Overview
- Ald. Ray Lopez has filed a City Council resolution asking the council to urge the Chicago Park District to rename Northerly Island as "Pope Leo XIV Northerly Island" and to explore uses such as an outdoor Mass and an interpretive display in the former Meigs Field terminal.
- The measure is advisory only and would not change the name without action by the Chicago Park District, which holds legal control over park names and operational changes.
- Supporters say the idea spotlights Northerly Island’s underused 119-acre site and could draw visitors, but Friends of the Parks and others warn that a name change alone would not solve funding, planning, marketing, or public-access problems.
- Practical limits already constrain other options because existing naming-rights deals cover venues such as Guaranteed Rate Field, and the island’s concert infrastructure and private events raise questions about preserving open beach access.
- Mayor Brandon Johnson’s recent delegation to Rome and private audience with Pope Leo XIV supplied political momentum for the proposal, but the next steps require Park District review, formal planning, and new resources to deliver the changes Lopez describes.