Leo XIV would fittingly recognize an extraordinary Chicagoan whose life of service exemplifies the highest ideals of faith, humility, scholarship, and dedication to humanity," Lopez's proposed resolution states. "Such recognition would permanently commemorate the historic election of the first American Pope and celebrate the enduring connection between the City of Chicago and one of the most influential spiritual leaders of the modern era."

Changing the name of Northerly Island would be up to the Chicago Park District, so passing Lopez's proposal would be a largely symbolic gesture by the City Council.

Northerly Island was turned into a nature sanctuary after then-Mayor Richard M. Daley infamously had Meigs Field shut down in 2003 by having bulldozers carve giant X's into its lone runway.

The 119-acre lakefront park, which is actually a peninsula, not an island, features more than 150 varieties of native plants, 20,000 trees and shrubs, a 5-acre pond, strolling paths, and wild prairie grasses and savanna.

It's also home to Huntington Bank Pavilion, a concert venue originally built in 2004 as a temporary 4,500-seat amphitheater, but has since become a permanent stage with 30,000 seats.