Bombastic ex-alderman ushers in a Great Awokening in Chicago’s parks
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s two years in office have been fraught with error and bizarre misjudgments, so his appointment of Carlos Ramirez Rosa as General Superintendent and Chief Executive Officer of the Chicago Park District on February 28th revealed mistakes are his habit.
The appointment of Rosa to lead the Chicago Park District is an incomprehensibly foolish misstep on the mayor’s behalf, which will have disastrous, long-term implications.
A whining, crying, annoyingly self-righteous loudmouth, in his decade serving as the alderman of the 35th Ward, Rosa carved out a reputation as a devoted practitioner of identity politics. A man who has long regarded the founding of America a great crime and all monuments to it as symbols of oppression, it is through this clouded prism of grievance Rosa intends to “reimagine” the Chicago Park District.
A habitual troublemaker, Rosa recently signaled his political biases and the progressive social priorities he envisages for the Chicago Park District with his decision to remove the plinth on which the Christopher Columbus statue once stood in Grant Park. To fully grasp how Chicago has reached a point at which the statue commemorating the founder of the New World courted controversy and was ultimately removed, we must cast our minds back to the summer of 2020. A three-month period of rage and rioting, the climax came on July 17, 2020, when social justice cultists attempted to violently topple the statue by virtue Columbus’ image — in the worldview of activists — is both hostile and an affront to minority or indigenous groups.
In a monumental capitulation to community groups, the Chicago Chapter of Black Lives Matter, and far-Left activists, then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot, citing safety concerns, ordered all three of Chicago’s Columbus statues removed from public parks or spaces. In a craven display of abject weakness, Lightfoot arranged for the statues to be taken away in the dark of night several days after demonstrators attacked Chicago police officers surrounding the statue in Grant Park on July 17th. The removal of the three Columbus figures inspired a lawsuit, which culminated in a negotiated settlement in May 2025 with the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans (JCCIA).
Under the terms of the agreement with the Park District, Chicago agreed to lend the Columbus statue which once stood in Arrigo Park to JCCIA for its use in its new Chicago Museum of Italian Immigration on the Near West Side. Further, the agreement stipulated the pedestal on which the Columbus statue was positioned — a vestige of historical significance dating back to the 1933 Century of Progress World’s Fair — be removed in accordance with the recommendations of the Chicago Monuments Project.
Though Rosa, surprisingly, adhered to the agreement brokered between the Park District and the JCCIA, with his typical arrogance, he immediately embarked on his campaign of historical revisionism. Striking a remarkably aggressive, uncompromising tone, Rosa ordered the removal of the base which once featured Columbus in Grant Park.
Following the removal of the Columbus base, Park District director of communications, Michele Lemons, issued a statement which read:
“This work follows the recommendations of the Chicago Monuments Project and marks another step forward in reimagining our public spaces to better reflect the values and diversity of our city. The District looks forward to engaging residents and other stakeholders on the proposed People’s Plaza that will accommodate temporary artworks celebrating Chicago’s diverse communities.”
A move which dashed any hope the Columbus figure would be returned to its rightful position in Grant Park, the decision to remove the plinth without informing the JCCIA serves as a window into the mind of a man who intends to use heavy-handed tactics to culturally police all public spaces governed by the Chicago Park District.
Chicago’s parks could soon be unrecognizable
The removal of the Columbus statue from Grant Park is only the first step in Rosa’s grand design for Chicago’s public parks. Under Rosa’s audacious — or reckless — plan, it is possible to imagine dozens of images, artwork or statues being put on the chopping block. While murals located in underpasses, artwork depicting the indigenous or statues honoring labor leaders would certainly pass Rosa’s ideological purity test, it is conceivable to postulate statues of historical figures — President George Washington, statesman Alexander Hamilton or General Phillip Sheridan — could be purged over each individual’s role in our country’s historical sins or to simply suit Rosa’s progressive ethos.
More concerning is what Rosa could have in store for Chicago parks if he does conduct a housecleaning of Chicago’s cultural inheritance. It is entirely possible Rosa will go to extraordinary lengths to reshape Chicago’s parks to fit his twisted vision. In addition to removing statues, it cannot be ruled out Rosa will weigh replacing accomplished historical figures with icons to the progressive movement and changing the names of parks as a way of “correcting” history.
Worse, still, is the passage in the Park District statement mentioning a proposed “People’s Plaza” to be created at the location where the Columbus statue formerly stood. Though vaguely written — presumably to imply the planned “plaza” is wholesome and family oriented — there is every reason to believe the new “People’s Plaza” will serve as a forum for progressive activists. It will soon become a magnet for activists to congregate, feature speakers who preach from a progressive hymnal, and for community activists to regularly hold protests. As this transformation occurs, the physical toll on our parks will follow: Crude amateur art will replace statues and memorials, park terrain will take a littered look, graffiti will appear, Palestinian flags will be unfurled and, homeless encampments will overrun public land.
Chicago’s public parks have always played an essential role in the fabric of our society, offering a platform for social interaction, community engagement, and most importantly, recreation. One of the great joys of Chicago’s parks is they serve as a stage upon which public life flourishes, social divisions are eliminated, and the bonds of affection among us are broadened and deepened.
Rather than parks being a retreat from politics, to Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, Chicago’s parks are the perfect setting to communicate and reiterate purely political messages to condition the masses. In Rosa’s warped worldview, Chicago’s parks are the ideal backdrop to reeducate, train, and build “community power.” To Rosa, politics is bigger than culture, the public must be tamed, and the repurposing of parks with progressive dogma is his response to community needs.
Carlos Ramirez-Rosa’s decision to remove the Columbus plinth was not in any respect a small gesture. On the contrary, Rosa removing the Columbus base was a cold message considerable changes are afoot at the Chicago Park District. Under Rosa, the tranquility offered by Chicago parks will be wiped away to make room for the politically correct, progressive party line of the day.
