What Do Bridgeport Residents Think Of Amtrak’s New Maintenance Center?

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Sasha-Ann Simons (0:42)

Hey Chicago, I'm Sasha-Ann Simons, and this is In the Loop.

Be sure to listen all the way through the podcast for a breakdown of the day's top local stories. But first, the sound of trains going by is already part of life in Bridgeport. But now some neighbors worry a proposed Amtrak maintenance facility could have a serious impact on noise pollution and air quality. Now the local Alder woman, Nicole Lee, has introduced a resolution calling for the City of Chicago to initiate an environmental review. In this episode of the pod, we'll hear from two neighbors about why they're pushing back and next steps in this fight. We'll also share Amtrak's rationale. At the table, Bridgeport residents, Jonathan Chen and Maria LaGiglio.

I started by asking about the neighborhood they call home. How long have they lived in Bridgeport and why do they love it? Here's Maria.

Maria LaGiglio (1:37)

I'm a lifelong Bridgeport resident. Aside from a couple of years in New York City, I've lived there my whole entire life.

Sasha-Ann Simons (1:44)

And Jonathan?

Jonathan Chen (1:44)

I'm a relatively recent transplant of only eight years here in Bridgeport.

Sasha-Ann Simons (1:48)

Awesome. Tell me what you love about Bridgeport so far.

Jonathan Chen (1:52)

For me, the big draw was that it's a very...

It's kind of like a suburb without being a suburb. It's very family-friendly and there's no parks nearby. There's a great community, great neighbors, if I do say so myself.

Sasha-Ann Simons (2:05)

You've been there your whole life pretty much, Maria. So what do you love?

Maria LaGiglio (2:09)

I love everything about it. Honestly, Bridgeport, Armour Square and Chinatown are like these overlapping communities, very generational neighborhoods, but we also have so many new residents. And in the past few years, we've really been coming up. There's a lot of coffee shops, art centers, parks. Just like Jonathan said, it's kind of like you get that suburban feel while still being very near to downtown.

Sasha-Ann Simons (2:32)

In the city, yeah. So when it comes to Amtrak's plans to build this maintenance facility near that neighborhood you just described, where do you stand?

Maria LaGiglio (2:41)

I'm completely against it. It doesn't make any sense. It's moving a 24-7 heavy industrial operation into the middle of a dense residential neighborhood.

Sasha-Ann Simons (2:53)

Your thoughts, Jonathan? You said definitely you agree.

Jonathan Chen (2:55)

Definitely, right. Because it literally is splitting the Bridgeport and Armour Square directly in half. This bail yard where they want to move it to is straight through the middle, straight through the heart of this community.

Sasha-Ann Simons (3:07)

What else do you want to share with listeners about the plan, as you know it so far, Jonathan? What are you hearing?

Jonathan Chen (3:12)

Sure. Basically, the plan is, it's not just this maintenance facility.

It's not just maintenance facility around the 33rd to 35th Street, but it also stretches north, because what Amtrak wants to do is they want to move their existing rail yard, or the plan is now to move their existing rail yard, and basically relinquish their 14th street yard, where they are now for private development.

Sasha-Ann Simons (3:40)

Alderman Nicole Lee of the 11th Ward, and 36 of her 50 colleagues now oppose this. They are on your side. They oppose Amtrak's plans to build the new maintenance facility in Bridgeport.

A resolution was introduced at City Council yesterday, and it calls for a hearing in the Committee on Transportation and the Public Way. Your reaction to that move?

Maria LaGiglio (4:02)

I thought that was a great move. Nicole Lee has been a partner to our community in this. She has been alongside us opposing this.

I actually was at City Council yesterday with some members of the community who were lucky enough to draw two public comment lottery tickets, and they did speak and talk about the impacts this would have on our community. I'm glad to see that, hopefully, that their statements made an impact on these Alderman to then sign on to this resolution.

Sasha-Ann Simons (4:31)

Your thoughts, Jonathan, on this City Council action?

Jonathan Chen (4:34)

Right.

I feel like it's getting momentum. There are things that are being put in place on the record for the opposition to this project. It's really the lack of transparency, the lack of really information, because it's really been a slow drip of information that we've been getting from Amtrak. It almost feels like it's a notification of, we are doing this project. By the way, we are going to put this facility here, and here's some information about it.