City of Chicago announced on Tuesday the creation of a working group that will develop recommendations to enhance and reimagine the visitor experience of Chicago’s lakefront Museum Campus. The campus is a 57-acre crown jewel of Chicago with premier institutions including the Shedd Aquarium, the Field Museum, the Adler Planetarium, Soldier Field, and the Lakeside Center of McCormick Place. It also includes a number of parks including the 12th Street Beach, Northerly Island Park, and the Lakefront Trail. Prior to the pandemic, tourism was a $16 billion industry, and this working group aims to further revitalize the City’s recovering tourism sector. In addition to working with relevant City departments and sister agencies such as the Chicago Park District, the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, and the Chicago Department of Transportation, this group will also engage with local aldermen.  Richard Price, Chairman & CEO of Mesirow, will lead this working group in developing a set of recommendations by this summer. The Museum Campus Working Group is comprised of Chicago leaders and policymakers with experience in key issue areas to focus on outstanding cultural amenities, recreation and open spaces, athletic facilities, and transit access, and will include a few of the following participants: 

• Richard Price (Chair) – Chairman and CEO, Mesirow  

• Martin Cabrera (Athletic Facilites Lead) – CEO, Cabrera Capital 

• David Brown – School of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago 

• Bridget Coughlin – President and CEO, Shedd Aquarium 

• Jaime di Paulo – President and CEO, Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce 

• Juanita Irizarry – Executive Director, Friends of the Parks 

• Michelle Larson – President and CEO, Adler Planetarium  

• Lou Raizin – President, Broadway in Chicago