I don't know if this has been posted already, but the Bears are still employing 3 lobbying firms whose job is to work with Illinois legislators.

FOX 32 Chicago

Bears still lobbying in Illinois despite Hammond focus

The Chicago Bears have repeatedly said their focus is now building a new domed stadium in Hammond, Indiana. But the Bears have not completely walked away from Illinois.

Edited August 20Aug 20 by 77 Hitmen

A new Royals ballpark is one step closer to reality as the KC city council approves the $600M funding plan for the stadium and a lease agreement that would begin on Feb. 1, 2031.

https://www.kctv5.com

Royals stadium lease agreement passes through City Council

The plans for the new Kansas City Royals stadium are closer to reality.

Sorry folks, you're not going to be able to stop it.

I understand why Bridgeport residents are not happy about this. I also don't care how they feel.

30 minutes ago, Bonemer, I Hardly Know Her said:

I understand why Bridgeport residents are not happy about this. I also don't care how they feel.

Yep. Can't make everybody happy. This opportunity is too good for both Amtrak and Ishbia.

2 hours ago, ron883 said:

Sorry folks, you're not going to be able to stop it.

That's actually a Metra train running behind Josh, not Amtrak as he suggested. It must be a Metra Southwest Service train.

And yeah, most NIMBY opposition efforts don't succeed in shutting down a multi billion dollar project. Perhaps they can get Amtrak to design in some ways to lessen the impacts on the neighborhood, but I don't see how they'd be able to stop this from going forward.

Edited August 21Aug 21 by 77 Hitmen

At least historically speaking, Bridgeport residents tend to be some of the most well-connected residents of this city. Good luck to Amtrak and Ishbia. I sure as hell wouldn’t want to have that crowd working against my plans.

It’s interesting that the ISFA will have to get involved. I’d guess that negotiating with an Illinois state department will slow things down.

7 hours ago, ron883 said:

Yep. Can't make everybody happy. This opportunity is too good for both Amtrak and Ishbia.

With the Daley family long gone the residents have no chance.

Amtrak's funding boost paves way for White Sox chairman-in-waiting Justin Ishbia's South Loop vision - Chicago Sun-Times

"U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, said his state’s share of some $5.3 billion in federal rail funding “reflects the city’s status as a thriving transportation hub.”Amtrak’s new rail yard “will allow for more efficient servicing of rail cars, reduce service disruptions and turnaround time,” according to the agency, which said its current facilities “were designed for a different era and no longer provide the space, configuration, or modern capabilities needed to support today’s fleet or anticipated future growth.”

Besides the local NIMBY, which is to be expected, it looks like this is a go.

So essentially, the Sox and Amtrak would be trading spaces with the Amtrak yard coming to Bridgeport first and then a stadium could be built at the current Amtrak yard or 78 with the yard being a ballpark village.

15 minutes ago, HoosierSox said:

So essentially, the Sox and Amtrak would be trading spaces with the Amtrak yard coming to Bridgeport first and then a stadium could be built at the current Amtrak yard or 78 with the yard being a ballpark village.

Following up: First domino in Justin Ishbia’s South Loop plan tips - Sox Machine

Not sure if you have been following this but Ishbia is on the move.

13 hours ago, ron883 said:

I love that things are moving along but parking is going to SUCK big time for the next few years- and it's already bad.

1 hour ago, HoosierSox said:

So essentially, the Sox and Amtrak would be trading spaces with the Amtrak yard coming to Bridgeport first and then a stadium could be built at the current Amtrak yard or 78 with the yard being a ballpark village.

Yes, this exactly.

1 hour ago, Falstaff said:

Following up: First domino in Justin Ishbia’s South Loop plan tips - Sox Machine

Not sure if you have been following this but Ishbia is on the move.

This is the difference between having Jerry and Ishbia who know what they are doing in the realm of big dollars and real estate... and the Bears.

22 minutes ago, DoUEvenShift said:

I love that things are moving along but parking is going to SUCK big time for the next few years- and it's already bad.

Yeah it's going to be rough. And all the construction will probably make the traffic in the area even worse, pre and post game.

3 minutes ago, Bonemer, I Hardly Know Her said:

Yeah it's going to be rough. And all the construction will probably make the traffic in the area even worse, pre and post game.

Especially if this team stays good.

I do wonder what the plan is for parking at the new stadium. Can anybody think of examples of really dense underground/aboveground parking structures that can fit a lot of spaces? I see the Allianz Arena garage in Munich can fit 10,000 cars and has a footprint of about 460ft x 790ft.

When you look at the area west of the Amtrak yard, there are multiple parking lots and some garages. Seems pretty obvious that Ishbia would try to purchase these parking lots and develop them with parking garages. Regardless, I don't think parking will be a major hurdle here.

Edited August 21Aug 21 by ron883

15 minutes ago, ron883 said:

I do wonder what the plan is for parking at the new stadium. Can anybody think of examples of really dense underground/aboveground parking structures that can fit a lot of spaces? I see the Allianz Arena garage in Munich can fit 10,000 cars and has a footprint of about 460ft x 790ft.

When you look at the area west of the Amtrak yard, there are multiple parking lots and some garages. Seems pretty obvious that Ishbia would try to purchase these parking lots and develop them with parking garages. Regardless, I don't think parking will be a major hurdle here.

With the developments in the area over the last 25 to 30 years, more and more parking options have been added, and I am sure there will be some complexes coming in with it.

It's possible that Amtrak will be moving out of the 14th street area while this construction is going on, which could accelerate the timeline of a new stadium. I'm thinking that Ishbia and the Sox will try to do a 2 year extension with the Rate while the new stadium gets built and completed by 2032/2033.

7 minutes ago, HeGone10 said:

It's possible that Amtrak will be moving out of the 14th street area while this construction is going on, which could accelerate the timeline of a new stadium. I'm thinking that Ishbia and the Sox will try to do a 2 year extension with the Rate while the new stadium gets built and completed by 2032/2033.

Just in time to get the 100th anniversary of the All Star game back where it started in Chicago in 2033. That would be cool.

Bridgeport residents angry at Amtrak, Justin Ishbia - Sox...

Bridgeport residents express anger over Amtrak's proposed project to build a new maintenance facility. All part of a larger plan pushed by Justin Ishbia to build a new White Sox home in the South Loop

If I was a Bridgeport resident I would be angry too. Losing the White Sox will be sad and a negative for the neighborhood. That said, moving is the better overall choice for the long term health of the club.

14 hours ago, ron883 said:

1 hour ago, DoUEvenShift said:

I love that things are moving along but parking is going to SUCK big time for the next few years- and it's already bad.

Looking back at the presentations slides for this project that were given at UIC a few months ago, I wonder how this would play out. According to the slides, Phase 1 of the project would only have Amtrak building on existing track space a between Lots C and G plus the track space a little further north between 26th and 29th streets. So, does this mean that Lots C and G would be needed for staging areas for this construction project? If so, how much of those lots and for how long?

Phase 2 is when they'd vacate the rest of their current yard (south of the bascule bridges) and would actually use some or all of those parking lots for Amtrak's new facility. That 2nd phase probably doesn't happen if plans for a new ballpark fall through and the Sox stay at Rate Field long-term.