Sun-Times file photo
Juanita Irizarry stood toe-to-toe with Rahm Emanuel, and she didn’t just survive one of the nation’s most relentless politicians. She defeated and embarrassed the now-former mayor.
Emanuel was so furious about the Irizarry-led legal battle that forced “Star Wars” movie mogul George Lucas to cancel plans to build a $743 million museum on 17 acres of lakefront parkland, he derisively branded her group “Friends of the Parking Lot.”
On Tuesday, Irizarry announced she is ending her eight-year run as executive director of that group, Friends of the Parks on Dec.