1 hour ago, Sleepy Harold said:

I told you guys, you don't mess with the unions in Chicago.

1 hour ago, Sleepy Harold said:

Also, Bill Cunningham sits down with SitB to break down the situation, for those that are interested.

This is a really good interview. It's 40 minutes, but it's a great discussion about the Sox stadium situation. Cunningham provides excellent background on the power of railroads, how ISFA operates, location choices of privately-financed stadiums, and why a huge investment in the downtown area is vital to the city. The last 5 minutes or so are about the Bears stadium situation, but it's almost all about Sox new stadium effort.

6 minutes ago, 77 Hitmen said:

This is a really good interview. It's 40 minutes, but it's a great discussion about the Sox stadium situation. Cunningham provides excellent background on the power of railroads, how ISFA operates, location choices of privately-financed stadiums, and why a huge investment in the downtown area is vital to the city. The last 5 minutes or so are about the Bears stadium situation, but it's almost all about Sox new stadium effort.

The City of Chicago would have to be crazy to object to this project. I remember when JR wanted to build a stadium at the 78. Mayor Johnson said "Show me some skin". Ishbia is showing some big time skin in this projject. I saw an interview with Ishbia where he mentioned the 606 trail in Bucktown. He wants a similar walkway from the stadium into Chinatown. The whole project looks wonderful.

47 minutes ago, 77 Hitmen said:

This is a really good interview. It's 40 minutes, but it's a great discussion about the Sox stadium situation. Cunningham provides excellent background on the power of railroads, how ISFA operates, location choices of privately-financed stadiums, and why a huge investment in the downtown area is vital to the city. The last 5 minutes or so are about the Bears stadium situation, but it's almost all about Sox new stadium effort.

A few notes...

#1, they are very clear that the White Sox want to leave Bridgeport to go closer to downtown. They do not really want to stay put. And since Ishbia is will to spend his own money, there isn't really an effective way to stop him. Even if for some reason the Amtrak facility is successfully stopped, the speculation was that Ishbia will find them ANOTHER location, get it done, and still look to move to the current Railyards facility.

#2, the ISFA debt will be paid off by the time the lease is scheduled to expire in 2029. That debt will not exist when the Sox will be looking to move, and will have zero affect on them moving

#3, when I sat here and told everyone that the power of railroads was absolute when it comes to property rights and doing what they want, this is a State Senator saying exactly that. If you didn't believe me, believe him.

3 hours ago, southsider2k5 said:

A few notes...

#1, they are very clear that the White Sox want to leave Bridgeport to go closer to downtown. They do not really want to stay put. And since Ishbia is will to spend his own money, there isn't really an effective way to stop him. Even if for some reason the Amtrak facility is successfully stopped, the speculation was that Ishbia will find them ANOTHER location, get it done, and still look to move to the current Railyards facility.

#2, the ISFA debt will be paid off by the time the lease is scheduled to expire in 2029. That debt will not exist when the Sox will be looking to move, and will have zero affect on them moving

#3, when I sat here and told everyone that the power of railroads was absolute when it comes to property rights and doing what they want, this is a State Senator saying exactly that. If you didn't believe me, believe him.

Plus Sen. Cunningham made clear that BOTH Reinsdorf and Ishbia want to move the team closer to downtown. I know one poster here has spent many months trying to gaslight people into thinking otherwise, but it doesn't change what is reality.

He also gave a very good explanation of why a South Loop stadium could be good for the city on a MACRO economics level. I was impressed with how well he grasped the big picture on all of this.

After listening to this interview, I'm more bullish on the idea that a South Loop Sox stadium is actually going to happen. It's not 100% guaranteed by any means and there are many ways this could fall apart, but when someone proposes to privately finance a stadium and spend billions on a development like this, there's a good chance it'll get done.

Edited 20 hours ago20 hr by 77 Hitmen

9 minutes ago, 77 Hitmen said:

Plus Sen. Cunningham made clear that BOTH Reinsdorf and Ishbia want to move the team closer to downtown. I know one poster here has spent many months trying to gaslight people into thinking otherwise, but it doesn't change what is reality.

He also gave a very good explanation of why a South Loop stadium could be good for the city on a MACRO economics level. I was impressed with how well he grasped the big picture on all of this.

After listening to this interview, I'm more bullish on the idea that a South Loop Sox stadium is actually going to happen. It's not 100% guaranteed by any means and there are many ways this could fall apart, but when someone proposes to privately finance a stadium and spend billions on a development like this, there's a good chance it'll get done.

The guest knew his stuff really, really well, on a very deep level. If one was listening there was a lot to learn about the minutiae of government.

