It's totally uncool for you to glorify a pasttime that costs taxpayers and private landowners thousands of dollars in maintenance and security costs every year to repair and guard against the many damaged stairs, planters, curbs, and railings that illegal skateboarders perpetrate in downtown plazas.

I don't care how artful this photo is. These urchins should not be using public art––much less the Picasso statue, or any other feature of Daley, IBM, Federal, or Chase plazas–as a launching pad. So many times I have seen tourists edge away from our city's Loop landmarks because these rebels without a clue decided that their desire to act out took precedence over the right of rank-and-file Chicagoans to enjoy downtown spaces that all have signage clearly stating "No Skateboarding Allowed".

That's why this city has a small but growing number of skate parks. That's exactly where these disrespectful, usually smelly (for God sake, kids, take that allowance and buy some deodorant), Tony Hawk wannabees should be. Not ruining Chicago's world-famous central spaces.

Mike Doyle,

I agree. This was a lapse in judgment on our part; likely due to the quality of the image.

I don't know about the "smelly" part - didn't get close enough to anyone when I took these pics at the skateboard park just north of Wilson Ave.

Mike Doyle,
I strongly disagree.
I am a skateboarder and a tourist that believes in a city where public places can be used by all the public, including skateboarders. Skateparks are great and all, but I disagree strongly with your view that all skateboarding in a city needs to be confined to such a place. Skateboarding is great in a city because one can cruise around on the endless miles of asphalt and discover new, beautiful things to skate on every day. And not all skateboarding is destuctive, only grind tricks can be potentially damaging to ledges and rails. You cannot grind the Picasso, thus skateboarding does no more damage than the children that play on it. By making criminals out of people that seek fun and excercise, we are denying Americans their freedom while at the same time wasting time and money on unneeded policing.
And as far as the smell, I am shure that after you drench your clothes in sweat after a long workout it smells of fine French perfume, but the rest of us get smelly when we sweat.