It is not a done deal, yet. But it is actual progress, and the two parties involved, Riverside Brookfield High School and Brookfield Zoo Chicago, appear very optimistic that new legislation passed through the hurricane of the state legislature’s final days will allow them to resolve an issue which has frustrated both for many years.

Assuming the bill is signed by Gov. JB Pritzker, and it certainly should be, it would allow the zoo to formally sublease a field north of the high school to District 208. RB could then officially, and in some version of perpetuity, use that field for its baseball and softball teams.

This has been a thoroughly convoluted situation forever. The field is officially under lease by the zoo from the Cook County Forest Preserves. Until now, the zoo was not legally allowed to formally sublease the land to the school. Legislation brought forward by State Sen. Mike Porfirio makes that deal possible. 

While the zoo has allowed RB to use the field for the most part, it has, when its attendance soars, taken over the field for parking cars. You can’t play baseball with cars in the outfield, and cars tend to leave ruts when parked on grass. That’s why RB’s baseball and softball teams play their actual games on local park district fields. Not a great solution.

A zoo spokesperson said the zoo does not have plans to incorporate the field into its master plan and so was open to finally resolving this conflict. Kevin Skinkis, RB’s superintendent, said he was “overwhelmed with excitement” when the legislation passed last weekend. He said that when this deal is final, the school will begin planning for an investment in the space that will make it a suitable home field for RB.

For its part, the zoo will seek other alternatives for its occasional parking crunches. Skinkis allowed the possibility that the school might help the zoo fund such upgrades to its parking.

If you’re looking for a case study in how government — schools, zoos, county, state — can actually work together to solve a nagging problem we have it here.