December 1, 2011 Contact: Roderick Drew 312-744-1575

City of Chicago Rahm Emanuel, Mayor

Department of Law

Statement by Steve Patton, City of Chicago Corporation Counsel, Regarding Complaint Filed to Invalidate Park Grill Concession Agreement
The City of Chicago today filed a complaint in the Circuit Court of Cook County seeking to invalidate the 2003 concession agreement for the Park Grill restaurant in Millennium Park, entered into between the Chicago Park District and the concessionaire, Millennium Park Joint Venture, LLC. Since 2005, the City has attempted to renegotiate the concession agreement and put in place a competitive and fair market rate concession agreement. The negotiations to date have been unsuccessful. The City believes that the current agreement is invalid because the Park District granted the City a perpetual easement and use rights for the Park Grill site in 2001. Last week, the City received a letter from the current ownership group indicating that they intended to go forward with a proposed sale of their interest in the Park Grill to a third party, which necessitated the Citys action today. We believe these facilities belong to the City, and we are enforcing the Citys right to utilize them in a way that provides the fullest benefits for taxpayers. ###

Stephen R. Patton Corporation Counsel

121 North LaSalle Street Suite 600 Chicago, Illinois 60602 (312) 744-0220 (312) 744-5185 fax

www.cityofchicago.org