CHICAGO — Adela Bass gave up her in-person college classes because it was too difficult to get there from Chicago's Far South Side, where the city's famous elevated train doesn't run. It may take nearly two hours to reach the hospital where she is being treated for a heart condition.
But things are looking up, with bright red signs all over the area boldly declaring, “Ready, Set, Coming Soon!” Next year, the city is poised to begin fulfilling its decades-old promise to connect some of its most isolated, poor and polluted neighborhoods to the rest of the city through mass transit.
The Biden administration notified Congress last week that it would commit $1.9 billion to a nearly $5.7 billion project to add four new L stations on the South Side, the largest expansion project for the Chicago system in history. The pledge, which the Federal Transit Administration is expected to formally sign before President Joe Biden leaves office in January, essentially guarantees current and future funding.
However, Bass fears that President-elect Donald Trump's administration will try to scuttle it.
Bass, who raises three young children and works on health equity issues affecting residents of the massive public housing project near her home on the South Side, said there are many signs to reassure residents that the project has begun. “But you never know what's going on with Trump.”
Can Trump cut transportation funding?
The $1 trillion infrastructure plan that Biden signed into law in 2021 focused more on transportation than anything his predecessor called for. That's why there's been a scramble to finalize some transit grants before Biden's term ends, including last week's commitments to improve rapid transit in San Antonio and Salt Lake City.
In his first term, Trump unsuccessfully encouraged Congress to pass budgets, defunding some new transportation projects that didn't get their grant agreements, said Yona Fremark, a researcher at the Urban Institute. But it is practically unheard of for departments to take back projects after they have received final approval.
Steve Davis, who leads transportation strategy at Smart Growth America, said Trump may try to redirect future competitive grants to prioritize highway construction over alternative modes of transportation like transit. He said the Department of Transportation under Trump would likely slow some allocations for infrastructure projects that have already been approved, but would have a hard time stopping them entirely.
“If you're building a $2 billion mega-road, you have to know that you're going to have money in year four or five, and there's nothing a hostile administration can do to stop that,” Davis said.
Return functionality through access
One of the communities that the new Chicago L station will serve is Roseland, a once-thriving, predominantly black business district that has fallen victim to loss of manufacturing and rising crime rates.
Gervon Hicks, who spent many years in and out of prison on gun charges, turned his life around and ended up becoming a mentor to at-risk youth. The new station could help accelerate the same transition for others, he said.
“Roseland needs a renovation,” Hicks said. “We lacked a pet store. We had a theater. Take some of these abandoned buildings and turn them into jobs.”
In contrast to the busy Magnificent Mile shopping district on Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago, occupancy in Roseland's South Michigan Avenue business district has declined from more than 90% decades ago to about 10% now.
Among the surviving companies is Edwards Fashions. Owner Lydall Edwards hopes transportation will encourage more to return.
“I don't think the situation will reach the level it was in the 1970s, but I think the environment will improve because of accessibility,” he said. “You'll be able to get people here in this area much faster.”
Rogers-Jones, who has run the Youth Peace Center next to the future train station for 30 years, said he can't wait for the transformation to happen.
“Society is going to change,” Jones said. “It's going to be a vibrant community, and people are excited. I know I'm excited.”
Waad is 55 years old
Former Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley told residents of Roseland and surrounding areas in 1969 that the L line would eventually expand there.
The cost would have been $114 million at the time compared with about $5.7 billion now, a number that will continue to rise the longer construction is delayed, said Tammy Chase, a spokesman for the Chicago Transit Authority.
The agency has hired a construction company, opened an office in Roseland in a former paint store and begun preparing the homes that will be demolished so the tracks can run through them. Work is expected to break ground in late 2025, Chase said.
U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois, the top Democrat on the subcommittee that oversees transportation spending, points out that Chicago's transportation system has survived wars and depressions. It is also certain to be able to withstand the pandemic and a presidential administration with different priorities, he said.
“Large infrastructure projects stand the test of time,” Quigley said. “These ups and downs, you have to adapt to them, but you realize that the transit always comes back. If the transit doesn't come back, it thwarts opportunities to move forward.”
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