“The link between poor nutrition, obesity and obesity-related disease contributes to many chronic and costly health conditions for people of all ages,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a press release that coincided with the announcement of the so-called "Recipe for Healthy Places" campaign. “By identifying ways to increase access to healthy food and information people need to make healthier choices, this new plan enables everyone to contribute to the City’s overall health and wellness.”
What the 636-word release, which bears the headline "New Citywide Plan Targets Obesity in Chicago"doesn't mention -- not once -- are exercise or nutrition. The city's own Park District, which holds as its mission to improve "the quality of life in Chicago" isn't a part of the plan.
The National Institutes of Health maintains on its website that "regular exercise is a critical part of staying healthy," but records obtained from the Wellness Department of the Community Recreation Division of the Chicago Park District reveal an aging network of park district fitness centers that are underused by Chicagoans.
The Wellness Department, which oversees the city's 70 fitness centers, is slated to receive just $450,184 from the city in 2013 for a bill that is expected to reach $2,708,842. Grants will be counted on to foot the rest.
One of the Chicago Park District's most heavily trafficked fitness locations, Broadway Armory Park in Edgewater, sold 1,197 month, three-month and yearly memberships between Jan. 1, 2012 and April 25, 2013, which when combined with daily pass revenue accounted for $36,691.50 -- third among the 69 other fitness centers for that time period.
But Whitney Olson, a manager at Cheetah Gym, a private fitness center across the street from Broadway Armory Park couldn't think of a time when the Park District has affected business at her gym.
"We really don't hear much about them," Olson said of the hulking gym outside her office window. "We have people come in ... and if the price is kind of off-putting there's the Armory if you're looking for something cheaper, but you're going to get what you pay for."
In fact, Park District members may not be getting much at their gyms.
According to the CPD's contract with Midwest Service & Installation, Inc., only half of the city's 70 fitness centers contain five or more pieces of cardio equipment, one piece of strength equipment for each major muscle group and stretching equipment, all of which was new or upgraded within the last seven years when the contract was signed in 2010.
Among the rest of the fitness centers, the contract specifies that 30 locations have equipment that is now a decade or older, and 10 locations may not have any cardio equipment at all to go with no stretching space and spotty free weight availability.
All told, between Jan. 1, 2012 and April 25, 2013 the city's fitness centers sold 16,450 daily passes and 23,353 gym memberships for $634,126.28 in total revenue.
Those numbers mean that, at most, 1.5 percent of Chicago residents used Park District fitness facilities in the last 15 months. That figure is likely much lower, however, because it assumes that all purchases were made by unique residents.
The scene is very different in the suburbs.
The Bolingbrook Park District maintains the Lifestyles Fitness Center & Spa. This state-of-the-art facility generated $634,674 in membership revenue in 2012 -- more in one year than Chicago's 70 centers generated in 15 months.
Lifestyles offers dozens of pieces of cardio equipment, recreation facilities, a staff of personal fitness trainers, fitness classes and even massage therapy.
The Wellness unit lists the creation of so-called fitness hubs among its goals for 2013, but gym expansion, which began several years ago, has ceased.
Chicago's three worst performing gyms, Douglas Park in North Lawndale, Brooks Park in Edison Park and Trumbull Park in South Deering combined to bring in $3,180.50 in revenue between Jan. 1, 2012 and April 25, 2013.
The top performer, Margate Park Fieldhouse in Uptown, pulled in $53,209.05.
Nick Bojko, the park district's north region supervisor explained that, for many residents, these facilities remain attractive because of their community locations and low cost.
"People are able to walk here," Bojko said. "If people can walk it makes a huge difference in expenses -- makes it more affordable."
Bojko explained that seniors and those with a doctor's note and a BMI over 26 can receive free memberships.
But as far as the city's budget is concerned, the future of Park District-owned fitness centers isn't bright.
The Parkways Foundation, which supplied the park district with grants targeted at erasing childhood obesity, folded in 2012, and the Wellness Department was forced to come up with over $3 million in grants for 2013 in order to cover its expenditures, mostly due to the district's $2,000,000 contract with Midwest Installation and Service, Inc. which will expire in 2014.
With little support from the city, flagging charitable organizations, a contract likely only to increase with inflation and a crop of aging equipment that will one day have to be replace, it's no wonder that Mayor Emmanuel's want to focus on food, not fitness.
