To:

Interested Parties

From: GBA Strategies

Date: April 13, 2016

Strong Support for Lucas Museum Among Chicago Residents

Chicagoans want the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art to come to Chicago and are eager to
support it if it comes. Although many people have not been following the stories closely, a broad
cross-section of residents supports bringing the Lucas Museum to the lakefront. Hearing more
information about the type of experiences the museum will offer to the public dramatically
increases enthusiasm for making Chicago its future home.
When presented with different locations along the lakefront close to downtown, Chicagoans
offer support for both options but express a preference for the current site of McCormick Places
East Building.
The following are key findings from a recent survey1 of Chicagoans.

No city-wide opposition to Lucas Museum; strong support among those following the
plans. Among the more than four-in-ten adults who say they have been paying a great deal or
some attention to stories about the museum, 68 percent support building the Lucas Museum
in Chicago. Among all respondents, without being given any information on the topic, only 7
percent of respondents do not support building the Lucas Museum in Chicago, and roughly half
of all Chicagoans (49 percent) support building the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in
Chicago. Another 40 percent dont yet have an opinion about the museums location.

More than four-in-five Chicagoans likely to visit the Lucas Museum if it comes to
Chicago. After hearing the description, 81 percent of respondents say they would be either
very likely or somewhat likely to visit the Lucas museum if it were in Chicago. This
includes 53 percent who say very likely.
At least three-quarters of whites, African Americans and Hispanics all say they would be likely
to visit the Lucas Museum. Among parents, 87 percent would be likely to visit.

Survey of 600 Chicago residents age 18+ was conducted April 7-11 by telephone. Respondents were reached on cell
phones and landlines. Survey findings carry a margin of error of +/- 4.0 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence
interval.

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Information about Lucas Museum sparks higher support for Chicago location. Many
Chicagoans are unaware of the Lucas Museums plans. Fifty-seven percent report only paying
a little bit or no attention at all to the story. So when a description of the museum is read (see
below), support for building it in the city rises to 67 percent, with 7 percent opposed and 24
percent saying the location does not matter.

As you may have heard, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is a nonprofit museum that may
be built in Chicago. It will be built by George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, and his wife,
Mellody Hobson, Chair of After School Matters. The museum, which features a bold new
The city and the Park District have approved the Lucas Museum
architectural design, will be a one-of-a-kind gathering place. Inside the museum, there will
to be built on a parking lot between McCormick Place and
be an unprecedented collection of art in a broad range of mediums including paintings,
Soldier Field. This seventeen-acre site is next to the Museum
photography, illustrations, comic art, cinematic and digital art. In addition, the museum will
Campus, along the lakefront, in close proximity to Chicago's
present daily screenings of a wide variety of films as well as extensive lectures and classes
other museums
presented by world-renowned filmmakers, artists and thought leaders.

Yes, it should be built in Chicago

67
7
24

No, it should not be built in Chicago

0

Does not maMer

20

40

60

80

Among those who said they had not heard anything at all about the Lucas Museum before this
survey, support for a Chicago site more than doublesfrom 27 percent up to 60 percent.
More than 60 percent of white, African American and Latino residents all support building the
Lucas Museum in Chicago after hearing this description. Support is particularly high among
parents (73 percent of whom support having the museum in the city). Solid majorities support
the museum across the citys neighborhoods and at all income levels.

Strong support for multiple lakefront locations for museum, with a preference for current
McCormick Place site. Nearly six-in-ten respondents (58 percent) express support for both
potential lakefront locations. There is solid support for both locations76 percent of
Chicagoans say the Museum Campus site is a good option, as do 68 percent for the current site
of McCormick Places East building. When asked which of the two options they would prefer,
Chicagoans express a significant preference for the McCormick site over the Museum Campus
site by a 50 37 percent margin.
100

Lakefront Location: The city and the Park District have approved the Lucas Museum to be
built on a parking lot between McCormick Place and Soldier Field. This seventeen-acre site is
next to the Museum Campus, along the lakefront, in close proximity to Chicago's other
museums such as the Field Museum, the Shedd Aquarium and the Adler Planetarium.

McCormick Place: A recent article in the Chicago Tribune by their architecture critic
proposed a different location for the Lucas Museum on the site of the McCormick Place's
East Building, which sits on the lakefront. The original, under-utilized facility would be
replaced by the museum. This location would further expand lakefront green space by
adding a dozen acres of new public park space.

Museum Campus

80
60
40
20
0

McCormick Place

50
37

100