I watched the interview yesterday and found it very interesting. I already knew the power rail roads had but Sen. Cunningham shared his firsthand experiences. He said jokingly, "You can fight city hall, but you can't fight the rail roads." He also made a very interesting point how Covid started the work from home movement and how it has impacted downtown and taxes.

I would recommend watching the video, good stuff.

2 minutes ago, Falstaff said:

I watched the interview yesterday and found it very interesting. I already knew the power rail roads had but Sen. Cunningham shared his firsthand experiences. He said jokingly, "You can fight city hall, but you can't fight the rail roads." He also made a very interesting point how Covid started the work from home movement and how it has impacted downtown and taxes.

I would recommend watching the video, good stuff.

This was really interesting, and being a suburbanite with a newly expanded passenger rail line, something our town is trying really hard to take advantage of. They are marketing the cheap real estate, hour commute to downtown, and 1% property tax max really hard to recruit.

2 minutes ago, Falstaff said:

I watched the interview yesterday and found it very interesting. I already knew the power rail roads had but Sen. Cunningham shared his firsthand experiences. He said jokingly, "You can fight city hall, but you can't fight the rail roads." He also made a very interesting point how Covid started the work from home movement and how it has impacted downtown and taxes.

I would recommend watching the video, good stuff.

Sox in the Basement podcast in general is one of the better White Sox podcasts out there. They have good stuff.

1 hour ago, HoosierSox said:

Sox in the Basement podcast in general is one of the better White Sox podcasts out there. They have good stuff.

I love the host’s story that as a 9 year old in 1988, he went around and collected signatures on a petition to keep the Sox from moving and he presented those signatures to his state rep!

2 hours ago, 77 Hitmen said:

I love the host’s story that as a 9 year old in 1988, he went around and collected signatures on a petition to keep the Sox from moving and he presented those signatures to his state rep!

The best part was his rep had it read into the permanent record of the house. These days it would end up in the trash.

23 hours ago, southsider2k5 said:

Its pretty wild to watch this from afar. Like I said, I have some life experience here serving on a planning board for about a decade, plus having watched the process of a railroad expansion through my town over a little less than 15 years, and the thing that stands out most is the Chicago aldermen are used to having this unlimited power through a local veto, and watching THEM squirm when they DON'T have power is wild. Most of the rest of the country doesn't operate like that.

Ald. Dowell promised to use that local veto to block the Sox from moving to the 78. Now, the plan is for them to move just across the river in a different ward.

On 10/26/2026 at 2:20 PM, southsider2k5 said:

It also shouldn't be a big surprise. A little bit of power flex, mixed with a little bit of ego stroking. It's how these things get done.

Indeed. I’ve been of the belief that an environmental study will be conducted and the community will have some level of input since the start of this. Nothing surprising, but still nice to see we’ve finally made it to this point.

Per the Sun-Times: Bridgeport Bears? Chicago firm releases plans for glitzy new domed stadium at Sox park site

This is a little silly, but I thought it’d be worth sharing. Kinda cool to see a professional visualization for an unofficial (and far-fetched) concept.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/bears-stadium/2026/10/28/bridgeport-bears-domed-stadium-proposal-sox-rate-field

If the Bears move to Bridgeport maybe they will rename themselves as the Chicago Cardinals.

3 minutes ago, WBWSF said:

If the Bears move to Bridgeport maybe they will rename themselves as the Chicago Cardinals.

Not the bird "Cardinal" but the Catholic "Cardinal".

48 minutes ago, WBWSF said:

If the Bears move to Bridgeport maybe they will rename themselves as the Chicago Cardinals.

Trolling again I see? 😘

9 hours ago, HoosierSox said:

Sox in the Basement podcast in general is one of the better White Sox podcasts out there. They have good stuff.

he's taken some shots at certain ppl who post here lol (not me jerks)

1 hour ago, Mouthsider said:

Per the Sun-Times: Bridgeport Bears? Chicago firm releases plans for glitzy new domed stadium at Sox park site

This is a little silly, but I thought it’d be worth sharing. Kinda cool to see a professional visualization for an unofficial (and far-fetched) concept.

Yeah, it does seem far-fetched. I doubt the Bears will pick this over the Arlington Park property. But it's interesting to see what a major architectural firm imagines for this site. Looks like the stadium would be built between 37th and Pershing with development not only north of that but also on the other side of the Ryan with a ped bridge crossing at 37th.

The article says the Wentworth Gardens public housing would have to be relocated. Good luck with that. What about the senior housing right next to Rate Field as well as the Air Force Academy and the church that is there? Those would have to go.

Ald. Lee in the article confirms what we already know - the Sox don't want to stay at Rate Field. She said the Sox haven't talked to them about what it would take to get them to stay.