Residents and Illinois officials are pushing back hard against a plan to bring Amtrak’s South Loop maintenance facility to Bridgeport, and the timing has only sharpened the tension: the White Sox, long tied to the neighborhood, are now looking at a new stadium site elsewhere.
On South Shields Avenue - better known as Bill Veeck Drive - the message from local residents was blunt. Bridgeport Environmentalists’ Hannah Dembosky framed the proposal as a tradeoff the neighborhood should not have to make.
“Let’s call this plan what it really is,” Bridgeport Environmentalists’ Hannah Dembosky said. “Sacrificing our community to move the White Sox.”
Justin Ishbia, the White Sox owner-in-waiting, unveiled his vision over the weekend for a new ballpark on the banks of the Chicago River. But that idea depends on Amtrak relocating its operation, and the railroad is looking at roughly 47 acres at the Canal Street Rail Yard, not far from homes and businesses in Bridgeport.
That possibility has set off alarms from residents and elected officials who say they worry about health risks if the maintenance operation lands in the neighborhood.
“The whole point is to bring the city together to make sure that we stop dead in its tracks a project that is bad for a community like Bridgeport,” Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza said.
Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas kept her criticism simple.
“This is about human compassion,” Pappas said.
Ald. Nicole Lee, whose ward includes parts of Bridgeport, Chinatown, Canaryville and McKinley Park, said she has been working to block the move and keep the Sox where they are.
“The White Sox have called Bridgeport home for 116 years,” Lee said. “I got to tell you, our community feels pretty disrespected right now on all fronts … We are not opposed to Amtrak getting a modern maintenance facility … We just don’t want their 24/7 rail shed that’s going to be right behind you guys.”
Third Ward Ald. Pat Dowell, who represents portions of Bronzeville and Bridgeport, also questioned the logic of placing the facility near a residential area.
“Who puts a railyard next door to a residential community?” Dowell said.
Gov. JB Pritzker added his voice on Tuesday, speaking at an unrelated event and saying the concerns from local communities need to be heard.
“I have not spoken with Mr. Ishbia.
I am excited about the prospects of the White Sox having new facilities,” Pritzker said. “I know there are some concerns that have been raised by local communities, he should be listening to those, the White Sox should be listening to those.”
City leaders said the Amtrak move to Bridgeport project has already received a full categorical exemption, which means it can advance without an environmental impact study.
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