Formed in 1975, it acts as a watchdog group and environmental advocate for the Chicago area.
Specifically, it monitors the condition and safety of the Chicago Park District and the forest preserves of Cook County.
Annual events organized by FOTP include the Earth Day Parks and Preserves Clean-up, mobilizing several thousand volunteers on a single day in April to beautify and clean over 100 Chicago area locations; and a black tie ball which features a charity auction.
On May 3, 2016, a statement released by Melody Hobson stated that the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art would seek a location outside Chicago after a protracted confrontation with FOTP over plans that would have erected a private museum with public greenspace in place of a lakefront parking lot.
[1] In May 2018, Juanita Irizarry, Executive Director, said that Friends of the Parks "disagree with the choice to locate [the Obama Center] on public parkland rather than vacant land across the street from Washington Park.