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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
OPPOSING THE PROPOSED AMTRAK MIDWEST MAINTENANCE FACILITY AT THE UNION PACIFIC CANAL YARD AND CALLING FOR COMPREHENSIVE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND MEANINGFUL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
WHEREAS, Amtrak is proposing to construct a Midwest Maintenance Facility at the Union Pacific Canal Yard in Chicago, supported by up to $572 million in federal funding, along with an additional $87 million for related Canal Street bridge and viaduct improvements; and
WHEREAS, the proposed facility and associated rail traffic would directly affect the communities of Chinatown, Pilsen, Armour Square, Bronzeville and Bridgeport, with residents, schools, senior housing, parks, and other community institutions in these neighborhoods potentially experiencing the project’s environmental, noise, traffic, and quality-of-life impacts; and
WHEREAS, the proposed facility would be a major rail maintenance operation that could operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, immediately adjacent to the heavily used Armour Square Park, just a few blocks from the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) campus and the Armour Square Senior Homes, T.E. Brown Senior Apartments, Wentworth Gardens Homes and within approximately one mile of numerous schools, including Robert Healy Elementary School, Minnie Miñoso Academy, Air Force Academy High School, Armour Elementary School, Bridgeport Catholic Academy and De La Salle Institute; and
WHEREAS, at its current location, Amtrak trains make relatively short trips to and from Chicago’s Union Station. Moving the maintenance facility farther south would require trains to travel farther for fueling, cleaning, catering and maintenance. Those additional movements would pass through the already busy rail corridor at 21st Street Bridge and Alton Junction, where Amtrak, Metra and freight trains share the tracks. With nearly 100 trains using the bridge each day, adding more Amtrak movements could increase congestion, make an already complex rail system...
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