09/08/2026
This morning I stood with The 11th Ward, City of Chicago Ald. Nicole Lee, Commissioner John Daley, other electeds and the community at a press conference speaking on behalf of colleagues in the General Assembly who represent the area. Here are my remarks:
“As legislators who represent parts of Bridgeport and the 11th Ward, we are stating in no uncertain terms our vehement opposition to: 1) the sale of the current Amtrak rail yard for a proposed relocation of Sox Park and 2) the proposed construction of a 24/7 maintenance facility in a residential area of the community.
We are sending a letter to the Amtrak Board in advance of tomorrow’s board meeting stating as such.
We are deeply opposed to the sale of the 14th street yard and the purchase of the Union Pacific Canal Street rail yard for the purposes of relocating Amtrak’s storage and building a maintenance facility. We stand by the neighbors in that area who do not deserve an active 24/7 yard and maintenance facility in their residential neighborhood.
We ask that Amtrak and its board consider all possible alternatives to this current plan. It’s not tenable and we plan to stand in complete solidarity with the community and with the 11th Ward against any efforts to move this project forward.
I am committed to working with my colleagues at every level of government to use whatever means are at our disposal to block these plans. I stand 100 percent with all of you.”
