Should Chicago develop a permanent festival and outdoor event space for large-scale events?
Every year there’s some amount of hand-wringing over the state of Grant Park after Lollapalooza. This year, Douglass Park on the West Side was a muddy mess after Riot Fest took place during a weekend when it just wouldn’t stop raining.
One potential answer is to create a single, large-scale event space. We think this is a solution in search of a problem. Yes, the parks are a wreck after they get trampled on for several days, but the event sponsors pay for their restoration. So, at the end of the day, Chicagoans wanting to make use of the affected parks experience disruption for a few weeks per year.
Not to mention, of course, that Lollapalooza, Riot Fest and similar events are important economic drivers for the city and contribute greatly to the vitality that makes Chicago so special. Would concertgoers ever experience the charms of Douglass Park, where Riot Fest takes place, without the festival? Precious few of them would. There’s value in that.
We endorse voting no on a permanent festival space for Chicago.
Read all of the Tribune Editorial Board’s endorsements for the 2026 Illinois general election here.
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