Alders propose renamings for Obama and the Pope

Why it matters: City leaders are debating how — and whether — to honor two globally recognizable figures with local ties.

Trump Tower on Obama Way?

The proposal: To rename the section of Wabash Avenue where Trump Tower sits to "Honorary Barack Hussein Obama Way."

• Ald. Brendan Reilly introduced the measure last week, partially in response to a petition that has already garnered more than 28,000 signatures.
• Petition organizer Bryce Jones wrote on Change.org that the renaming would highlight the city's values "of inclusivity, resilience, and forward-thinking change, and fighting back in any way possible."
• He also wrote that it would "alter the official address of Trump Tower to Obama Ave." But that's not true. Honorary street designations don't change official addresses.

What they're saying: "I think any way in which we can honor the first Black president in the history of America is always a good thing," Mayor Brandon Johnson tells Axios.

The other side: The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

As for breaking the living person rule: "I think President Obama is an exception," Johnson said last week at a press conference.

• "We'll have the debate [on the proposal] but there certainly is no debate about the exceptional leadership of President Obama and Mrs. Obama."
• "I think personally, Michelle should get more love from Chicago. Maybe I'll come up with an idea to rename the whole South Shore community and just call it Michelle Obama neighborhood," the mayor said.

Between the lines: "The actual locality of Wabash Avenue has no significance to President Obama's becoming," WVON host Cleopatra Draper tells Axios.

• In fact, it's contrary to where he and First Lady Michelle Obama have anchored the Obama Presidential Center, which further highlights a much-needed conversation about equitable investment in the City of Chicago, and the Aldermanic Council should seize the moment by renaming Stony Island, the street the OPC is actually located on, to 'Barack Hussein Obama Way.'"

Of note: In 2019, Whitney Young High School named its athletic complex after Michelle Obama, its most famous alum.

• And the Park Forest school district opened Michelle Obama School of Technology and the Arts in 2014.

Northerly Island to Pope Leo XIV

The proposal: To rename Northerly Island — formerly Meigs Field—for Chicago native Pope Leo XIV.

What they're saying: "I think we need to do something more than just rename a street," ordinance sponsor Ald. Ray Lopez tells Axios.

• "We have a beautiful gem right here in the center of downtown in Northerly Island. And it would be great if we… dedicated it to him, allowing him to have a place to come to do an open-air mass in the heart of the city."
• While Lopez and Johnson don't often concur, the mayor said, "any opportunity to lift up and highlight the rare and, quite frankly, the prophetic ascension of a Pope who has roots in Chicago, I think we should do."

The Vatican did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment on the matter.

What's next: The proposals will be taken up in the coming weeks in committees on parks and the public way.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with a comment from Cleopatra Draper.