Advocate Christ Goes for 'Round 2' With Oak Lawn Planning Commission

Representatives from will meet again at tonight’s (Monday) Planning and Development Commission to make their pitch for a new 9-story inpatient tower.

The medical center has submitted for the latest addition to be built on the east side of the hospital campus facing Keeler Avenue. Plans call for a building of up to 170 feet tall and a parking garage on the side of Keeler that will connect to the proposed tower via a pedestrian bridge.

approved last year by the is currently under construction on the medical center campus at 4400 W. 95th St. Advocate Christ is investing $600 million to modernize and expand the hospital.

Advocate Christ President with the village's request for another impact study after the Oak Lawn Planning and Development’s 5-2 vote to continue public hearings on May 7.

Hospital representatives and plan commissioners agreed that the village would submit questions on specific areas of the medical center’s plans to address concerns about traffic and flood control.

Following the May 7 meeting, the village submitted more than 30 questions to Advocate Christ. The medical center asked the village for more time to address concerns and bypassed the plan commission's second bimonthly on May 21.

“Nobody on the commission disagrees that Advocate Christ isn’t a great place or not doing a good job,” Steve Radice said, the chair of the planning and development commission. “We haven’t voted against it. We’re looking out for 60,000 residents of community. We want to make sure we’re not missing anything important.”

Should unforeseen consequence arise with the new buildingRadice said the village wants assurances that the medical center would correct at any problems at its own expense and not foot the bill to taxpayers.

We just want [Advocate Christ] to be responsible and take care of any problems negatively affecting the community,” Radice said. “Whether its sewage, parking, traffic lights, flooding, we want them to be responsible for paying for it and seeing that it gets fixed right.”

Lukhard has said that the patient tower is needed increase capacity, including adding 14 new operating rooms. Advocate Christ hopes to have state approvals in the fall so that it can begin construction.

Sources say that Advocate Christ has answered only answered a small fraction of the village’s questions. Medical center employees who live in Oak Lawn are also being asked to show up at Monday’s meeting.

Radice says the plan commission still doesn’t have enough information to recommend Advocate Christ’s plans to the village board.

The Oak Planning and Development Commission meeting is open to the public. The commission meets at 7:30 p.m. Monday (June 4) at Oak Lawn Village Hall at 9466 W. Raymond Ave.