Ald. Nicole Lee wants full-fledged environmental review of Amtrak planned maintenance facility in Bridgeport

Chicago Alderman Nicole Lee demanded a comprehensive federal environmental review of Amtrak’s planned maintenance facility in Bridgeport on Thursday. The relocation is part of a plan by incoming White Sox owner Justin Ishbia and Canal Edge LLC to clear Amtrak's South Loop property for a new mixed-use development called the Railyards, which would include a new stadium for the Chicago White Sox.

Lee and local officials are pushing back against the project's categorical exclusion from federal impact statements, expressing concern that the Federal Railroad Administration's promised review will only cover viaducts. Lee hopes to block the Amtrak project and convince White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf to keep the team at Guaranteed Rate Field by developing the surrounding Bridgeport footprint.