Cubs Charity: Neighbors Dispute Who Benefits in Lake View

Between the redevelopment of Wrigley Field and potential billboards blocking the Wrigley Rooftops, it’s no secret the Chicago Cubs are controversial, but residents may be surprised to discover how charitable the team is.

Julian Green, the Cubs’ vice president of communications and community affairs, says the team gave $318,000 back to Lake View in 2012. That’s not including the roughly $750,000 the Cubs have pledged to help build the School Street Park playlot.

But now some neighbors are asking who decides where that money is donated, and if it’s truly benefitting the entire community. East Lake View Neighbors Association board member Tom Rothschild says, when it comes to money generated from events like concerts, shouldn’t the entire community benefit?

“I hear a lot of money going to playlots and the neighborhood schools, but there’s a number of us in the neighborhood that will not benefit from this,” Rothschild said. “I don’t have children. I don’t plan to have children. … I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, but if the Cubs have X-number of dollars coming from the concerts, it seems like the money from the Cubs charities is not benefitting everyone.”

As a part of a proposed agreement with Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) and the Lake View Citizen’s Council, when Wrigley Field hosts concerts, the Cubs donate should $75,000 to the community, capping at $200,000 annually. For now, contributions to the School Street Park have trumped the per-concert contrubtions, but once the park is built, it could be the new rule.

The money’s given because of the various effects massive concerts have on Lake View, like a boom in traffic and safety concerns.

Rothschild suggested streetscape and landscape improvements before another board member said he didn’t think the Cubs donated any money to improve East Lake View, the community most affected by activities at Wrigley Field.

But according to Green and Cubs Vice President of Community Affairs Mike Lufrano, that’s not true. The two rattled off a long list of almost 30 donation’s they’ve made to Lake View, with a few of the big ticket items being:

• Rink at Wrigley-$50,000
• Lake View YMCA-$51,981
• Center on Halsted-$30,000
• North Side Housing and Supportive Services-$15,000
• Urban Initiatives-$25,000 in Lake View

At the latest Southport Neighbors Association meeting, Ald. Tunney said the amount the Cubs donate isn’t much different than the other MLB teams, a point he made while talking about how intertwined Wrigley Field is with the neighborhood compared to other ballparks.

“The Cubs’ charitable efforts are not much different than the other teams’ charitable efforts,” Tunney said.

Lufrano said the Cubs want more input about their charitable work, asking residents to make suggestions: How should they give back to the community? What should they improve, and who should receive the donations?

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