Proposal to rename Northerly Island in honor of Pope Leo is put on hold

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Chicago officials continue to consider ways to honor Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope and a Chicago native, but a proposal to rename Northerly Island in his honor was put on hold Tuesday.

The Chicago City Council's Committee on Special Events, Cultural Affairs and Recreation met Tuesday afternoon to consider an ordinance introduced by Ald. Ray Lopez that would rename Northerly Island as Pope Leo XIV Northerly Island.

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Lopez said the measure would allow the city to work with the Chicago Park District if the district chose to rename the property.

"This resolution would basically work with the Park District should they decide as their own unit of government to rename Northerly Island Pope Leo XIV Northerly Island," Lopez said.

Several alderpersons raised concerns about the process behind the proposal, including the lack of consultation with the Fourth Ward alderman, whose ward includes the property.

Ald. Lamont Robinson said he supports recognizing the pope but objected to how the proposal reached the committee.

"I went to meet with the pope, had a great conversation with him, and absolutely, we need to honor the pope," Robinson said. "But how this was set up is not in the spirit of how things should happen in this body or any other body. So with that said, and I know, Chairman, this is a happy committee, and I wanna keep it happy. I will be a no on this."

Northerly Island has served as a concert venue in recent years. Before that, it was the site of Meigs Field.

The discussion comes after Mayor Brandon Johnson recently led a delegation to meet Pope Leo XIV and suggested that Chicago could honor him in some way.

Ald. Michael Rodriguez also expressed support for recognizing the pope but asked that the proposal be delayed to allow for additional collaboration.

"Look, I don't want to vote against anything that has the pope's name on it. I am Catholic as well," Rodriguez said. "But given the prerogative of the Fourth Ward alderman, I would ask Alderman Lopez to hold this to work maybe in collaboration with other, interested individuals, myself included. Because I do think this is an extraordinary moment."

Committee Chairman Ald. Nicholas Sposato ultimately held the ordinance, meaning no action was taken.

A representative of the Chicago Park District attended the meeting and told aldermen that the District could consider renaming a property under special circumstances if the City Council provides a recommendation.

For now, city leaders have not settled on how to honor Pope Leo XIV, and Northerly Island will keep its current name.