Daley: Park Grill fiasco 'embarrassing'

[Tweed]

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-grill17.html

"Mayor Daley on Wednesday spread the blame -- to city and Park District attorneys -- for an admittedly "embarrassing" mistake that gave a clout-heavy businessman a 20-year lease to run the ritzy restaurant at Millennium Park -- a deal City Hall now claims was illegal.

Daley weighed in on the controversy engulfing Park Grill amid word donors who supplied half the funding for the $475 million park have been at odds with the restaurant "since Day One" over quality and aesthetics.

Sources said the donors had envisioned a more upscale restaurant along the lines of New York's Tavern on the Green. They have also raised objections about everything from oversized signs and "tacky" Valentine hearts outside of the restaurant to an outdoor barbecue grill that blew smoke in front of the sculpture by Anish Kapoor.

Hurrying led to error: mayor

Now that City Hall is questioning the legality of the restaurant lease, some donors would like to see the contract re-bid."