Chicago's St. Anthony Hospital quietly ended its legal dispute with a major music festival after being reassured that noise from performers such as Snoop Dogg and Iggy Pop wouldn't harm patients and that hospital access would be guaranteed throughout the event.
Worried that this weekend's Riot Fest in nearby Douglas Park would disrupt hospital operations, St. Anthony, a safety net facility, filed a federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Chicago late last week asking the court to stop the three-day festival, which opens Friday. The hospital was not only concerned about excessive noise coming from the performers, but feared traffic from the festival would impede the hospital's front entrance and ambulance bay.
But in a settlement reached Tuesday, Riot Fest agreed to ensure St. Anthony's parking would remain open. The festival organizers also agreed to erect pedestrian barricades nearby and control traffic to ensure that emergency vehicles can get to the hospital. The hospital will also employ sound monitoring to protect its patients.
“Both Riot Fest and St. Anthony Hospital have been focused on bringing a world-class festival to Douglas Park and a great experience for the community, while maintaining access to the hospital,” Riot Fest partner Sean McKeough and St. Anthony CEO Guy Medaglia said in a joint statement Tuesday evening. “Unfortunately, passions ran high on both sides and motivations were questioned. Both sides regret their aggressive statements.”
Before the settlement, hospital officials complained Riot Fest hadn't communicated its plans to officials. Officials from the entertainment group said the festival not only kept the hospital in the loop, but moved entrances and made other adjustments when requested by hospital officials.
“It is unfortunate that St. Anthony officials are taking a festival that should be seen as a vibrant and positive addition to the community and are trying to use it for ulterior motives,” spokeswoman Chris Mather said before the agreement was announced. He added nearby Mt. Sinai hospital had no objections to the festival, nor did Norwegian American Hospital, which serves the neighborhood where the event was held last year.
Mather accused the hospital of seeking over $150,000 in compensation, $50,000 of which would go to pay legal fees and expert expenses. Riot Fest maintained that it is properly permitted by the city to have a concert.
Residents near Riot Fest's former location in Humboldt Park objected to its return after last year's concertgoers allegedly trashed the area and caused a nuisance. Just prior to the settlement, St. Anthony said that Riot Fest moved the festival to Douglas Park because it “mistakenly believed that no one would challenge its actions.”
