Alderwoman prevents vote on transfer of land from city to railroad
CHICAGO — A Chicago alderwoman has blocked another city council vote on a move to transfer land from the city to Norfolk Southern Railway for expansion of its 47th Street Yard on the city’s South Side, bringing further delays to the project.
WTTW-TV reports Alderwoman Jeanette Taylor of the 20th Ward, which includes the area around the yard, used a parliamentary procedure at a Wednesday meeting to prevent a vote allowing the railroad to purchase streets and alleys from the city. Those streets and alleys would be eliminated by the yard project.
Taylor had prevented a vote for five months, but allowed it to advance earlier this month. But she renewed opposition after a meeting this month in which she and residents questioned the railroad’s hiring practices and the impact of its business on the neighborhood [see “Community resistance meets Norfolk Southern effort …,” Trains News Wire, Jan. 13, 2023].
WTTW quoted Taylor as saying the railroad’s actions have “been a disrespect to me and the community.”
Norfolk Southern spokesman Connor Spielmaker said the move means “more delays to bid on work by local contractors. It also means a delay in the good-paying jobs created by Norfolk Southern from the expansion, as well as those with contractors and other Chicago businesses that support the yard’s ongoing operations.”
The city council could address the matter again as soon as Feb. 1. Mayor Lori Lightfoot supports the measure and said the railroad has been “listening to what the concerns of the residents are and comping up with solutions that address those concerns.”
