Chicago Park District commissioners have put their stamp of approval on a plan to rename a South Side park after Hadiya Pendleton, a King College Prep student who was gunned down while seeking shelter from a rainstorm just days after she attended President Barack Obama's second inauguration.
The Wednesday vote to rename Buckthorn Park, on the 4300 block of South Calumet Avenue, was unanimous.
"This means a lot. My baby is gone, and all of this has happened because of who she was," the 15-year-old's mother, Cleo Cowley-Pendleton said of the board's decision, according to the Chicago Tribune.
The idea was first floated last December by Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd), whose ward includes the park. At that time, a Dowell spokesman said $1.2 project included a walking trail, a spray pool for children, exercise areas, new lighting and landscaping, and updated playground equipment.
Pendleton lived in the ward and was shot in January 2013 at Vivian Gordon Harsh Park, about a mile away from Buckthorn. Her death became a national symbol of Chicago gun violence and drew reaction from The White House. First Lady Michelle Obama attended the girl's funeral, and President Barack Obama mentioned her in his State of the Union Address and later made a special visit to Chicago to address Chicago crime.
"What happened to Hadiya is not unique. It's not unique to Chicago. It's not unique to this country. Too many of our children are being taken away from us," he said in a Feb. 15, 2013 speech at Hyde Park Academy High School.
Two men were charged in connection with Pendleton's death. Police Supt. Garry McCarthy said the shooting stemmed from an ongoing gang war in the neighborhood and said the alleged gunman, Michael Ward, said Pendleton "had nothing to do with it" and "she was just there."
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Ward and Kenneth Williams both pleaded not guilty.
