The Burnham Plan could never have been what it was without the entire support of the people of Chicago. "From a speakers' stand erected at Twelfth and Halsted Streets, County Judge Thomas F. Scully told the crowd, with typical Chicago modesty, "We are here tonight to do honor to the greatest public improvement ever completed by this or any other municipality in the world.""(Implementation) "Even civic improvement efforts that were already underway were boosted by the attention given the Plan of Chicago. For example, renewed efforts to purchase outlying forest preserves finally succeeded in 1913, and the Cook County district made its first purchase in 1916. By 1922, it had purchased 21,000 acres and today holds 67,000 acres." (The Plan of Chicago. A Brief Summary) This project may have been directed by high ranked architects but ultimately had the people of Chicago controlling the wheel. In the beginning, the people approved the plan and now they are keeping the plan alive.